Chat Apps for Work, Are They Really Worth It?
The year 2020 saw a dramatic increase in remote work and therefore an increase in the need for reliable, web-based chat apps to keep teams communicating outside of the office. Chat, collaboration, and teamwork tools have become a necessity in today’s workplace.
Whether your team is working in an office, fully remote, or a hybrid, you still need an efficient way to communicate. Your collaboration app needs to do more than just send messages and provide integrations. If you’re paying a premium for your app at work, it needs to work for you and be worth the money.
Slack and Microsoft Teams are popular choices to facilitate communication in the workplace. Making it easier to chat online with your co-workers, supervisors, and sending cross-departement messages. But they fall short, they are missing a crucial feature that every company needs. Collaboration apps need to facilitate feedback.
If you’re interested to know how you can get the best chat app for work, read our breakdown to learn more.
What is a Chat App for Work?
Chat apps for work are web-based software tools built to send text messages, images, files, video, and documents. Some of them can even integrate with other web-based apps and platforms to create links between the multiple tools that are regularly used in today’s workplace.
Chat apps, collaboration software, online messaging tools, no matter the title they go by, they all come at a cost. Many of the popular choices such as Slack or Microsoft Teams require a fee per user or are included in a suite of tools paid for on a monthly or yearly basis.
Even the most widely used chat apps are missing one of the most crucial features needed by every team and every company employee. They are missing the ability to facilitate timely and useful feedback.
What is the Best Chat App for Work?
The popular collaboration tools and chat apps have been mentioned. But which one is the best one to use for work?
Web-based chat tools need to exist on the same devices where people already communicate–this tends to be smartphones. The best chat apps for work will be available on the major app stores and free to use. Accessibility cannot be a barrier to communication in the workplace. So if your web-based collaboration tool doesn’t have a smartphone app, it’s time to try another.
The best chat app to use for work is the one that increases employee performance and regular feedback. Backfeed.com neuroscience research determined that 69% of employees say they would work harder if they were recognized better. But most web-based chat apps don’t promote the idea of recognizing the accomplishments of teams. The best chat apps can increase team performance beyond a funny gif.
Things You Need From Workplace Chat Apps
You need an app that can do more than send instant messages and integrate with your workflow. Your chat app in the workplace should notify you at the right time to send helpful feedback to your team.
24% of workers would consider leaving if their managers do not give feedback, according to backfeed.com neuroscience research. You need to send more than questions with your messages, you need an app that can help you send beneficial feedback to teammates and employees.
Research shows that when feedback is proactively requested, a person is more open to receive the feedback that will help them learn, grow and develop. You need a chat app that facilitates regular feedback in an appropriate manner.
Chat apps should be used on a regular on-going basis to increase an open dialogue between people and departments. Encouraging open communication has been proven to help team collaboration at work. You need a chat app that helps you select the best people to communicate with in your teams, it may not be who you expect.
Your workplace chat app needs to help you give feedback, not just messages. It needs to be built with the intention of helping you grow and develop in your career.
The Bottom Line: You Need an App That Works with Your Future in Mind
You need a collaboration tool to help you and your team get the best work done. Whether you work in an office or remote, you need your collaboration software to help grow an amazing team to do great work.
The heart of BackFeed+ is social and based on the neuroscience research about how our brains respond to feedback. Try the Backfeed+ app with your team today, and experience how easy it is to build a tribe and foster a culture of communication. Go beyond the typical collaboration apps, and start with the Backfeed+ app to make your messages mean something more.