E-mails continue to play an essential role in the communication between employees, especially in giant corporations. However, in recent years communication apps that enable us to send quick, quirky messages to our coworkers have become more and more popular. In 2020, when the pandemic hit and the home office became our permanent workplace, platforms like Zoom and Teams made it possible for us to continue working together, even remotely.
Now, almost two years later, the market is full of communication apps, and it’s getting challenging to find just the right one for your business. In this article, we will take an in-depth look at some of the less popular apps on the market in an effort to help you find one that fits your company’s needs. Let’s get started.
Five Underutilized Communication Apps You Want to Consider Using
Narrowing the list down to just five communication apps is hard, but it’s the only way to limit the number of choices. Otherwise, it’s tough to make valid comparisons. We look for ease of use, functions, and adaptability to different teams when choosing a communication app. Let’s see which ones make the cut.
Connecteam
Connecteam is an all-in-one management platform that’s great for all businesses who want to continue operating in the home/virtual office environment. The platform has a chat function similar to WhatsApp, allowing your employees to communicate quickly and securely with each other. Along with that, thanks to the work contact directory, employees can also make phone comes, send e-mails or start a private conversation with a colleague, all from the same place. The platform also has every feature you’ve come to expect from a communication app – you can send gifs, videos, locations, files, and more; however, unlike standard platforms, this one has an extra layer of security to protect your business’s information.
Connecteam also allows users to conduct surveys, send reminders, and run live polls, making it terrific for smaller businesses that need the input of every single team member in order to make key decisions.
Pricing begins at $39 per month, and that’s for up to 50 users; if you need extra seats, then additional payment is required. In order to make sure you will enjoy the platform, there’s a 14 day free trial period where you can test out all its functionalities.
Troop Messenger
Troop Messenger is yet another terrific messaging platform that will help you bring your team together. It has a user-friendly interface and offers all the features you would need in a communication app. It has one-on-one chats, voice and video calls, screen sharing, audio messaging, group conversations, and so on. Along with that, employees will be able to send files, mark messages as “favorites,” and filter content.
In addition to all of that, Troop is known for its impressive security features and large storage size, making it a great choice for both smaller businesses and middle-sized enterprises.
The only downside to Troop is that it can get a little pricey. Currently, it costs $5 per month per user, and there’s no free trial option, so you can’t really test before deciding to go for it.
Ryver
Ryver can be defined as quite an ambitious project. It aims to be a two-in-one communication app by having both team communication and a project management function. Its interface is similar to that of Slack. Conversations are organized in three parts: forums, teams, and people, which mirrors the model we already know of channels, groups, and direct messages.
That being said, Ryver has some further subdivisions, including topics, tasks, and chat. Topics are similar to the threads we know from Slack and help organize particular discussions. Tasks is a bit of a different feature as it offers a kanban-style board that allows you to start, manage and complete tasks related to a particular project the team is working on. You also have other standard project management features such as checklists, tags, and the ability to assign tasks to specific team members.
Ryver is a lot cheaper than the other platforms we talked about so far, and it’s a tool with many features, which is why it may be a perfect choice for a smaller company that doesn’t want to spend too much money on apps.
Google Chat
You may know this app under the name “Hangouts Chat” when it was just another messaging app you could use to talk with your friends. However, Google Chat tells a whole different story.
When using Google Chat for your company, you can create rooms (basically channels) that are organized around particular topics. In these rooms, you can also make discussion threads that all members can respond to. Of course, there’s an option to send personal messages directly to individuals or in other smaller groups.
Much like Microsoft Teams, the actual pull of Google Chat is the integration it offers with all other Google apps. Sharing files from Docs, Sheets, and Drive is easy, and the technology that’s used in Google search allows you to find discussions in Google Chat quickly.
The communication app can also be integrated with various third-party bots and apps, which can do different things, from scheduling meetings to pulling data from Salesforce. All in all, if you already use Google Workspace, then you should also choose Google Chat as your communications platform – it will just make life easier.
Discord
This communications app has been gathering a lot of attention recently, as it’s a very well-known chat app for gamers. Even though it’s not the most typical communications app (it’s not advertised as such), it can still be a terrific option for small businesses that want to have a way to communicate efficiently without having to spend money on it. It can be used to organize groups per project or per area of the business, and it’s 100% free. It also works on all popular platforms, from Windows and Mac to Android and iOS.
The Best Communication App…
As corny as it may sound, the best employee communication app is the one that ultimately suits your business’s needs while fitting in with your budget. If you want to take a deeper dive into what we consider to be the very top communication apps, check out Camberlion’s blog and social media for more news, articles, and fun tips.