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When it comes to communication technology, it’s certainly not enough to talk a good game.
You have to be able to deliver the message quickly and easily. Get the message?
Better question: Did your intended audience get it?
For businesses, strong communication is essential, and there are times when you need to do everything possible to make sure the message is received. So which channel would you use if you needed to reach the most people possible at one time?
Getting the Message Out
Consider this: Sometimes more is less in communication, and when a message needs to be delivered, overcommunicating is not a bad thing. When time is of the essence, using multiple communication channels means multiple opportunities to reach your intended audience.
For instance, if a derecho is approaching and your client needs to let employees in various places know that they should seek shelter immediately, how would they do it? Email? Text? Push notification? Being able to deliver messages quickly and easily in multiple channels is critical when a safety issue arises.
Of course, not all important messages revolve around safety; some are related to practical things, too, like “Don’t forget you have only one day left to make your benefits selections for next year.”
Or it could be related to fun activities, too.
You might need to simply get a group together. For example, a lookout has spotted Gladys who is about to enter the building, and it’s time to take positions to surprise her as part of her 25th anniversary celebration. Will a group email do the trick?
It definitely wouldn’t be a party without Tommy there who’s signed up to play the tunes, but Tommy is notorious for not checking emails expeditiously. Tommy is much more likely to respond to a text. Tara, on the other hand, who is in charge of bringing out the sweet treats, prefers in-app notifications. In a world where communication tools are omnipresent, not everyone has the same preferences.
Evolution of Communication
Let’s talk about communication. Long before share buttons, people started sharing messages thousands and thousands of years ago—and perhaps even longer than we previously thought.
The BBC recently reported about a stenciled outline of a hand that was found in Sulawesi, an Indonesian island. The painting is believed to be about 67,800 years old, which would be at least 1,000 years older than any previously known communication channel.
Cave paintings are not only the oldest known form of nonverbal storytelling but also a way of documenting events, whether it was keeping track of the animals that ancient humans hunted centuries ago or even early forms of graphic communication.
Regardless of what is the oldest message still in existence, communication continues to change as technology advances. And no doubt communication capability will continue to evolve in the age of digital technology and artificial intelligence.
But let’s face it: Communication can still be tricky despite all the outlets available to us.
The Future of Workforce Messaging is here.
Introducing PrismHR Communication Hub
As in our party example, the communication challenge is that sending a message doesn’t mean that the message will necessarily be received. The problem could be that a certain employee doesn’t check a communication channel often, that the worker is engrossed in a project or any other number of reasons.
While we’re envious of people who keep their email inboxes clean, many of us have hundreds if not thousands of emails that take up space on servers and get lost in an abyss of essentially digital storage dust. But something could be hiding in that ever-growing list of emails that requires immediate attention that shouldn’t be missed or ignored.
PrismHR’s new Communication Hub solution allows companies to get important messages out expediently via multiple channels when time is of the essence. Those are: email; Short Message Service (SMS; i.e. text); in-app; and push notifications on the PrismHR platform.
Traditional communication tools are fragmented. Service providers often rely on external platforms like MailChimp or ClickSend while manually exporting employee data and juggling multiple systems. This approach is inefficient, error-prone and indubitably disconnected.
By leveraging real-time employee data, the first of its kind Communication Hub allows service providers to create highly targeted campaigns based on:
- Location (worksite or residence)
- Employment status and type
- Hire date
- Department, division or shift
- Preferred language
The best part is that the messages can be sent to multiple channels at once and even preprogrammed with information for a quicker send. That way, minor last-minute adjustments could be made to tailor the message to the situation at hand, or it could be already ready to go when it’s time to get the message out.
The writing’s on the wall for fragmented communication. Get the message about what PrismHR Communication Hub brings to the table—or to you and your clients’ communication strategy to be more precise—in our white paper.
Message received.
James Tehrani is PrismHR’s content marketing manager. He is an award-winning writer and editor based in the Chicago area.
