What’s new: the latest Zoom releases you don’t want to miss
October was a huge month for us at Zoom, as we launched the next generation of our AI Assistant, Zoom AI Companion 2.0 and announced our new Zoom Workplace and Avaya integration.
Updated on September 01, 2022
Published on May 29, 2018
Remember how the study by HBR said the second most common communication issue is not giving clear instructions? Well, if you’re simply “telling” your employees what to do without giving them any kind of guidance, that’s a BIG problem. Luckily, employee engagement tools can help with that... But you want to avoid using too many tools. Multiple channels can get confusing fast. That’s why I’m only suggesting three tools, each with a very specific purpose:
The first tool—Monday—makes it easy to manage your projects across teams without anything slipping through the cracks. It’s intuitive and lets you see what everyone’s working on in a single glance, but what I really love is how it provides a totally seamless communication experience. Monday allows you to connect with your team from anywhere in the world and add tasks to a drag-and-drop spreadsheet, which saves time by eliminating email and phone calls. For a quick run-through of all of its features, check out this video. While you can communicate directly on Monday’s platform for individual tasks, I also like to have a sort of “chat room” for employees to interact. That’s where chat software comes in. If you haven’t already heard, Slack is a fantastic cloud-based collaboration tool that easily keeps everyone on your team in the loop. Of course, once you’re a Slackophile (yes, I made that up), there are all kinds of shortcuts that will further boost your productivity and save time. Check out these Slack tips by Noah Kagan from Sumo. Zoom also has a cross-platform chat that is worth checking out if you want to go from three tools to two. Additionally, Zoom’s video integrates with Slack, so you can have a seamless chat to meeting experience using both tools. Now you’ve got a way to effortlessly communicate tasks and projects online (thanks Monday!) and your entire team is talking with one another via chat (well, hello there Slack). The only thing you really need now is a way to communicate visually. Enter Zoom. Having employees or team members in different countries makes it just about impossible to gather everyone in the boardroom for a quick update on your new project. Heck, even having everyone meet from different departments in the same building can be difficult. Zoom is a powerful software that allows employees to connect via video conference. Organize an online meeting, provide online training to staff, create a Zoom conference room for collaborative projects, or set up a live virtual event where participants can connect with the speakers. Video is far superior to audio as a way to connect with co-workers, and it offers a better avenue for communication. One last bonus tip—I like to use Calendly to schedule meetings across various time zones. That way you can avoid the back and forth of trying to find the right time. The truth is that there’s no shortage of awesome tools you can use to boost company communications. But these three tools are cream of the crop!
Hopefully, you’ve learned how to create skilled communicators out of your employees (and yourself). That’s the goal! But you’ll have to figure out which methods your specific employees and colleagues will be most receptive to, and that may vary between departments. The engineers may respond differently from the human resource team, while the graphic designers might be even more different. As with any business project, it’s important to assess the effectiveness of your communications strategies. Ask yourself:
It’s vital to make internal communication measurable so you can see what works, what doesn’t, and tweak it accordingly. Only then can you sit back and watch your strategy work its magic. About the Author: Bill Widmer is a B2B content marketing and SEO consultant. He loves creating world-class content that ranks #1. He’s worked with Shopify, Sumo, Content Marketing Institute, and more.