WhatsApp For Professional Communication: Pros And Cons

India saw its last telegram sent in July 2013, a service that had been serving the people for nearly 168 years! Once the only way to send fast messages with the minimum amount of words, people looked at the arrival of a telegram with a sense of both eagerness and trepidation, as only really good or really bad news warranted the use of a telegram. Then, came telephones and the 2000s saw a very fast progression to mobile phones and instant messaging. But you still had to use the messaging service from your mobile service provider, which cost a lot and even had word limits per message. And then came smartphones with the internet and applications. Among the most famous apps was Facebook, which proved to be a game-changer in the field of social media. It came with the feature Messenger, where people could send instant messages very easily, all you needed was an internet connection.

In the year 2009, ex-Yahoo employees Brian Acton and Jan Koum created a messaging app for smartphones, WhatsApp. Initially, it was only meant to update the user’s status but people started using it more and more for instant messaging, making it the most popular instant messaging app available. Thus WhatsApp 2.0 became the first of its kind app that allowed its users to register only with their phone numbers. Soon they also included the feature of sharing various forms of multimedia files and it very fast became one of the top 3 apps downloaded from both Apple iOS and Android. By the year 2014, WhatsApp had half a billion users worldwide, with a revenue of 1 million dollars, despite it being a free messaging service.

 

Facebook saw WhatsApp as its biggest competitor when it came to its Messenger service and so it moved to acquire it. The deal was closed at $19 billion, Facebook’s biggest acquisition till now. But as Facebook has always been criticized for its lackluster data security and unchecked data sharing, this became a cause for concern for many with WhatsApp as well. Though from 2016, WhatsApp claimed to have incorporated end-to-end encryption in its system, a lot of doubts have been cast upon its efficiency and its autonomy to protect user data. But despite all this, Whatsapp remains the most popular messaging service in over 100 countries, with 2.5 billion active users worldwide and estimated revenue of about $5.5 billion (Link). India boasts a whopping 390 million WhatsApp users, the highest for any country in the world. (Link)

 

But what started as a personal messaging service has become all-encompassing now. Due to its ease of use and popularity, it has become one of the most used apps for professional communication as well. Observing the rising trend and requirement for digital marketing and a potential market with even more future users, WhatsApp launched WhatsApp Business in January 2018. In just one year’s time, it amassed 5 million business users.

 

And all of these high numbers were before a pandemic hit the world. This usage has gone further up due to increased digital communication in work-from-home scenarios. Employees don’t see the sense in using emails for routine communications. All the communication that took place in person in a workplace will get very tedious and time-consuming if communicated through official mail every few minutes. And this also applies to BtoC interactions. As direct meetings with customers have become non-existent, even though major official communication is done through emails for proper record keeping, other queries and solutions are dealt with using Whatsapp easily and quickly.       

So now let us take a look at all the pros and cons of using WhatsApp as a tool of professional communication and business growth.

 

Sr. No.	Advantages	Disadvantages
1	It is available to download for free on both Android (e.g. Google play store) and iOS(e.g. Apple app store). This makes it very accessible to everyone.	Since 2016, WhatsApp has adopted end-to-end encryption for all its communications but its protocol is not revealed. There is no way to verify if it works or if there are any vulnerabilities. This can be a matter of concern for many organizations.
2	It has a very simple and easy-to-use interface. Even mobile field workers who do not have a good understanding of complex interfaces can use them very effectively without any guidance. No need to waste extra resources in training employees in using unfamiliar applications.	Whatsapp does not have a good history of data privacy. Now considering Facebook's major data breaches over the years, it’s a serious issue. As the backups created of chats are not encrypted and neither are exported chats, this can result in a major data breach.
3	As it has a very large user base in more than 100 countries, that makes it easier to share information, communicate and share various types of multimedia files, with access to a basic internet connection. It is more easily accessible than email and easy to keep track of messages delivered and read.	The more casual nature of a WhatsApp chat means people are prone to making mistakes, as we always observe more scrutiny while using a professional channel. Even with the delete message feature, there is a time frame, others might have seen it before deleting or if you fail to delete it, there is no way to know.
4	Whatsapp bots can prove to be very handy tools that are available in the Business API. Creating bots to resolve the most frequent queries and challenges faced by employees on a regular basis can streamline the majority of basic tasks. They can be used to easily access HR documentation, company policies, code of conduct, and guides to using digital resources of the organization.	There is always a possibility of sharing unsuitable content on a company group chat participants, either by mistake or intentionally. Some disgruntled employees might leak sensitive information from such chats to competitors. There is no way to track who has which information and if a breach occurs, no way to trace it.
5	It can also be used as a platform to share the regular company newsletters which are not always viewed in their entirety when sent over emails.	It is not suitable for sharing any type of sensitive information as its data security has always been questioned and thus many high-profile organizations have a blanket ban on using WhatsApp for any professional communication.
6	It can be used as a very effective tool for employee engagement. One way to do this is to get employee feedback. People find it easier to communicate on a more informal channel and this also makes it easier for remote workers. Another way is to use it to promote training opportunities and recent openings and promotions for employees.	In group chats, you can only see who has read your messages. It can get confusing for the agenda and topic of discussion when multiple people are texting at once. There is also no admin control over information shared, which can be copied within the app and used in personal chats.
7	It can be used to share schedules, project, and respective team information, etc. Also, push notifications and alerts can be used very effectively for time-sensitive tasks like logistics, sales, leads, reports, and many more.	It can get quite hectic to manage all the contacts for different group chats, with employees changing contact numbers or getting replaced or fired or suppliers, distributors, and other logistic partners getting replaced all the time.
8	A business account can be used as a core marketing tool. Businesses can create their profile with categories, and provide a detailed catalog complete with product images and descriptions of services provided. The global reach of WhatsApp enables you to connect with customers internationally and engage in more productive two-way communication.	The line between professional and personal life gets blurred when using such apps for routine work communications. Employees or businesses can not avoid replying to messages even if they are on a well-deserved break. This has resulted in people constantly worrying over professional issues and losing a good work-life balance.
9	It can also be used to create automated timely responses to the most frequent queries from customers and share your whole profile link with a single click.	There is no way to enact any emergency protocols via WhatsApp. Because such situations require strict adherence to company policy and preserving secrecy.
10	It can be used for different promotional activities like promoting discount and sale offers, extending vouchers and coupons to loyal customers, and as a base to check the effectiveness of new and innovative sales strategies.	Professional conversation is more about the productive exchange of information rather than a casual chat. It is difficult to enter a professional mindset while interacting in an informal setting. This can create a negative image with high-profile clients.
11	There is no limitation on methods of marketing to be used here as you can share even HD videos of your latest products and it’s easy to keep track if they are being reviewed. Whatsapp can further be used to get ratings and feedback from customers and suggestions on how to improve.

 

There have been real-life instances of companies and employees experiencing both the pros and cons of using WhatsApp for professional communication. The Danish shipping firm Maersk was the target of a cyberattack, which resulted in the loss of all their address books and crashed the email system. That is when WhatsApp proved to be the most useful tool of communication company-wide. Users of Business accounts report them to be very effective and easy to use for communication with clients. While on the other hand, corporations like the Deutch Bank and tire manufacturing German firm Continental have banned their employees from using WhatsApp. Employees have reported feeling tied to work at all times when they are bombarded with work-related messages even on weekends. This can further lead to burnout and employees being disgruntled with the organization.

                       

To conclude, WhatsApp has many advantages in the workplace. And the disadvantages that it does have might be mitigated by moving from a secure application to an enterprise application in the future.