There's no shortage of group chat apps for businesses. In today's digital age, organizations need group chat apps that maximise productivity wherever they go, whether they need to have video calls at the airport or need to send direct messages on the subway.

There are pros and cons of messaging apps for every organisation. While they all have their benefits, workplace chat can also damper productivity if it doesn't help important work get accomplished. Today we will review the do's and don’ts of using business chat apps.

Do: Use a Consistent Team Team Messaging App

While work chat apps are helpful, the last thing you want to do is develop a work messaging process that creates more work with more places to look for messages. You'll end up with team members frustrated that someone ignored their message without knowing where to look.

Aim to foster a process that has good ground rules. No one wants to continually check their Gmail, Slack, Skype, text messages and Facebook Messenger all day. No matter what your organisational leaders choose to use for a team chat app, make sure it's adopted organisation-wide to avoid any confusion and frustration.

When every member of the team has clear expectations and knows what application they are expected to use and are provided with proper training on how to use it effectively, there is less chance of conflict due to miscommunication.

Don't: Use a Team Chat App as a Social Network

Many people, especially entry-level, younger professionals, are used to using chat apps as part of a social network or personal chat room. A business chat app shouldn't be thought of like another version of Facebook or Google Hangouts.

Team members should know that sharing personal information, making weekend plans or asking personal questions are not the purpose of a business messaging app. Make limiting messaging apps to business conversations a part of your initial new employee onboarding and orientation.

No one wants to be flooded with direct messages that disrupt their work day. It's also a good idea to make sure team members are encouraged to turn their team chat app notifications off during certain times of the day and sign out when the work day is over.

Do: Determine What Features Best Serve Your Organisational Needs

What are the best features your teams need most out of your team chat app? If you have remote teams where everyone is spread out across different time zones, you'll likely need to have features like audio calls, screen sharing, the ability to share files and have group video conferences or video chat in real time.

Let's imagine that direct messages and group chat aren't the only things your company is seeking in a software program. There are many programs that go far beyond allowing teams to send direct messages and have group conversations.

For example, Samewave is social performance management software that brings a work chat app to the next level. Team members can create goals and targets within multiple projects, track progress towards reaching goals and foster accountability towards reaching them by assigning promises to tasks and goals in a transparent environment with Promise-Based Management.

With Samewave, employees can communicate via instant messaging and group conversations with our chat streams, create to-do lists, upload and share files and even generate automatic reports on our desktop versions and mobile apps.

Even better, Samewave is free. Download our app and start experiencing how our social performance management software can change your project management process for the better by increasing collaboration, productivity and accountability.

Don't: Pick an App That Doesn't Run on Various Operating Systems

If you pick a work chat app that only runs on a web browser, you're limiting the positive effect it can have on your entire organisation. Today's busy business professional is constantly on the go.

Your team members need a messaging app that works on their Windows PC, Mac and web browsers, as well as one that has a good user experience on an Android phone and an iOS device.

What does a good user experience mean? It means that the mobile app is designed to work on the operating system of that particular phone. Some apps are made to work on one operating system or another, or to function as a web version on the screen of the phone, resulting in a slower, poorer experience for the user. When you're making a choice for your team members, be sure to ask about the capacity and quality of their mobile apps.

Find the Best Team App Chat for Your Teams Today

Every company is different, but there are several things each organisation should always look for in a team messaging app. Be sure the team chat app you choose:

• Makes the entire team's lives easier. This means fewer notifications to check and less long email threads to click through. The information each team member needs should be easily accessible within a few clicks.
• Has a great user experience. There's not much more frustrating than opening your work messaging app and struggling to find the right person to message. Keep in mind that most of the people in your organisation probably aren't as tech-savvy as those in your information technology department. Make sure the decision of what team chat app to use is made with a variety of people in different roles throughout the organisation.
• Has the features you need. For example, if you work in a remote team that relies on video calling, don't pick an app that you hope will develop that feature in the future.

Finally, ensure that the software you use has great customer service and is always trying to provide the best new features and stay ahead of the competition. Technology and software changes every day and you want to make sure you use a program that will continually help you reach your goals faster and keeps up with what's new as technology developments arise.