Instant messaging

What is instant messaging?

Instant messaging is a tool that lets people exchange written messages (sometimes with attachments, photos, or notes) immediately, without going through email. In a business context, it helps streamline day-to-day communication, especially when teams need to coordinate in real time.

In the glossary, you may also see this concept referred to as live chat.

What is instant messaging used for in a business?

Instant messaging is mainly useful for speeding up operational communication:

• quickly sharing an instruction or priority (e.g., “Start with Building B”)
• flagging an unexpected issue (delay, blocked access, absence) and adjusting the schedule in real time
• coordinating a team across multiple sites in a construction site management context
• reducing interruptions by keeping conversations in one place (instead of calls, texts, and emails)

To ensure information arrives at the right moment, it often relies on push notifications.

Instant messaging vs. email: what’s the difference?

Email works well for formal topics, longer requests, or messages that need to be sent to multiple external contacts.
Instant messaging, on the other hand, is designed for operations: a question, an answer, an action, right away, in real time.
The result: fewer back-and-forths, faster responsiveness, and better day-to-day employee management.

What are the benefits for an SMB (and field teams)?

When teams are constantly on the move, instant messaging becomes a real coordination lever:

• improves staff management (less information loss, more clarity)
• reduces friction caused by travel time (notify, reorganize, reassign)
• limits scheduling errors (written instructions, quick confirmations)
• boosts productivity by avoiding repeated micro-calls
• structures communication around projects and tasks (who does what, where, and when)

Best practices for effective instant messaging

To reduce information overload:

• Structure conversations (by team / jobsite / project), aligned with construction site management
• Keep messages actionable (context, expected action, deadline)
• Avoid endless threads: if it gets complex, call, then summarize the decision in chat
• Connect communication to real-time planning and the scheduling tool so everyone has the same information

Frequently asked questions about instant messaging

Does instant messaging replace meetings?

It helps centralize exchanges (messages, photos, approvals) and keeps a searchable record. By reducing interruptions and micro-meetings, it can improve team productivity, while meetings remain useful for aligning on major decisions and complex topics.

How do you stop it from becoming a distraction?

The key is to set clear rules from the start: define availability windows, clarify what counts as urgent, and organize conversations by topic (project, team, jobsite) rather than one single feed. By minimizing notifications and using a dedicated internal communication tool (instead of personal channels), messages stay useful, traceable, and easier to find, without hurting focus.

Instant messaging and live chat: are they the same thing?

In most cases, yes, live chat is a common synonym for instant messaging. So you can naturally link to “live chat”.