

Group chats combine all of a group’s discussions into only a few threads. They have an Achilles’ heel they can cause confusion because they encourage a more informal and less structured form of communication. Because you’re only using it for internal communication, you don’t need to worry about Angela from accounting’s message being buried under newsletters.īut chat apps haven’t quite won this round just yet. If that doesn’t sound fun (it doesn’t to me), then maybe a chat app is for you.
BEST IN OFFICE CHAT UPDATE
Until you need to update the filter, that is. Out of necessity, email clients have built complex filtering features, so, if you have a spare couple weeks, you can optimise your inbox and never miss another colleague’s email. Within moments of it hitting your email inbox, it was buried by sales pitches, client requests, and spam. No! In fact, your colleague’s email never had a chance. You might have felt guilty about it, but I’m here to tell you that it isn’t your fault. If you’ve ever used email for internal communication, you’ve probably forgotten to respond to a colleague at least once. Onwards to round 2… Round 2: Never lose track Let’s take a look at the first round scorecard:Īfter the first round, it seems chat apps just about have the upper hand, but their distracting nature means the lead over email is very slim.
BEST IN OFFICE CHAT FULL
You can now dedicate your full attention to the new message and give a thought-through response. It might mean discussions take a little longer to resolve, but it gives you an opportunity to finish off a task before switching to the new message. If you respond late to an email, it is usually assumed that you are not at your desk or you are simply not available. No one expects you to stay glued to your email accounts to receive emails or respond to emails. On the other hand, email users have a much more forgiving window to respond within. It means discussions happen at a faster pace, and you get to decisions quicker.Īnd in today’s fast-paced business environment, being agile and quick to make decisions can be the difference between winning and losing. You are expected to respond to messages as soon as you get them. In some ways, it’s a little bit like how chat and email differ.Ĭhat apps are instant and messaging on the fly. Then there are those that mash the buttons, hoping that the speed will win them the game.

There are those that focus on pressing the right button at the right time to pull off awesome combos. If you’ve ever played Street Fighter, you’ll know that there are two schools of player.

In contrast, the last time there was a change in the email protocol standard was in 2012. What chat apps lack in maturity, they make up for in agility, taking advantage of modern technology.

The biggest player, Slack, was launched in 2013, whereas email has been around in a recognisable form since the mid 1970s. That might make it seem like an uneven match-up, but chat apps have youth on their side. A survey by ReportLinker found that half of US workers use email as their primary tool internally. To offset these differences, this match will pit email against chat apps as an entire category, not just one product.įirst, let’s run over the pre-match stats of these two heavyweights.Įmail is clearly the more powerful of the two, with an estimated 2.7 billion users worldwide.Įven just for internal communications, email is still by far and away the most important tool for businesses. The business chat category is pretty crowded, with a number of different apps that offer diverse feature sets.
