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IM best-practices in the workplace
Brian McCaffrey | Sep 28 2007
What is IM used for in the workplace? My office mates and I figured out this week that we have an IM client on our corporate workstations. Novices to the world of corporate IM, we don't really know what it's used for. I've used IM clients at home, of course, but never at work and we're all at a bit of a loss on how this would be useful, if at all. A quick session of searching 43f reveals that most of the discussion up until this point has been about managing the distractions of IM and managing your coworkers' expectations of your responses. But I'm wondering, what's IM used for in business? So far in my office, people have started chat sessions with entire work teams present online and left the session open all day. Team members will post questions or comments or requests to review edits on shared documents. In one of our groups, the director has moved some of his communication to the chat room, with the expectation that his team members will read this message during the next hour or two. Is this a typical use? How about one-on-one chats with colleagues? Tell me what IM looks like at your workplace. 46 Comments
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 I use it in lieu of the phoneSubmitted by lolagoetz on October 7, 2007 - 9:04pm.
I work with developers in an academic environment. We use IM when needed to discuss a problem. It's quicker than email and less of an interruption than a phone call. We use it selectively, and no one I know abuses it. (I don't think that I abuse it either.) We start by a quick "you there?" and respect the other person's time if they say they are busy or on the phone or have someone in their office. It's especially helpful to speak with the developers that are across campus. For those in my building, I just walk over to see them. We may be slightly informal at times, like typing without caps. But we consider that a time-saver, not something unprofessional. » POSTED IN:
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