The important process of selecting the appropriate channel of communication for message delivery in your business
When there is effective communication in the workplace, it can have a significant impact on improving company culture, increasing productivity, maintaining safety and compliance, and elevating customer satisfaction.
We are going to explore the different methods of communication that exist in a business and help you understand how to choose the most appropriate communication channels for your team and wider business.
Channels of communication include those that are both verbal and nonverbal. Selecting the right one, ensures that your communications with internal and external stakeholders are received, understood and actioned with the intended outcome.
What are the 8 most common communication channels in business?
In person
In-person communication allows workers to communicate with verbal and non verbal cues, including tone of voice and body language. In-person interactions can help teams communicate clearly and efficiently, while building rapport and team morale.
Instant messaging platforms
Instant messaging platforms, for example, Microsoft Teams and Slack, are now used extensively by workers that previously relied on email communication at work, with the aim of increasing the efficiency of these communications. Instant messaging is one of the most appropriate channels for communicating across distributed workforces in a timely manner, and to large groups of people simultaneously. Instant messaging platforms are usually implemented by an employer and are a company controlled and managed workspace.
SMS
SMS is an effective way to communicate with a colleague when a message is important and the highest probability of delivery and receipt is needed. SMS does not require an internet connection or access to a computer or smartphone. It is not typically suitable for communicating to a team or group of people together when responses or ongoing communication are required. It is worth noting that sending an SMS to a worker's personal phone should be saved for important situations, as this is their personal space.
Social media
Social media platforms are now used by 86.6% of the population aged 18+ years old. It is likely that the percentage is even higher for the working-age population which is typically defined as ages 15-64 years old, although that specific data is not available. This high penetration of social media platform usage including WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and LinkedIn, is the reason why businesses are informally adopting social media as a communication channel with their workers. In particular, with frontline workers who do not have company email addresses as they are often employed as part-time, casual or contractors. Unfortunately for these businesses, as social media accounts are a workers personal space, the business is unable to control their data and IP, sensitive customer information, workers personal information and to centrally manage access.
Emails
Email is the most common channel of communication for business. Emails provide flexibility, as they can be short and succinct or long and detailed. They can be sent to one person or a whole group of people and can also include attachments of files and images. Sent directly to an employee's inbox, emails create a simple record of communications and the company can centrally manage access and permissions of the email account.
Phone calls
Phone calls are the simplest and most appropriate communication channel for sharing urgent information and getting answers immediately, when you can’t interact in-person. Phone calls do not allow nonverbal cues like video calls or video conferencing, however they’re effective at connecting one or multiple people quickly without any requirement for an internet connection, smartphone or computer.
Documents
Documents along with in-person communications are the oldest forms of business communication channels. Documents are used for many purposes in businesses including:
Company documents
Policies & procedures
Training courses
Contracts & agreements
Meeting agendas & minutes
Reporting
User manuals & guides
Documents are used across all levels of a business, from frontline workers to managers and executives. Although documents are necessary in many situations, there are now much easier and more effective ways to communicate and share documents and information. Historically, documents would be shared with a manager or team leader with an expectation that the contained information would be cascaded down to their workers over time. Today, new communication channels enable documents and information to be shared in real-time.
Video conferencing
Video conferencing enables communication with both verbal and nonverbal cues. Effective for teams that are geographically dispersed, whether they are located at different locations or working remotely from home. Video conferencing must be used in conjunction with other business communication channels because a video conference link has to be shared with participants via email, instant messaging or social media. It also relies on workers having access to an internet connection and a smartphone or computer.
What is channel selection in the communication process?
Channel selection in the communication process is selecting the most appropriate means to share information effectively to a single person, a team, a business, external parties or to the public. Understanding your audience, the content of the message and what’s needed for the message to be successfully received and understood, are also important considerations.
For example, a business wanting to celebrate their frontline workers across the country for generating a record profit, may want to record a video from the CEO congratulating the team, and share it in real-time via a secure business instant messaging platform, allowing team members to react and respond to the news with their colleagues. Alternatively, a team leader that needs to communicate with a direct report about their performance, would be better suited to 1-1 communication in-person, on video conferencing or a phone call.
How do you determine the correct communication channel?
There are many considerations for determining the correct communication channel to use. Here we share examples of things you should take into account in your decision making process:
Is the matter sensitive or can it be shared broadly?
Does your communication require a response from a team or individual?
Is the communication and its acknowledgement urgent and time sensitive, or is it less important?
Who is your audience, is a peer, a manager or a member of a team that reports to you?
Does the communication need to be formal with a documented record of the communication or can it be informal?
Are visual cues or tone of voice needed so that the intent of the message is not misunderstood?
Is the message appropriate for internal communication channels or is it better suited for external communication channels?
What communication channels do you and your team have access to?
What is the preferred way of communication for the person or team that is receiving the information?
Is the person, team or organization in the same location or are they geographically distributed?
The answers to these questions are important to consider when choosing the appropriate communication channel. Selecting the right method of communication can increase audience engagement, strengthen professional relationships and build trust, improve productivity and ultimately reduce costs.
Conversely, selecting the wrong communication channel for information can lead to it being misinterpreted or not received at all. Three common situations in businesses where the wrong communication channel is used, include:
Email for an urgent message - urgent communication is better suited to a phone or SMS, as many people receive too many emails to respond in a timely manner.
Avoiding face to face conversations - difficult conversations are best suited to an in-person discussion, or at least a video conference so that body language and tone can be effectively communicated.
Relying on one communication channel for everything - one communication channel is not appropriate for all forms of business communication. Using one channel can hinder productivity and impact team culture.
What is the dominant communication channel used in corporate workspaces?
Internal communication channels used by businesses vary depending on the size (number of employees), locations (number of sites, stores, outlets or offices), industry and purpose of the communication.
A recent research study conducted by Gallagher split internal communication channels into three groups, broadcast channels, collaboration and interpersonal channels and self-serve channels. The top three communication channels in each group are listed below, including their ‘use’ and ‘effectiveness’.
Broadcast channels
Collaboration and interpersonal channels
Self-serve channels
The same Gallagher research illustrated the importance of communication channels in businesses, only 57% of respondents were satisfied and 6% very satisfied, with the current mix of communication channels used by their organization to engage employees. Additionally, 46% of employees believe that their organization's current investment in communication technology is too low.
Why 8seats is one of the most important communication channels in business in 2025
8seats is the first enterprise chat tool for frontline workers. Bringing the security and business capabilities of Microsoft Teams and Slack along with the usability of WhatsApp, to smartphones and computers without the need for a company email address.
Utilize one tool for company announcements, kudos and congratulations, policy updates and document sharing while protecting company data and IP, sensitive customer information and employee personal details from residing on workers and contractors personal devices.
Manage users with centralized visibility of employee permissions and retain messaging history when team members leave the organization. Keep work related messages off social media and out of employees personal space by using a business communication tool. Effective communication at work helps increase employee engagement and job satisfaction, ultimately leading to better results for the worker, teams and the business.
Are you ready to transform communications with your frontline employees? Contact 8seats now to schedule a 30-minute online demonstration and start your 30-day free trial.
