The advent of SMS in the field of communications has bridged people separated by distance. It has made the concept of keeping in touch easier and faster. With the prominence of SMS, communication through the mobile medium has proven to be the most convenient way of staying connected to the most important people around us. Many of us use instant messaging for the mundane, like the simple hi’s and hello’s to our friends, to checking in on how our family is doing. We have also used this for the important things, like informing your supervisor that you would not be able to come in due to some illness, or sending your regards to someone whom you cannot be physically be with. Instant messaging has become the medium of preference for all kinds of people in all kinds of industry. It has proliferated society and almost everyone is carrying their own device capable of reaching out to any and receiving messages from anyone they allow to.
Because of the presence of this convenient and prolific medium of communication, it is without question that instant messaging can be used for corporate and organizational purposes. It is safe to assume that all employees are capable of receiving instant messages through their phones. An organization can set up its own line for SMS alerts which they can use for important announcements, also known as SMS alerts.
Setting up an organization’s official line of communication for SMS alerts is easy. All the employees just need to download and use the same instant messaging application, like Viber or Line. They just need to create their own accounts and coordinate with the team responsible for the instant messaging system to create a group with all the employees. Once this has been created, messages can be sent and received by everyone in the group. It is highly likely that social groups of employees have already set up their own groups on instant messaging apps, but an official line should be established for official messaging purposes.
There are a lot of advantages to having an official group through SMS alerts.
Quick communication and engagement
A message sent through instant messaging can be delivered, sent, and read instantly. As soon as a message is sent by the handling team and read by its recipient, people can reply in the same thread and the team can immediately receive feedback from the rest of the group. Also, compared to individual messages, all the replies are consolidated in one thread of conversation. This can save the time for consolidating reactions to official messages. It is also a quicker alternative to conducting phone calls towards a huge number of team members.
Connectivity anywhere
SMS alerts allow organizational communication to happen anywhere the team members may be. As long as people are connected to the internet, they are able to send and receive messages wherever they are. This proves to be helpful when announcements beyond office hours need to be made, such as cancellation of work or urgent directives. Sudden leaves of absence can also be forwarded to supervisors through instant messaging, and feedback from supervisors can be expected almost immediately. The limitations of office hours can be overcome with this line.
Template messaging
When messages tend be composed and sent consistently, templates can be constructed so that messages of the same nature could be sent composed faster and quicker. Templates for emergency situations can also be composed ahead of time. This will save a lot of time should a crisis occur, knowing that every second counts in times of emergency.
Instant messaging alerts is a powerful tool that can be used by organizations, and its potential can be maximized as long as it keeps to its official functions.