Instant Messaging at Work
 | Do you instant message at work? Are you like Paul DeBettignies of MN Headhunter who uses instant messaging to communicate with college students? Are you only using IM'ing to communicate with your friends? Or are you one of the those who don't instant message at all? I use instant messaging frequently for key partners and employees, but rarely with clients because few of them want to communicate that way. |
The most common reason I hear from business partners, clients, and vendors as to why they don't instant message is that they are afraid of the interruptions. That's a valid fear, but my experience has shown that it is unfounded. The people with whom I instant message are very respectful of my time and only instant message when the matter is truly urgent and can easily be taken care of through writing a short message or two. Everything else is by phone or email. Another reason I hear for not instant messaging is that they don't feel that it is a legitimate business tool. Even Robert Stephens of Twin Cities-based Geek Squad tech-help service thought that way until a month ago. He converted when he realized that instant messaging provided him with a powerful way of staying in touch with his far-flung workers.
I find that instant messaging saves me time and makes me more responsive to the needs of my clients, vendors, partners, and employees. Isn't that what is all about?
We have found it easiest to just use the free tattle chat at work.
http://tattlechat.blogspot.com
Everyone just runs a single file from a shared folder and they are taken to a chat room that is perfectly useful for meetings and such. It's cheap, safe, and free.
For most everything else, email is more than enough.