Mass Texting Service for Business
Would it surprise you to learn that workers in an office setting spend 28% of their time reading and responding to emails? It’s the truth, according to McKinsey research. That’s a lot of time spent in their inboxes—time that could most likely be spent on other tasks, if we’re being honest. For the desk-based workforce, this has just become the norm; the same study also found that 84% of these employees keep their email open in the background.
Now, think about a deskless workforce, such as a manufacturing facility, warehouse, or construction site. As a communication method, email simply isn’t realistic. These workers don’t sit in front of a computer, and may not even check their company email once a week—let alone have one. Email is a hassle, so how can you keep them engaged and informed without distracting them while they’re working? It turns out the solution is likely simpler than you would expect: text messaging.
By using mass text messaging to communicate with non-desk employees, companies can keep their workforce engaged and informed without needing to spend their day in front of a screen. It’s an easy, accessible way to send individualized or group messages, and it doesn’t require employees to download any apps to their personal devices.
Modern employee texting platforms like Yourco enable more than just efficient, two-way communication. They provide features like scheduling texts to employees in advance, group messaging, integrations with other business technologies, and more.
In this article, we’re going to cover everything you need to know about mass texting for non-desk employees, including:
- The unique challenges of communicating with non-desk employees.
- Some example use cases for sending mass text messages to employees.
- Advantages of using a two-way mass texting service.
- How to find the best text messaging service for your business.
What Are the Challenges of Communicating with Non-Desk Employees?
As we’ve noted, the main challenge of communicating with non-desk employees is accessibility. These workers aren’t spending their day in front of a computer, and they’re certainly not checking their company email with any frequency, if at all. Additionally, communication is often complicated by the need to reach employees across different shifts and address language barriers.
Unlike an office setting, where platforms like Slack enable instant messaging, group messages, and file sharing, these methods don’t solve the challenges of communicating with non-desk employees. Such platforms require employees to either download the app to their personal devices or have regular access to a computer or email, which is not feasible for many non-desk workers.
Instead, employers can use text messaging to keep employees in the loop. Texting doesn’t require workers to access a computer or internet, or download any applications. It’s a simple, familiar, and effective way to communicate, and it can be used for a wide variety of purposes. We’ll discuss a few examples next.
How Can a Mass Text Messaging App Be Used with Non-Desk Employees?
Mass text messaging can be used across a number of different industries, but is especially useful within fields like manufacturing, construction, transportation and warehousing, and more. For keeping non-desk employees in-the-know, there are countless ways to use business text messaging. Examples include:
- Sharing company announcements to keep employees informed and up-to-date. Whether they’re sent to one employee or the entire company, these announcements can serve several purposes. For example, you could send a mass text to announce new client signings, upcoming company events, and organizational milestones. If it’s important information, you want to ensure that it is received and read—texting is a great way to include everyone.
- Sending employee alerts to deliver important information in a timely manner. These could be specific job and/or job status updates; safety alerts related to traffic, weather, or other factors—or reminders about internal matters (like benefits enrollment).
- Enabling employees to use text messaging for time off requests, making the process quick and easy.
- Using employee surveys to better understand employees’ job satisfaction, level of engagement, growth opportunities, and more. Many employees will feel more comfortable giving honest feedback if they’re not put on the spot in an in-person group setting.
- Streamlining employee onboarding processes by delivering hiring documentation, reminders, training documents, and more.
- Making employee referrals as easy as sending a referral link via text, so you can develop a high-quality workforce while reducing costs such as recruitment.
What Are the Advantages of Using a Mass Texting Service Instead of Email?
Sending texts instead of emails provides a number of advantages for employers as well as their employees, including:
- Simplicity and accessibility.
- Improved employee engagement.
- Affordability, efficiency, and versatility.
Let’s dive into a little more detail about each of these, so you can see what we mean.
Texting Is Simple and Accessible.
One of the biggest advantages of using a mass texting service for business communication is that there is virtually no learning curve. Believe it or not, 97% of adults text—and texts are opened/read an incredible 98% of the time! And 75% of Millennials and Gen-Z—that’s basically three-fourths of everyone born since the 1980s—prefers texting over phone calls. In other words, texting is a highly-accessible form of communication, since most American adults already have a phone with texting, and are plenty willing to use it.
Texting Is Good for Employee Engagement.
Whether their employees are office-based, deskless, or a combination of the two, modern businesses understand the vital importance of employee engagement. Gallup defines employee engagement as “the involvement and enthusiasm of employees in both their work and workplace.” When employees are engaged, morale improves. And engaged employees take pride in their work, collaborate well with others, and deliver improved results.
When most people think of “employee engagement,” images come to mind of corporate, office-based employees celebrating milestones, bonding with each other, developing employees, and so on. Deskless workers can be more difficult to engage on the same level, since they spend their time out in the field, at a jobsite, or on the production line. In these settings, bringing employees together in a physical space just isn’t possible. Using texting as a business communication tool helps to specifically engage these employees by:
- Keeping them informed with job details, shift changes, or other updates.
- Helping them to feel connected to the organization and its culture.
- Ensuring their safety and well-being with timely alerts.
- Making it easy for them to communicate with each other (as well as management).
- Celebrating small successes and showing appreciation for their work.
Texting Is Affordable, Efficient, and More Versatile than You Think.
More and more companies are realizing the cost savings of adopting a two-way texting platform like Yourco.
