Communication Tools
Tami Reiss is the founder of The Product Leader Coach where she works with product leaders and teams to realize their potential by focusing on their strengths.
Which to Use and When
Many startups see themselves as against the “corporate culture” of larger enterprises and avoid having meetings. In place of in person communication, online tools such as chat clients, email, wiki docs have gained in popularity. Each of these forms of communication has its place and purpose.
- Meetings — Great for getting the right decisions makers together to make informed choices and create consensus. If there are too many invitees or no agenda, your meeting will probably go off the rails. Make sure everyone who’s there has a known purpose.
- Emails — Should be used for confirmation of discussions that have already happened, quick status updates, or to coordinate a meeting. Make them short and to the point. Should NEVER be used to deliver bad news.
- Phone Calls — Perfect for quick discussions, especially where tone of voice is valuable and you want a fast response.
- Video Calls — As close are you can get to an in person meeting with remote team members or clients. These can be really helpful when diagnosing a problem by sharing screens or just to be reminded that the other side is human too.
- Webinars — One of the best ways to demo something to a group of people who you aren’t looking to provide immediate feedback.
- Chat Clients — Tools like Slack/Hipchat/Yammer/Chatter are ubiquitous in the startup community. They are great for reading a history of discussions (especially for teams that work in different timezones). Also great for for asking quick questions or sharing a link or update with a group.
- Wiki Pages — Home to information that will rarely change like repeatable procedures, company directories, or HR documents. These don’t get revisited very often, even though they can be assume they won’t be edited frequently.
- Text Messages — Only use when it is crucially important to get the message to the recipient ASAP.
The above are obviously never going to be followed precisely, but setting up good communication practices and being a model for your employees will save you from many problems down the line.
Hi! I’m Tami, the founder of The Product Leader Coach where I work with product leaders and teams to realize their potential by focusing on their strengths.
If you enjoyed this post, I am available for product leadership coaching or team training. Learn more about my services and upcoming children’s book.
