Instead of sending over paper faxes and relying on multiple confusing email strings, we now have hundreds of apps available promising to make our workplace communication faster and allow for better teamwork.
Slack Makes Workplace Communication Easy
Slack is one of the most popular workplace communication apps on the market, with over six million daily users. The beauty of Slack is in its intuitive design, which helps users that aren’t as familiar with this technology adjust easily and start messaging in seconds. You can share and store files, create new channels easily, and get communicating with your team.
Slack is great for businesses because you can keep all your communication in one place by dividing different conversations about topics into keyword searchable channels instead of disorganized email threads. Additionally, Slack integrates with many apps you likely already use such as WordPress, DropBox, Trello, Google Hangouts and more so you won’t have to change how your business functions for Slack to foster teamwork among your employees.
Available on: iOS, Android, and Windows.
Price: Free for individuals or small teams that need less capacity, $6.67 per user per month for Standard, and $12.50 per user per month for Plus.
Teamwork Makes Workplace Communication Effective
Teamwork has three functions: Teamwork Chat, Teamwork Projects, and Teamwork Desk. For this review we’ll be talking about Teamwork Chat, but the Projects and Desk functions are great and worth looking into. Teamwork Chat describes itself as a “100% free alternative to Slack” with a very similar layout and functionality. It differs from Slack in two main ways, in that it’s a completely free service and that it seems to be targeted more towards integrating with Teamwork Projects than other case management software like Slack does.
If you’re going to start using Teamwork Chat, I highly recommend you use Teamwork Projects alongside it. I can speak from personal experience to the effectiveness of both and the positive effect of having project management software with chat software in the same place. After all the easier it is for employees to communicate project goals and problems, the better they’ll be able to work together for your company.
Available on: iOS and Android.
Price: 100% free on its own. Teamwork Projects is free for basic, $9.00 per user per month for Pro, and for Enterprise you’ll have to request a quote. Teamwork Desk is $5.00 per agent per month for Basic and $20.00 per agent per month for Pro.
Basecamp 3 Makes Workplace Communication Awesome
Basecamp 3 is a titan in the work communication app industry. Instead of being just a chat or networking software, you can integrate Basecamp 3 with other apps such as Campfire. Basecamp’s most impressive feature is its ability to run multiple aspects of your business while serving as a communication app, letting you replace other storage, scheduling, and project management apps so everything is in one place.
This combined with the flat monthly rate that doesn’t charge more per user makes Basecamp a great choice for large companies with many users. As far as the communication aspect goes, Basecamp has a message board feature that replaces large confusing email chains with centralized discussion to make decisions, virtual meetings, and planning much easier. The well-designed home page and incredible design make this a clear winner for companies looking to maximize teamwork among employees.
Available on: iOS, Android, and Windows.
Price: $99.00 per month, regardless of how many users are active.
No matter which one of these workplace communication apps you choose to integrate to your business, your corporate culture and employee engagement will be better for it. After all, employee communication is key to a thriving business and these apps make work communication not only easy but fun!
