When it comes to keeping in touch with work colleagues, Zoom meetings seem to be the norm, though once the meeting is done, most people don’t stick around for the water cooler chats that used to prevail in a world pre-Covid-19.
With fewer impromptu breaks offered in remote workspaces and fewer ways to have off-time interactions with peers, it can often feel a bit like a solitary sentence to workers who crave more interactions. Which is where workplace messaging apps come in handy – they bridge the gap between scheduled company meetings and brainstorming sessions by allowing colleagues to foster a sense of camaraderie, while still remaining productive.
If you’re ready to find a messaging app for your business, then here are two top ones to consider which offer pricing solutions for all budgets since they range from free to paid packages.
Spike
The name may conjure up an image of a chainmail wearing knight or a dragon, but Spike is a comprehensive productivity platform which includes a host of work tools that businesses can benefit from including a top-notch chat app. Its chat app is integrated into an email service which can easily be used for both in-house communication between peers, as well as being an external communication medium for clients.
The group function of Spike helps your team to segment into splinter cells to help them stay on track during projects and to form niche teams within your organisation. These groups can share images, GIFs, videos, voice messages and even calling options which can help boost moral as well as ensure sharing documents is easy.
The host of tools that Spike includes is a set of online notes with real-time editing available, and the ability to allow non-Spike users like freelance contractors the ability to edit inside of a web browser. Synchronising calendars is easy within the chat app and the voice calls are often noted as one of the top ways users say they feel more connected to their colleagues.
On all fronts, Spike is a great option with built-in security and with pricing packages that range from free to more formal business account options, it’s certain to suit all budgets so you have money left over to enjoy the tragamonedas Peru has to offer.
Slack
Possibly the most well-known business messaging app around, Slack is one of the first responsive solutions as a chat app, and to date it remains one of the most popular messaging apps around. It’s well suited to teams looking to do instant messaging and sharing information and voice calls, and its ability to integrate into existing other apps like Google Drive ensures that videos and documents can be sent too. In fact, its third-party integrations is a way in which this app stays relevant, since it can send alerts to users each time a sale is completed, or a system malfunction is detected making it also an early warning system.
However, with all it’s great features, its main drawback is that it is only a chat app right now. It can’t integrate other business features into its packages just yet – and current customers and users are concerned now that the app has been bought out by a larger company called Salesforce. Salesforce may just turn the popular free app into a paid-only option which puts it out of user’s budgets.