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Communication and collaboration are essential to the remote workplace, yet nearly all digital teams struggle with communication platforms.
The lack of adoption is typically underscored by the more inefficient means of communication, such as weekly or daily digital meetings with little to no agenda and the use of email for instant and not-so-urgent communication.
Regular communication can build trust between employees, streamline business processes, and develop more efficient operations. And with over 80% of employees requiring regular communication and collaboration, communication platforms aren’t really an option anymore. With so many pertinent benefits, adoption isn’t just a smart move; it’s a no-brainer.
Let’s use Slack!
Slack has become the default communication platform for digital teams, for good reason. It’s got a slick interface, has a nice free plan, and is used by lots and lots of teams around the world.
Slack can be a very lively platform, but also encourages an “always-on” culture unless you work against that. Thankfully it has features to let you signal that you have checked out for the day, but this definitely goes against the flow of this near-synchronous platform.
If you are happy with Slack, you can stop reading now. It’s a wonderful platform and we wish you well. But it’s not perfect for everyone. If you are in the market for communication platforms, we’ve got some other options for you.
How do I choose between communication platforms?
Choosing the right communication platform is a more daunting task than people realize due to the sheer number of free and paid options available. But inundating staff and yourself with tons of collaborative tools and communication platforms only serves to complicate the process. If there was one rule about choosing the right communication platform, it’s this: keep it lean and make it a solution, not a hassle.
In fact, two great communication platforms are Microsoft Teams and Google Workspace, and odds are, you are already using one of these.
But if these mainstream communication platforms just aren’t doing it for you, here are some ways to find a better match.
Understand how your team communicates
When your team is working on a project, think about what the communication is like:
- Is it interdepartmental?
- Do ideas and information usually stay within a single department?
- Do you use freelancers and contractors? Are they included as part of the team regularly?
- How often do you have one-on-one meetings?
- How often do you have team meetings?
By understanding the flow of information throughout your company, you can narrow your scope of which communication platform may work best. While communication platforms with all the extras may seem like a good value buy, bloated options only lead to more communication breakdown, especially with platforms that have features you will never use.
Build around company culture
A communication platform that embodies your company culture is crucial. When you have communication that builds your culture around rather than dismantles it, communication and employee engagement becomes more ingrained into your team every time they use the said platform.
Find a level of communication that fits your ideals. If you’re a face-to-face virtual meeting type of company, a sudden switch to instant messaging platforms may cause upheaval. Or if you have a communication tool that doesn’t respect boundaries or work-life balance, workers could grow to resent it.
As a result, you need to find a communication platform that builds upon the workflow and company culture you’ve already created. Don’t needlessly complicate. Integrate instead.
Experiment
Like almost any other type of software or idea you implement in a business, part of the equation has an unknown variable. Even with proper training, a particular communication platform may not be the right fit. Don’t force it into place like the wrong piece of a jigsaw puzzle.
Communication platforms aren’t necessarily as elusive as Cinderella’s slipper. But if it’s not working, it’s not working. Experimentation with a few platforms is important and necessary. With trial-and-error, you can find what works, what doesn’t, and what else you need to build better organizational communication.
6 non-Slack communication platforms to try
After understanding the importance of team communication, you can finally move onto research and experimentation. With any luck, one of these nine platforms should provide the perfect communication channel for your remote team.
In this list, we’ve excluded communication platforms like Whatsapp, Discord, Signal, and Telegram that don’t offer exclusive company-based accounts.
1. Flock
Flock is for those people who hate being mainstream and want to find a gem beyond the hype. Flock stacks up pretty well feature-for-feature to Slack, it’s usually cheaper, and has some more productivity tools built in. It will never have the popularity of Slack, but might be exactly what you need.
2. Twist
Twist is for people who think Slack promotes too much insanity. Twist doubles down on being an asynchronous communication platform that doesn’t pressure you into responding immediately. It’s lightweight, easy to organize, and keeps communication channels clear and straightforward. The key to the success of this platform is that each message is thread-based and categorized, meaning no one gets left behind, even if they can’t check their messages every five minutes.
