Why Group Chats Are Bad For Business

Work culture is dragging us down, some argue, because it expects so much under the veneer of seeming flexible and understanding. Yes, it’s true that remote working means you can liaise with a team anywhere to a schedule you’re comfortable with, but you sacrifice an important thing: the freedom to switch off.

Chaotic group chats, over platforms like Whatsapp and Slack, can needle you incessantly throughout the day. By passing them over for a less stressful communication tool, you’ll claim back the perks of remote project management, and have better relations with your team and workload.

Dialogue in knots

Dealing with freelancers and clients is like laying a web of string on the floor, then standing back and trying to see where it links up. Even if you’re handling only one or two group chats, overseeing them is a challenge as you flit between conversations with barely a pause for breath.

It’s very easy to lose track of what’s been said by which party, nevermind making sure your client is on the same page. Especially when online feedback is due, everything needs to be as clear as possible; this can fall apart if you’re searching for comments and suggestions people made hours or days ago, logged in a long stream of chatter.

Notifications galore

Project managers have to be on-point with their work, but that shouldn’t mean they’re hounded at random, even by a pertinent suggestion at 11pm on a Sunday. There is time for diligence, and time for leisure; one should be exclusive of the other. Apps like Slack and Whatsapp leave your smartphone at risk of pinging constantly, setting you on edge when you should be enjoying yourself.

Clients should know that they can’t demand your expertise 24/7, and freelancers treat work more seriously when they have a set schedule to keep to. If your platform of choice is a group chat feature, the boundaries become hazy as to when you’re available and when you’re not. Subsequently, no-one’s quite sure when the other members are prepared for a cogent talk.

Free, online project management

What is the alternative, you ask? Let us extend a digital hand, and point you towards Skwish – it’s the smartest, most sensible project management tool for agencies and remote professionals.

Instead of assailing you with the jumbled, insistent characteristics of group chat, it collates your dialogue into project-specific user accounts. Assign the right tasks to your team, along with the relevant resources, and leave comments on the project briefing pages. Everyone, including the client, will see the criss-cross of shared impressions, laid out in an accessible format that’s stored for future reference.

Skwish also sends reminder emails to people who don’t look at critical info. Since it’s an entirely business-based platform, your contacts will understand when something needs their attention, never confusing a notification with something from their social calendar.

Typically, group chats are a nightmare of obtuse references, mistakes and uncertainty. Find out what Skwish can do for your communiques by casting your eyes over our main features, and assimilating them into your business, free of charge.