If you're using Microsoft Teams, it might be time to break this bad habit: Sending a Chat when you should be Posting to a Teams Channel.

Here's why it's a bad habit...

Most of us (including me) have notifications set to get an immediate alert for a "Chat." It's like a ringing phone or someone dropping by your office. It's an immediate interruption to your focus because it seems urgent. The old word for this, "Instant Message" or "IM," better describes what's happening better than "Chat." 

On the other hand, a Channel Post is not as urgent. Most of us (including me) don't have notifications set up for these. We see them highlighted when checking Teams, but we only do that a few times a day. If you are @mentioned, then you still get the alert. 

So, when getting ready to send a message in Teams, stop and think; if there's a Channel available and the message is non-urgent, Post instead of Chat. And create a culture where you can politely hold each other accountable to these simple productivity boosting tips!

Download our Digital Workplace Communication Etiquette E-book to learn best practices on how to use digital collaboration tools like Microsoft Teams to empower your team instead of derailing their productivity!