Your employees have a lot on their plates, which can make communication with them difficult. As an HR department, you need to get them important information and documents that won’t be missed or ignored. It’s crucial to have software solutions for your business to help improve employee communications by automating the busywork, streamlining the process and getting everyone on board quickly.
Mobile is Always Within Reach
Texting is a much more direct method of communication. Talking face-to-face can lead to forgotten details. Phone calls are interruptive and may also lead to miscommunicated details. Emails often go unopened and then get forgotten. But 98% of text messages are read within a few minutes of being received. Texts go directly to the phone and notify your employee within moments.
HR Text Messages are Actually Read
HR work can be detailed and too often the department their communication can feel overwhelming. When an employee sees a block of text in an email, the likely response is to skim it or put it off until later. Texting forces you to think in a different way—what idea are you trying to get across quickly? You save your employees time and get important information into their hands when you can send out a concise message or reminder. You can always include a link for additional information.
Text Automation Keeps Everyone In-the-Know
Texting can improve your employee communications when you set up reminders for meetings and deadlines to keep employees on the same page as your department. You can set up your important dates and then send out text blasts to all relevant employees a few days and then a few hours before the event time. Reminders will help employees miss fewer important dates and will make your job easier as an HR professional.
Texting Works for Just About Everyone
Whether your employees have the newest iPhone, the cheapest track phone or an ancient flip phone, SMS text will work for everyone. The simple text message is going to connect with far more employees than an email or website that requires a more up-to-date kind of device. According to PEW Research Center, 98% of all adults own a cellphone, but only 77% of those phones are smartphones. This means that using a more web-based strategy for communication may exclude a large portion of your audience. SMS texts are likely to be received by everyone in the office.
Examples of how SMS Text can Benefit HR
The HR department will find that texting is a must-have tool for effective communication with employees. With a fast delivery rate that is non-interruptive yet read quickly, texting is ideal for the workplace. Here are applications for human resource SMS texts:
- Reminders for open enrollment
- Reminders for closing dates of enrollment
- Requests for paperwork that needs to be dropped off or emailed to HR
- Shortened links to provide additional information on benefits
- Shortened links pointing employees to registration
- Shortened links to provide employees with surveys
- Payroll reminders or notifications, including holiday deposit dates and timesheet reminders
- Training and workplace integration of new employees
- Changes in HR policy or benefits that need to be communicated quickly
- Emergency communication – power outage, extreme weather warnings, safety alerts, office closures
- Reminders for meetings or HR events
Texting can minimize the time spent on communication while maximizing the impact of your department. Incorporate texting into your process for getting new hires on board and then allow the rest of your employees to benefit from the integration of efficient communication as well.
Author Biography:
Joel Lee
Joel Lee is the SEO marketing specialist at Trumpia, which earned a reputation as the most complete SMS solution including user-friendly user interface and API for mobile engagement, Smart Targeting, advanced automation, enterprise, and cross-channel features for both mass texting and landline texting use cases.
