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The Brave New World of Workplace Texting – And How to Manage It

7/16/24 | by: Laura Singer, Senior Communications Consultant

Instant messaging has earned its place in the workplace and – if done well – can boost efficiency, cut down on emails, and increase camaraderie. The communications team should encourage texting best practices by creating and enforcing ground rules.

——

6:50 am 

  • Hey 👋

12:07 pm 

  • im wfh & need some info abt the new proj asap or def by eod
  • gonna eat soon (PIZZA!!!!! 🍕) so jic im afk plz call my cell wygam
  • this proj is a SO LAME iykwim
  • tia &ttyl!!!! 😎

* Translation at end of article

Texting, whether over SMS, iMessage, Teams, Slack, or some other platform, has become an integral part of how employees communicate. So it’s worth thinking about the ways texting can enhance – or impede – collaboration. Let’s start with the (admittedly) extreme example above.

It was started at 6:50 am – way too early for a non-emergency. Then the sender got distracted, a common occurrence in IM. When the message was finally sent more than five hours later, it was a muddled mix of acronyms, too much or too little punctuation, personal information, and inappropriate commentary. It disrespected both the recipient and the organization.

Still,  if done well, texting can speed decision-making, cut down on calls and emails, avoid miscommunication, and increase camaraderie. So what can you do as a communicator to ensure good texting practices in your organization?

Create and enforce guidelines: If you don’t have guidelines for instant messaging at your organization, it’s important to set ground rules. Define expectations for IM conversations, including when and when not to use, security and legal caveats, things to avoid such as profanity, and examples of good and bad text messages.

Partner with other departments: In developing IM guidelines, work with your colleagues in HR, Legal, Compliance, and Information Security to help employees understand requirements and potential risks. What types of IM interactions could constitute bullying or harassment? What types of text messages may be monitored or subject to record retention protocols?  Are there security risks?

Promote face-to-face communication: Ensure that some sort of face-to-face communication happens regularly in your organization: one-on-one meetings, team and department get-togethers, workshops, and seminars. Even virtual meetings build  organizational cohesion that offset the more siloed nature of text messaging.

Encourage work/life balance: Texting is a big culprit in people’s inability to unplug from work. It enables outreach to co-workers at any time and with a sense of urgency that can be annoying and intrusive. Recommend that employees actively sign off IM tools at the end of the workday and respect others’ out-of-office status messages.

Here are some best practices to share with employees:

DO:

  • Remember you’re at work: Keep your workplace instant messaging professional and steer clear of personal information.
  • Consider your audience: Is the recipient a millennial or a seasoned manager? Modify your language and approach accordingly, and don’t text a busy executive unless it’s an emergency.
  • Respect people’s time: Messages should be short and to the point. Avoid emojis and memes.
  • Know when to communicate face-to-face: Without the help of facial expressions and body language, digital messages can be misinterpreted. Always use a face-to-face meeting to deliver bad news or feedback.

DON’T:

  • Discuss confidential matters: Not all instant messaging platforms are secure, so don’t discuss sensitive information or corporate strategy.
  • Open a file if you don’t know its source: IM software is susceptible to malware, viruses, and hackers, and an attachment may bypass the firewall.
  • Use IM for non-urgent matters: IM creates a greater sense of urgency than email and can be disruptive. Use email for anything that doesn’t require immediate attention.
  • Stay logged in to IM when presenting: Your audience will see anything that pops up on your screen, so log out or disable IM notifications in advance.

*Translation:

  • I’m working from home and need some information about the new project as soon as possible or definitely by the end of day
  • I’m gonna eat soon (pizza) so just in case I’m away from my keyboard please call my cell phone when you get a moment
  • This project is so lame if you know what I mean
  • Thanks in advance and I’ll talk to you later

If you need help developing organizational guidelines for instant messaging (or other subjects), the O’Keefe Group would love to partner with you.