IM’s time to shine?

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Overview

For too long Instant Messaging (IM) has been relegated to the ‘lunchtime chatter’ league by industry leaders who felt it was too informal and too unproductive to be of any use in the office. For years this streamlined form of communication has been undervalued and in hindsight completely misunderstood.

Common misconceptions include the belief that conversations on IM cannot be retrieved at a later date and that it is not a secure channel. Unfortunately, these assumptions mean HR departments may be failing to see how it can improve productivity. In fact, a recent survey Symantec carried out with YouGov showed that only a quarter of the workers polled were allowed to take advantage of the benefits of IM in their workplace.

Although these businesses are in a minority at the moment, there is an increasing movement towards IM. Key to this development is the attitude of a new generation of young people who, having been raised on IM through school and their personal lives, are simply bringing that usage into the office. These so-called ‘Gen Y’ users have no negative perceptions of IM and already use it in many different contexts.

In addition, advances in communication technology, specifically in bandwidth speed and the wide acceptance of social media channels, have had the effect of speeding up our interactions and our expectations of response times. We live in a world that feels more immediate than ever before, and IM seems like it could be the most appropriate communication tool moving forward.

In the same survey, of the workers who actually use IM, three-quarters cite this speed and immediacy as key benefits. In addition, almost half the respondents said that they believe IM is better for relationship building than e-mail communication as it enables more personal and lively exchanges.

So, if IM is really this good, why is it not common practice? The fact is, with the proper guidelines in place, there is no reason why HR departments can’t be a major driving force behind encouraging uptake in the workplace. In the same way that new starters are issued with orientation packs outlining company policy and guidelines on the proper use of e-mail and other forms of communication, perhaps it’s time to include IM in there too?

Here are some Do’s and Don’ts for instant messaging at work:

• DO - adopt a user policy for instant messaging: provide general guidelines to employees on IM use in the workplace.
• DO - actively educate employees on the benefits and risks of IM: this will help them determine which communications channel to use at which time for which content.
• DO - make employees aware that instant messages and conversations can be saved: corporate IM services allow the archiving of entire messages that can be retrieved later for reference.
• DO - be aware of malware infections and related security risks: most IM services allow you to transfer files with your messages so make sure you provide the appropriate firewall protection, to safeguard from viruses and infections and that you can keep track of what’s being transferred.
• DO - encourage workers to organise their contact lists to separate business contacts from family and friends: reduces the chances of inadvertently sending company data to the wrong ‘Peter’ or ‘Mary’.
• DON’T - fail to control IM use: IM is more immediate and more versatile than other forms of business communications but should be carefully managed to avoid any HR disasters.
• DON'T - allow excessive personal messaging at work: this gives IM a bad name. Using a corporate IM system with monitoring reminders will help keep workers mindful and more productive.
• DON'T - forget to remind employees that IM in the workplace should be regarded in the same way as any other form of corporate communication: as with e-mail, employees should be careful in what they say. Statements made in IM about other people, their company, or other companies could damage reputations and credibility.
• DO - encourage employees not to be complacent about security: in the same way as e-mail, if not managed correctly, IM messages can carry malicious links or expose sensitive information. With a corporate IM service, messages are scanned so that suspicious e-mails, or those that violate your policy, are automatically blocked.
• DON’T - put policies in place and walk away: set-up, monitor and enforce company rules for IM; this will help employees feel more secure in using it as they do e-mail.