Best practices for instant messaging at work with Virola

May 2, 2023

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The benefits of using instant messaging at work are obvious. These tools help to reduce needless back-and-forth phone calls, allow keeping all conversations secure in one app and alleviate miscommunication. Another significant advantage is an ability to keep all information including files, tasks and meetings calendar in one place. This allows managers to keep track of employees' performance, see coming meetings and tasks which are in progress. In this article we will talk about Virola corporate messenger and provide best practices for using this instant messenger tool at work.

Choose the right user permission options

No matter how large your company is, with Virola messenger you can easily create independent topic-based groups for chats and conferences. With the help of permissions, you can either allow or prohibit users to start private and / or group chats. By limiting permissions, admin can create independent groups which will be visible only to their participants.

Use the Task Board to monitor team's performance

Virola Task board allows using Virola as a single tool for project management in a scrum environment. Besides powerful features for text, audio and video conversations, Virola allows creating and assigning tasks or issues and then tracking them on the Task Board.

Task board displays all tasks and allows filtering them by:

• Chat room name
• Status
• Type
• Priority
• Reporter
• Assignee

This way, project managers and team leaders can track progress and easily meet deadlines. It is very convenient to have all project related information in a single tool. This from one side significantly facilitates the workflow and reduces security risks from the other side.

Create topic-based chats for different teams and departments

The ability to create separate conversation rooms for different user groups and departments makes it possible to use Virola as a single messaging tool within the organization. By adjusting user permissions, Virola admin can either allow or prohibit users to create private and / or group chats.

For example, you can limit the ability for users to create group chats. This way, only the admin will control the number and participants of topic-based chats. This allows keeping different departments or divisions separated.

Use Virola both for instant messaging and video conferencing at work

Texting is the main feature of instant messenger. However, when it comes to using instant messenger at work, it is necessary not to limit users only to this feature. Virola offers both messaging and video conferencing features. Virola users can start group conversations in topic-based or private chats and join audio and video conferences.

Chat participants can join the conference by clicking the intercom link. This will activate their dynamics and will allow watching streams from cameras of other users. If necessary, chat participants can activate microphones and turn their cameras on by clicking the corresponding buttons on the intercom toolbar.

Troubleshoot issues with help of Remote Control

Virola can be used as alternative to TeamViewer for remote control when it comes to issues troubleshooting. Chat participant can give access to another user for remote control. This way the person can troubleshoot issues remotely instead of providing guidelines. This significantly facilitates the process of setting up various applications on computers of employees.

Share your screen during training or presentations

This feature is very useful when it comes to demonstrations or training. Virola users can share their screens in group or private chats. This way participants of topic-based chats can show presentations to other users. Screen sharing also significantly helps with training of new employees. Tutors can share their screens and demonstrate how everything works.

Create friendly virtual environment

Productivity is one of the main headaches for managers of remote and distributed teams. One method to increase it is to ask employees to turn their cameras on during video conferences and daily meetings. This way they will be more accountable and focused. While with disabled cameras they will have a temptation to watch social feeds, text with friends or work on unrelated tasks

However, turning on the camera during the conferences and meetings results in fatigue which is more common among women and new employees. People often feel that someone is watching them and as a result they try to concentrate on their expression and look. In such cases turning the camera off will help employees to concentrate on the agenda.

Virola instant messenger has another useful and unique feature for creating friendly and productive virtual environment. Live avatar can be activated by Virola users. It's an animated avatar created with periodic camera shots showing that a person is at the desk. Live avatar can be turned on when an employee is working and turned off during breaks and offline hours.