3. Tandem
Tandem is an excellent choice for smaller remote teams that really miss the in-person experience. It gives an experience much closer to being in the office and prioritizes the power of synchronous communication. Teams can integrate over 120 different work apps across operating platforms while also sending messages for quick collaboration, spontaneous conversation, and meetings. A handy coworking feature can also allow teams to video chat in the same place, regardless of which platform they’re using at any particular moment.
4. Kissflow
Kissflow believes that most communication should be centered around work instead of trying to squeeze work into communication platforms. Kissflow’s core offering is work management tools like project and process management, and it promotes having contextual collaboration as close to the work as possible. But Kissflow also recognizes that communication might come in the form of announcements, posts, or chats, and has tools to do all three.
5. Workplace
If you love using Facebook, then you should check out Workplace – which is just Facebook for work teams. Everything you love (and hate) about Facebook is there from threaded conversations to a news feed, and quick messages.
6. Fuze
Fuze is a great option if you want a more enterprise experience than Slack can give you. It’s more of a unified communications platform and less of a start-up feel. This cloud-based enterprise software provides a method of integration for some of the most popular remote work platforms, as well as application programming interfaces. And it’s all customizable, providing a one-stop solution to communication needs.
Pick the platform that fits you best
After researching a few of these communication platforms, narrow down your shortlist. Start with whatever option checks the most boxes for your organization and then roll it out. Have a plan on how to educate and train your team. (Note that all of these platforms have training modules on their website for easier integration and instruction).
Then, give it time. Patience is a virtue, especially with respect to communication. In the digital workplace, it’s no different.
After a month or so, gather feedback from your employees. What do they love or hate about the platform? Because your team interacts on this platform regularly, their input is vital. Even after selecting an option, continue to experiment until you find the right platform or platforms to make communication simple and less convoluted.
Photo by Stephen Phillips – Hostreviews.co.uk on Unsplash
Communication and collaboration are essential to the remote workplace, yet nearly all digital teams struggle with communication platforms.
The lack of adoption is typically underscored by the more inefficient means of communication, such as weekly or daily digital meetings with little to no agenda and the use of email for instant and not-so-urgent communication.
Regular communication can build trust between employees, streamline business processes, and develop more efficient operations. And with over 80% of employees requiring regular communication and collaboration, communication platforms aren’t really an option anymore. With so many pertinent benefits, adoption isn’t just a smart move; it’s a no-brainer.
Let’s use Slack!
Slack has become the default communication platform for digital teams, for good reason. It’s got a slick interface, has a nice free plan, and is used by lots and lots of teams around the world.
Slack can be a very lively platform, but also encourages an “always-on” culture unless you work against that. Thankfully it has features to let you signal that you have checked out for the day, but this definitely goes against the flow of this near-synchronous platform.
If you are happy with Slack, you can stop reading now. It’s a wonderful platform and we wish you well. But it’s not perfect for everyone. If you are in the market for communication platforms, we’ve got some other options for you.
How do I choose between communication platforms?
Choosing the right communication platform is a more daunting task than people realize due to the sheer number of free and paid options available. But inundating staff and yourself with tons of collaborative tools and communication platforms only serves to complicate the process. If there was one rule about choosing the right communication platform, it’s this: keep it lean and make it a solution, not a hassle.
In fact, two great communication platforms are Microsoft Teams and Google Workspace, and odds are, you are already using one of these.
But if these mainstream communication platforms just aren’t doing it for you, here are some ways to find a better match.
Understand how your team communicates
When your team is working on a project, think about what the communication is like:
- Is it interdepartmental?
- Do ideas and information usually stay within a single department?
- Do you use freelancers and contractors? Are they included as part of the team regularly?
- How often do you have one-on-one meetings?
- How often do you have team meetings?
By understanding the flow of information throughout your company, you can narrow your scope of which communication platform may work best. While communication platforms with all the extras may seem like a good value buy, bloated options only lead to more communication breakdown, especially with platforms that have features you will never use.
