Several companies all around the world are asking employees to work from home due to fears over the coronavirus pandemic. When working from home most people depend on video calling apps, messaging apps, and so on to connect with one another.
Given WhatsApp is used by billions of users globally most people depend on the messaging platform to coordinate work stuff too. WhatsApp allows smooth communication with colleagues and also makes it easy for managers to keep track of team members given they are not physically present in front of them.
If you use WhatsApp messaging app for work here are a few things that should be kept in mind.
Create separate groups for easy communication
There are several people working in a company and adding all in one group can create a mess. In that case, it’s a good idea to create separate groups for different departments. This will make it easy for the manager to keep track of the workflow and for team members to know who’s doing what work and avoid duplication.
Here’s how to create WhatsApp group: Open WhatsApp App > On top right corner there’s a “New Group” option > Click on it > select group members > bonus point: you can select as many people as possible. But it is advisable to avoid adding too many members as it might create a commotion.
Two WhatsApp accounts: Personal and professional
It is good to keep personal and professional life separate. The same theory can be applied to WhatsApp as well. Create a WhatsApp account for personal use and one for professional use. This is basically to avoid work-related messages during off time especially when you’re out at a family dinner.
Note: To create two WhatsApp accounts you must have two separate phones as two accounts can’t be used on one device. However, WhatsApp is working on a multi-device support feature and is expected to release very soon.
However, if you have Xiaomi, Honor, Vivo and Oppo phones provide dual apps option which will let users use two WhatsApp accounts at the same time.
Group voice calls
The WhatsApp voice group calling feature will simplify work. The option is available on the top-right corner of a group. It lets you manually select the members you want to have a group voice calling. It’s difficult for a manager to call each team member every time. Group voice calls will not only simplify work from home but also make it systematic.
No nonsense
As mentioned before, keep personal and professional work separate. It’s a good idea to limit yourself to work talks only as there are other people in the group. For any personal conversation, there’s always the private chat option.
No bullying
A group includes several people — you may know some while some would be complete strangers to you. In that case it’s always a good idea to limit who can check your profile photo, status and other personal details. Just head over to the Settings menu > go to Privacy > and limit change last seen, profile photo, about, and status to my contacts. You can also change the option to nobody in case you don’t want anyone to check your details.
Change Group Settings
Tired of too many groups? Well, there’s a way to stop people from adding you to any more groups. Go to Settings menu > Privacy > then click on Groups > and change who can add you to groups. There are three options available: Everyone, My Contacts, and My Contacts Expect (Add contacts who shouldn’t add you to any group).
Enable end-to-end encryption
Whether you are using WhatsApp for work or not enabling end-to-end encryption is always a good idea. To turn on the option head to the Settings menu > Security > enable Show Security Notifications option. This will secure all calls and messages with end-to-end encryption and WhatsApp or third parties will not be able to read or listen to them.
Use WhatsApp Web
Everyone works on a big screen be it a laptop or a tablet. If you’re using WhatsApp for work try the web version of it as it will simplify the chatting experience. It gets inconvenient to check the phone for messages all the time. Just head over to https://web.whatsapp.com/ > open app on phone > go to Settings > WhatsApp Web/Desktop > Scan QR Code.
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