“Some companies may be worried about the lack of internal and external communication and information sharing and want to adopt the right tools. Chat and email are the most common business communication tools. In this article, I will introduce the differences between chat and email, and how they should be incorporated.
Chat and email feature differences
We will compare the differences between chat and email that can be used for communication between employees, with the advantages and disadvantages of each.
Chat
A real-time conversation using a network is called a chat.
Merits of Chat
notification feature prevents people from forgetting to reply and allows for speedy communication.
In addition, chatting is not limited to one-on-one exchanges, but also allows multiple people to communicate as if they were having a conversation on the spot. Another advantage of chat is that it is easy to grasp the flow of conversation and share information with multiple people at once.
Furthermore, depending on the tool, it is possible to share screens and send files in addition to text communication. This makes it possible to exchange and share documents as needed.
Disadvantages of chatting
The disadvantage of chat is that it may increase unnecessary communication. While the ease of communication is one of the advantages of chat, there are times when unimportant communication continues. It is important to note that this may lead to a decrease in productivity.
Letter-like exchanges on the Internet are called e-mail. The exchange is basically assumed to be one-on-one.
Merits of email
The advantage of e-mail is that it is easy to check past history by searching. Easy access to the information you want to find is the key point. Also, since e-mail is a record, it can be used for decision making, important communications, and evidence.
Disadvantages of email
The disadvantage of e-mail is that, compared to chat, business etiquette and writing format are more important. Since you have to pay attention to the rules and create the text, it takes a lot of time to create the text.
Another weakness would be that it is difficult to grasp the flow of the conversation as in chat. In chat rooms, the flow of the conversation is easy to grasp because the conversation before and after is displayed as a thread, but in e-mail, each message is independent.
Therefore, it is not as easy to retrace the flow of conversation as in chat, and if you simplify the message, it is difficult for the other person to understand the content. When replying to someone, you need to be sure to write down what you are replying to in order to get the message across.
In addition, e-mails require you to check the address and contents to avoid being rude. Compared to chatting, the process of replying to a message is much longer and less real-time.
The proper use of chat and email
Now that we have discussed the characteristics of chat and e-mail, which one should we choose? Rather than focusing on one or the other, it is important to choose the one that best suits the situation at hand. In this section, I will introduce situations where both chat and e-mail are suitable.
Cases in which chat is suitable
Chat is suitable for internal communication. This is because it can be used to communicate with a sense of speed since it requires only a simple exchange of information. Compared to e-mail, chat is more suitable for one-to-many communication, so it is also suitable for disseminating information to multiple people.
Chat is also convenient when you want to proceed with a conversation or when the situation is urgent. However, it should be noted that a phone call may be necessary in some urgent situations.
In relation to chat, the following article explains the difference in use between in-house SNS and groupware. This article may also be helpful.
「What is the difference between In-house SNS and Groupware? Which one to introduce?」
Cases where email is best suited
You should choose e-mail over chat when you are communicating with people outside the company or when you are communicating with people you want to be polite with. Since e-mail has business rules, it gives the other party a more polite impression than chat.
Email is more appropriate when communicating with people for whom business etiquette is important, or when communicating with business partners who need to be polite.
Also, as mentioned earlier, e-mail is better when you want to leave evidence of a decision. This is because the conversation does not flow as it does in a chat room, and the bookmark function can be used to distinguish important e-mails.
Considering the information to be conveyed, it is not desirable to limit yourself to only one source, chat or e-mail. It is better to use one or the other depending on the situation.
Also, if you are looking for a way to make internal communication smoother, you should consider using Goalous. It is useful not only for speedy communication but also for visualization of work and goal management. We recommend this tool to companies that want to increase organizational engagement while developing subordinates.
In addition, the seminars conducted by Colorkrew provide useful information for the operation and management of organizations. If you are looking for solutions to issues within your organization, why not check it out?
▼Free seminar is here.
「The secret to turning around a 600 million yen deficit What is a flat organization that leads to growth, different from a teal organization?」
Summary
In this article, I have introduced the differences between chat and email. Rather than focusing on either chat or email, it is better to use both depending on the situation.
If you are facing challenges in internal communication, why not try using Goalous?
