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| Home » Info on Instant Messaging » Instant Messaging Business |
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Instant Messaging Business |
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As instant messaging business is there for keeps, and as instant message seems to have overtaken and replaced the telephone and e-mail chat, companies need to put do's and dont's in place. For you, we recommend the following do's and don'ts.
DO: Adopt a user policy for instant messaging so that your employees know whether you view instant messaging as appropriate vehicle to communicate with business partners and customers. The policy should contain general guidelines for its use.
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- DON'T: Use instant messaging business to communicate sensitive or confidential information. Or your company could find itself in hot water. If your company is in the business of providing professional advice regarding, chances are it's not smart to do so through instant messaging. IM is better suited to quick information about project status, meeting times not stocks, finances, medicine or law.
- DO: Organize contact lists to separate business contacts from friends and family. Keep business contacts separate from family and friends. Make sure your employees do the same.
- DON'T: permit too much personal messaging at work. Allow but minimize phone calls at work and personal e-mails. For instant messaging business, clamp down even further.
- DO: Be aware that instant messages can be saved. IM services permit you to archive entire messages. Bottom line: Be careful what you say, just like you would in an e-mail.
- DON'T: Compromise your company's liability, or your own reputation in instant messaging business. They could damage your credibility and reputation or worse still land you in court.
- DO: Be aware of security risks and virus infections. Attachments carrying viruses in instant messages are more effective penetrating firewalls than e-mail attachments.
- DON'T: Share personal data or information through instant messaging. It is advised to send such info through an encrypted e-mail, or not at all.
- DO: Keep your instant messages simple, and to the point, and know when to say goodbye.
- DON'T: With a misleading user name or status, contacts get confused. Instant messaging Ids should be uniform throughout your company. And users should have the courtesy of updating their status throughout the day, so contacts know whether they are available for messages or offline.
While some amount of personal messaging in instant messaging business is a must for the healthy congenial atmosphere in the organization, too much excessive personal messaging reduces office productivity resulting from distracted employees, time loss, less work quantum and shoddy work quality. Also worth noting it that while personal messaging is a good place to vent some steam about the organization, thoughtless indiscretion may spoil relations between colleagues, bosses and subordinates. Also just as any organization has e mail archives, there should be an archival and review policy for instant messages too.
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