How Do You Text an Employee?

Whether we’re talking about business, sports, relationships, or virtually any interpersonal activity, communication is key. More specifically, effective communication in the workplace—whether the workplace is a brick-and-mortar office or a remote worksite—is key. 

Any business with multiple employees benefits from a shared communication platform, which explains the modern explosion of countless applications promising to keep your workforce connected and informed. On one hand, this is great, because leaders can shop around for the perfect communication tool for their unique needs. On the other hand, though, it can be absolutely overwhelming to compare your options, even when looking at their specific features in a side-by-side list.

At the end of the day, though, when it comes to internal text communication, there is strength in simplicity—especially for workers or teams that aren’t sitting in front of a computer all day. For workers that aren’t desk-based, the amount of time and effort it can take to adopt and use these tools ultimately makes them not worth the investment. Text or SMS messaging are much more accessible options, as 83% of Americans own cell phones and nearly three-quarters (73%) are able to send and receive text messages.

Providing a simple and accessible internal communication tool for non desk-based workers and teams was the guiding principle behind the development of Yourco’s employee texting platform. In this blog, we’re going to focus on how simpler can be better, and how to get employee texting right.

Communicating Effectively with Texting in the Workplace

Earlier we said communication was key—here, we’ll go a step further and say effective communication is key. There’s a frequently-cited rule in business that says only 7% of communication is done verbally, with non-verbal elements like body language and tone of voice accounting for the rest. While body language doesn’t apply to text messaging, tone certainly does. Unfortunately, when we communicate digitally, getting the right tone can be difficult.

With that in mind, then, it’s important to keep in mind that texting is texting. It’s not email, so you shouldn’t be typing a series of paragraphs. Instead, the best thing you can do is keep your messages simple by making them clear and concise. Generally, the more you type, the more opportunities there are for recipients to misunderstand either the content or tone of your message. This means it is important to keep messages short and sweet, ideally with a casual, conversational tone (while also maintaining professionalism, of course).

How Can Text Messages Be Used to Communicate with Employees?

Depending on the nature of your business and work environment, there are a number of effective ways to use text messaging to keep employees connected and engaged, including:

• Providing quick updates and responses. Texting offers an easy and accessible way to communicate routine updates, respond to urgent situations, and everything in between. When you can send a mass text message to employees instead of trying to touch base with each individual worker, it helps ensure that everyone is on the same page, receiving the same information.
• Tracking project statuses. Especially when projects take employees out onto worksites, texting provides a convenient way to keep team members updated with project status updates including when key tasks are completed or when specific challenges arise.
• Keeping schedules organized. In some workplaces, it makes sense to communicate when individual employees or teams are scheduled to work.

With Yourco’s unique platform, using text messages to communicate with employees and keep them connected has never been easier. With Yourco, it’s easy for managers and employees to stay connected via:

• Company Announcements: Send important updates to employees—and make sure they are received.
• Employee Alerts: Provide timely notifications to your workforce, immediately and without needing to hold a meeting.
• Texting Off Work: Make it easy for employees to call off work, when needed, by sending a quick text message—and then automatically notify to the right people or department.
• Employee Surveys: Engage your employees with quick surveys to better understand their opinions on company culture, what they enjoy about their work, and where there’s room for improvement.
• Onboarding Information & Updates: Onboard new employees and track their progress so they can hit the ground running.
• Employee Referrals: Simplify the employee referral process and grow your workforce by providing your workers with a link they can use to recommend the company to their friends and colleagues.

You can learn much more about each of these features by clicking the links above or visiting this hub. There, you can read about specific features and use-cases, as well as watch demos of each feature in action.

Yourco: A Better Employee Texting Platform

At Yourco, we’ve developed a simple and straightforward platform that makes internal, text-based communication a breeze.

What makes Yourco different from your average employee messaging system or platform? Simply put, we’ve developed the first product built specifically for two-way communication between managers and non-desk employees.

Our tool empowers HR and managers with a way to communicate that provides a simple and easy-to-learn user experience—because we chose to focus solely on effective, text-based communication without all the bells and whistles you don’t need (and shouldn’t have to pay for).

Not only that, but it’s much more accessible than many other communication platforms, since it doesn’t require users to download a special app or rely on WiFi in order to simply communicate. Whether you need to touch base with a desk employee within the office or a worker out in the field or jobsite, Yourco makes it as simple as hitting “Send.”

Ready to learn more, or see Yourco in action? Try for free or schedule a demo today!