Build around company culture
A communication platform that embodies your company culture is crucial. When you have communication that builds your culture around rather than dismantles it, communication and employee engagement becomes more ingrained into your team every time they use the said platform.
Find a level of communication that fits your ideals. If you’re a face-to-face virtual meeting type of company, a sudden switch to instant messaging platforms may cause upheaval. Or if you have a communication tool that doesn’t respect boundaries or work-life balance, workers could grow to resent it.
As a result, you need to find a communication platform that builds upon the workflow and company culture you’ve already created. Don’t needlessly complicate. Integrate instead.
Experiment
Like almost any other type of software or idea you implement in a business, part of the equation has an unknown variable. Even with proper training, a particular communication platform may not be the right fit. Don’t force it into place like the wrong piece of a jigsaw puzzle.
Communication platforms aren’t necessarily as elusive as Cinderella’s slipper. But if it’s not working, it’s not working. Experimentation with a few platforms is important and necessary. With trial-and-error, you can find what works, what doesn’t, and what else you need to build better organizational communication.
6 non-Slack communication platforms to try
After understanding the importance of team communication, you can finally move onto research and experimentation. With any luck, one of these nine platforms should provide the perfect communication channel for your remote team.
In this list, we’ve excluded communication platforms like Whatsapp, Discord, Signal, and Telegram that don’t offer exclusive company-based accounts.
1. Flock
Flock is for those people who hate being mainstream and want to find a gem beyond the hype. Flock stacks up pretty well feature-for-feature to Slack, it’s usually cheaper, and has some more productivity tools built in. It will never have the popularity of Slack, but might be exactly what you need.
2. Twist
Twist is for people who think Slack promotes too much insanity. Twist doubles down on being an asynchronous communication platform that doesn’t pressure you into responding immediately. It’s lightweight, easy to organize, and keeps communication channels clear and straightforward. The key to the success of this platform is that each message is thread-based and categorized, meaning no one gets left behind, even if they can’t check their messages every five minutes.
3. Tandem
Tandem is an excellent choice for smaller remote teams that really miss the in-person experience. It gives an experience much closer to being in the office and prioritizes the power of synchronous communication. Teams can integrate over 120 different work apps across operating platforms while also sending messages for quick collaboration, spontaneous conversation, and meetings. A handy coworking feature can also allow teams to video chat in the same place, regardless of which platform they’re using at any particular moment.
4. Kissflow
Kissflow believes that most communication should be centered around work instead of trying to squeeze work into communication platforms. Kissflow’s core offering is work management tools like project and process management, and it promotes having contextual collaboration as close to the work as possible. But Kissflow also recognizes that communication might come in the form of announcements, posts, or chats, and has tools to do all three.
5. Workplace
If you love using Facebook, then you should check out Workplace – which is just Facebook for work teams. Everything you love (and hate) about Facebook is there from threaded conversations to a news feed, and quick messages.
6. Fuze
Fuze is a great option if you want a more enterprise experience than Slack can give you. It’s more of a unified communications platform and less of a start-up feel. This cloud-based enterprise software provides a method of integration for some of the most popular remote work platforms, as well as application programming interfaces. And it’s all customizable, providing a one-stop solution to communication needs.
Pick the platform that fits you best
After researching a few of these communication platforms, narrow down your shortlist. Start with whatever option checks the most boxes for your organization and then roll it out. Have a plan on how to educate and train your team. (Note that all of these platforms have training modules on their website for easier integration and instruction).
Then, give it time. Patience is a virtue, especially with respect to communication. In the digital workplace, it’s no different.
After a month or so, gather feedback from your employees. What do they love or hate about the platform? Because your team interacts on this platform regularly, their input is vital. Even after selecting an option, continue to experiment until you find the right platform or platforms to make communication simple and less convoluted.
Photo by Stephen Phillips – Hostreviews.co.uk on Unsplash
