Corporate communication goes through a handful of technologies, but the typical choices are decades old: phones, papers, and emails.
That's a pity, particularly for middle market companies. These businesses are too big to have everyone within shouting distance, yet they need speedy and efficient communication to stay nimble and move quickly. You want channels of corporate communication to enhance operations, not hinder them. Getting buried in an endless stream of emails that turns your inbox into an incomprehensible mess does not encourage productivity.
New practices and tools are available to help increase efficiency and put the right systems to use. Even better, all of these programs typically scale, so as your company grows, you don't have to worry about replacement costs. Using the right corporate communication tools can also improve knowledge management.
Email Not Required
Who says email is the most sensible approach for routine communications? Email is meant to be used periodically, not as a way of enabling interaction. The system can also be used by people as a means of avoiding work. Constant emailing can drag out workdays and turn inboxes into never-ending piles of tasks, leaving people tired out and not at their best. Employees may actually ignore emails simply to keep their sanity.
There are steps your company can take to get away from email drudgery. Germany recently banned after-hours emails, with the only exception being if a task must be performed before the next morning. Some companies, such as USAmeriBank, have realized that email can be the completely wrong approach when a quick conversation is needed. The middle market bank instituted no-email Fridays in the retail division to keep people from acting "lazy about communicating verbally." Instead, they pick up telephones in order to try to solve problems.
Corporate Social Networks
Some newer technologies offer other advantages. Online clothing apparel, accessories, and home decor retailer ModCloth has grown rapidly since its launch and now has 300 employees in four offices, so the company adopted enterprise social network Yammer. The software allows the continuation of a tight-knit culture even during a period of high growth and has enabled communications that boost time savings and reduction of duplicate work. Executives can share news with employees, who feel more connected to the company's vision.
Don't be surprised if your employees prefer using general social networks to keep in touch with each other. A platform that's geared toward businesses offers far better security and functions that are tailor-made for communication across a closed network.
Wikis
There are times when you want a set of conversations to be preserved because of the valuable information collected. Manuals or long memos are the traditional approaches, but they are often dully written and difficult to keep up to date.
Wikis are a much more flexible approach to keeping important collections of data on hand. Wikipedia uses the technology to prepare and present all of the information that it has to offer, and software firm CorVu (since acquired by Rocket Software) does something similar. Employees and even customers can contribute to a growing body of documented knowledge about the company's products. All that information gets captured and no longer walks out the door when employees change jobs. Why have one employee disturb another for an answer that can be easily accessed through a company Wiki?
Collaboration Software
There is a multitude of collaboration software out there for businesses to take advantage of. They allow people throughout a company to document common bodies of knowledge, whether that be a set of core values or documentation on how to use and troubleshoot a product. For instance, midmarket nonprofit Acumen Fund has locations in New York, Hyderabad, India, Karachi, Pakistan, and Nairobi, Kenya, and uses a commercial Wiki-like product from Socialtext to make previously collected information easily available to all employees.
Instant messaging systems can help enable immediate communication. Before sending an email or picking up a phone, you can see if someone is online and available to chat. A quick back-and-forth is easy and lets employees get back into what they were doing without breaking stride. I've personally seen middle market publishing companies use Campfire, which offers group chatting and document sharing. It's like getting into a room with other people, even if they are thousands of miles away.
There are a number of examples of companies using collaborative software to their advantage. MailChimp, a midsized company that sells systems that better manage and track email marketing, uses Evernote Business as a collaboration platform to make information, whether it be customer feedback or observations by staff members, available to all employees. Manufacturers working with outsourced designers and factories can use specialized product design software to keep everyone involved with a project in sync.
Although there is usually a learning curve with any of these technologies, it won't take long in today's tech-driven business world for companies to get the hang of them. Find a tool that might help, and run a pilot project. You might be surprised at how much more your company can get done.
Any particular communications systems that have worked well for your company? Let us know what you think by commenting below.
Erik Sherman is an NCMM contributor and author whose work has appeared in such publications as The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times Magazine, Newsweek, the Financial Times, Chief Executive, Inc., and Fortune. He also blogs for CBS MoneyWatch. Sherman has extensive experience in corporate communications consulting and is the author or co-author of 10 books. Follow him on Twitter.