Techblog
Improve internal communications with Microsoft Yammer and Skype for Business
Seamless communication in a business is essential to increase productivity. Amid a clutter of apps that claim to improve collaboration, Microsoft Office 365's Yammer and Skype for Business are the most suitable.
It is important to engage employees in a business. As they feel more valued, their morale improves and this will boost productivity as well as make the working environment better. SMEs can effectively engage with employees with tools that bolster communication and collaboration.
Microsoft Office 365's Yammer and Skype for Business both improve collaboration and communication in a business in different ways. While Yammer serves as a company's private social network, Skype for Business provides employees with a communication tool that allows them to message one another instantly as well as hold online meetings, video calls and instant messaging.
Yammer
To ensure an engaged workforce, it is important that the business does not have a top-down approach when it comes to communication. Yammer helps with that by encouraging a more cohesive communication platform where ideas can be easily exchanged. With a more open corporate culture, the company can become a more cohesive unit and this boosts productivity.
Yammer is essentially a social networking site where businesses can create different groups across various departments or projects. A particular team can create a group just for that one project that they are working on and exchange ideas. Yammer could also help manage resources as the group can include note pages, documents and updates - which will give a department an idea of how the project is progressing. This open discussion helps contain most communication in one platform and this minimises any unnecessary back and forth. Yammer also allows employees to preview and edit documents shared on Yammer on Microsoft Office Online.
Additionally, partners, clients and vendors can also be added into group conversations so they can collaborate on ongoing projects and documents. This helps speed up the process as the back and forth between clients can be time-consuming. This also deepens relationships between stakeholders.
Skype for Business
As the world becomes more globalised, SMEs have employees traveling often or have employees working in other cities.Skype for Business allows employees and important stakeholders to maintain open communications no matter the inconveniences.
Removing the need for unwieldy and complicated third-party conferencing systems, Skype for Business is a great solution for both basic and advanced calling and conferencing needs. It provides employees with access to unlimited high-quality video and audio conferencing services anywhere around the world.
SMEs are able to schedule meeting in advance or instantly using any sort of device from smartphones to meeting room devices. Skype for Business also boosts communication and collaboration - especially with far-off team members. It allows these employees to give their inputs with integrated real-time coauthoring. It is even possible to give a presentation with Skype for Business as it allows for desktop and application sharing as well as PowerPoint presentations.
Despite Microsoft Office 365 including two communication products in their digital artillery, it is evident that Yammer and Skype for Business serve very different purposes when it comes to facilitating workplace collaboration:
- Yammer provides an open discussion forum for team members, with easy access to shared message threads and working documents, which is especially useful for collaborative projects with multiple stakeholders
- Skype for Business handles all the advanced calling and conferencing needs, enhancing collaborative efforts by hosting large-scale meetings, multi-party HD video conferencing and integrated real-time co-authoring, and desktop and application sharing