Because it is such a simple and familiar technology, mass texting is a timesaving way to communicate. Employees don’t have to take the time to download, install, and learn to use a new application on their phones. This not only saves time, it also increases their willingness to read and respond to important messages. For employers, using a platform like Yourco makes mass texting as easy as instant messaging or email, if not more so.
As we’ve discussed, the wide-ranging uses for employer-employee text messaging make it a highly-effective and budget-friendly way to communicate. Once a company’s contacts and contact groups are loaded into Yourco’s platform, sending individual or mass texts couldn’t be much easier.
It’s the versatility of a platform like Yourco that makes it such an effective business tool. When it comes to finding the best mass texting service for your business and all of its employees—desk-based, deskless, or otherwise—the clear choice is Yourco. For example, in addition to basic, two-way communication, our platform also features:
- Integrations with HR systems, payroll software, and other tools you already use.
- Customizable manager and employee permissions.
- The ability to hide confidential or sensitive content.
- Schedule sending, including automated texts.
- Unlimited messaging and message storage.
- The option to include attachments.
- Message search functionality.
- Group segmentation.
You can learn more about what makes Yourco the best mass texting service for your business by reviewing our in-depth Buying Guide, or click the button on our homepage to watch a demo.
Are There Any Disadvantages to Texting Employees?
Even though most if not all employees likely own a cell phone and text on a regular basis, that doesn’t mean it can be automatically “turned on” as a communication tool. Company leaders will need to set specific expectations—for managers as well as employees—to govern how texting will (and won’t) be used.
To ensure a smooth implementation, here are a few recommendations:
- Don’t assume all employees will immediately be on board. While we wouldn’t anticipate too much pushback from employees, some might feel anxious about the possibility of getting work texts while they’re out on the job or using their personal devices. Some worksites and companies prohibit phones on the jobsite, in which case the expectation should be that employees will see work messages during their downtime—not immediately.
- Establish clear expectations and guidelines. Texting is great because of its accessibility. That, too, can be its disadvantage if you’re not careful. Before firing off a message, especially to a whole group, make sure it serves a clear purpose. Otherwise, when employees receive work-related messages they might start to think of them as spam. When in doubt, stick to things like company announcements and alerts. And only text during off-hours if it’s absolutely necessary.
- Don’t overdo it. You know what they say about “too much of a good thing”? It applies here. When it’s used selectively, texting can be extremely effective in communicating vital information and increasing employee engagement. When it’s over-used, though, employees may start pushing back against what can feel like micromanagement or an unwelcome intrusion into their personal space. In extreme cases, some workers might interpret too many texts as harassing or even hostile.
How Much Does a Mass Texting Service Cost?
Before adopting a mass texting service or platform for communicating with non-desk employees, any business owner wants to know the potential cost. While it’s difficult to pin down these exact costs, mass texting platforms typically offer a monthly pricing plan based on a set number of messages each month.
According to The Balance, you can expect rates in the ballpark of “around $25 for 500 messages to between about $39 to $79 for 2,000 messages,” or “pay-as-you-go pricing with fees starting at $0.04 per text.” When evaluating potential communication solutions, it’s important to consider the types of features you need so you can find the right application for the right price. But with Yourco pricing, our subscription is not based on the volume of messages but on the number of employees subscribed. You can check out our free version for unlimited messages now.
Adopting a two-way communication platform like Yourco provides exceptional value by offering:
- A simple, user-friendly application that requires no training and straightforward setup.
- A communication channel that’s accessible to a majority of, if not all, non-desk employees—even those with flip phones!
- An effective, budget-friendly solution for simple communication with an exceptionally high open/read rate (98%).
Is There a Free App to Send Mass Text Messages?
While there isn’t a free mass texting service, texting is still a highly affordable option for companies that need to keep their non-desk workers connected. By using a two-way communication platform like Yourco, you benefit from predictable, consistent pricing and a host of features that go beyond mere texting (like we’ve previously listed).
Does Google Have a Mass Texting Service?
While Google offers its Messages app as an option for instant messaging, they do not currently have a mass texting service for businesses. Google’s services are a popular choice for general instant messaging, it does not count as a mass texting platform. As such, its primary disadvantage for communicating with non-desk employees is that it requires either a laptop or mobile device with the application installed.
How Do Companies Send Mass Text Messages to Non-Desk Employees?
Companies can use a platform like Yourco to send and receive text messages to one employee, a specific team or department, or the entire company. The best part? You don’t need to be particularly tech-savvy to use even its most impressive features. Seeing how the platform works would be much more convincing than reading more about it, so we encourage you to watch the quick (less than 5-minute) demo on our homepage.
How Do I Set Up a Mass Text for My Business?
In simple terms, there are only a few steps involved:
- You’ll need to select the best mass texting platform for your needs and budget. To get started, you can review what's included with Yourco.
- If you decide to become a Yourco client, you’ll receive a unique 10-digit phone number and custom online dashboard for managing your account details, user preferences, contacts, and more.
- From within the dashboard, company leaders can easily create messaging groups, send individual or group messages, and view their unread messages. This all happens within a simple interface that functions more like an instant messaging app, making it incredibly easy for a manager or other leader to send a mass text from their computer.
Non-Desk Employee Communication, Simplified
If you’re looking for the easiest and best way to send mass text messages, Yourco could be exactly what you need. Contact us to set up a demo, or try it out for free today!
