How to Boost Your Company’s Performance with WeChat Work App

Frequently, within the pages of our blog, we have pointed to the fact that WeChat is an application that has changed the way of life in China. As a result of its popularity and everything that can be accomplished by it, WeChat has become a powerful instrument in servicing businesses that want to promote their brand and products in China.

Today, we want to bring to your attention a different aspect of WeChat. One that is of interest to businesses who want to maximize their productivity. We will not talk of WeChat as a marketing tool, but rather as an instrument that can optimize and improve the management of small, medium, and large enterprises in China.

At this time, we will introduce you to WeChat Work, and how you can use it to leverage your company’s performances.

What is WeChat Work?

WeChat Work is an app which is separate from the regular WeChat app.  However, it has been created by the same company, Tencent, which owns WeChat. The reason behind the creation of WeChat Work was the need to create an app for work purposes only. WeChat Work gives companies a practical solution to optimize their internal operations and avoid the use of WeChat personal accounts to handle business relationships.

As a result of the mass adoption of WeChat all across the country, it has been noted that most users make use of the app as a business tool. Messages between team members and contact with customers and suppliers are often carried out through WeChat personal accounts. However, WeChat was not designed with this objective in mind.

To best suit the needs of those who are using WeChat for business purposes, Tencent has created an app with this dedicated purpose. The new app features specific functions to manage communications within the members of an enterprise, to boost business relations with clients and suppliers, and to leverage companies’ performances by means of several plugins. The result is WeChat Work.

WeChat Work addresses several problems that companies may encounter when they deal with employees. Here are some of the benefits of implementing WeChat Work:

• Employees do not need to use their personal WeChat accounts at work. Even though used for business purposes, connecting to a personal account during working hours can create a lot of distractions and waste time.
• With WeChat Work, companies can now avoid adding the wrong person to a sensitive chat. This avoids situations that can be embarrassing or even hurtful to the business.
• Deleting an employee account after they leave the company is easier. Deleting their WeChat Work account is all you need to do to exclude them from the chats related to your business. This is a simple way to protect private information.
• Employees too benefit from using WeChat Work. For instance, when they use a personal WeChat account for business purposes, they will continue to receive work chat notifications even when they are on vacation or off-duty. A WeChat Work account allows employees to keep their private life separate from their work environment.
• When on vacation or off-duty, team members can use WeChat Work to send automated out-of-office or away messages.

How to Download WeChat Work

WeChat Work can be downloaded for free. However, by paying an annual fee of 300RMB you will have your account verified by WeChat and you will be granted full access to all the functionalities available.

You can find WeChat Work for download in any app store or at this address  https://work.weixin.qq.com/#index_topAnchor.  WeChat is available for Android, iOS, Windows, and Mac.

You can install it on your devices exactly as you would any other application and start using it right away. However, when you initially download WeChat Work, you will have access to limited features. To unlock the full potential of the application and have access to all the functionalities available, you must pay an annual fee of 300 RMB.

Can I Use WeChat Work on a PC?

WeChat Work has an application even for a PC. In fact, this is a multi-platform app that runs on the most important search engines. Therefore, all that is necessary is to install the application on your PC. The same applies if you want to use WeChat Work on a Mac.

How to Use WeChat Enterprise Accounts to Improve Productivity

WeChat Work comes with several features that have been specifically designed to improve the productivity of a company. Just consider some of the features that can help you streamline your business operations.

WeChat Work allows you to divide your contacts into several departments and chats. Moreover, contacts can be assigned different levels of permission. This segmentation makes communications more efficient and helps you to control who has access to which information.

Moreover, when you read a message you can double tap on it to add a to-do list. This simple system is very beneficial both to organize tasks and keep track of them within your organization.

Another feature that you may find useful on WeChat Work is the ability to check if the recipient has read your message.

What about the ability to mute some groups? You may agree that when you are a member of several WeChat groups, you end up being bombarded all day long with message notifications that could be distracting and annoying. WeChat Work allows you to mute the groups that you do not consider urgent, or that can be checked later, thus avoiding unnecessary distractions.

Another feature that many companies find very useful is the separate group for external contacts. This simple feature may spare your company many challenges that are caused when people are added to the wrong chat, or messages are accidentally sent to the wrong person. This feature will prevent issues arising that can potentially harm your business if important information was mistakenly sent to a wrong person.

WeChat Work also has a wide array of integrated apps that are closely related to business operations. For instance, when using WeChat Work you can:

• approve business expenses and reimbursements
• set weekly reports on your company activity
• send enterprise email
• manage company-paid calls
• manage human resources
• check workflow management
• provide staff training
• promote company culture
• and more

At the moment, Tencent has partnered with 17,000 companies who are providing services that integrate into the WeChat Work ecosystem. On WeChat Work you can basically find any tool you might need to streamline your business operations and improve productivity.

Steps to Start Your WeChat Work Group

The first step for you to start using WeChat Work is to set up an account. You have two different options when setting up an account.

The first option is through your existing WeChat account or Official Account. You can click on WeChat Work in the side menu (you can recognize it from the icon) and ask the account admin to scan the QR Code.

Another option is to go to work.weixin.qq.com and complete the registration form.

If your company has more than 1,000 employees, you have to verify and upgrade your account by paying the 300RMB fee. This will increase your account size and unlock all the features that come with WeChat Work. It must be noted that for your account to be verified you need to have a Mainland China Business License and a Chinese citizen admin.

Create a Team

Once your account is activated and verified, you must start to create your team. The process is quite simple and fast.

You can add your contacts individually or in bulk. When you add a contact, he will receive an invitation to download the app and sign-in. Once they have joined your network on WeChat Work, you can start to add them to different departments and assign each one of them different roles, depending on the level of information you want them to have access to.

Other Interesting Features

There are a few other features that you can use to the advantage of your business. Let’s review some of them.

Out of Office Messages

This is a fairly simple feature, but it is not available on the standard WeChat app. You can set a “take a break” or “get off status” to avoid receiving work related messages when not on duty. The same feature can be used to send automated messages to inform others when you are on vacation or off-duty.

Chat Groups for up to 2,000 Users

On WeChat Work you can have groups with up to 2,000 participants. This is enough for even large companies to manage their internal communications.

Admin Controls

The account admin can have direct control on how the application is used. He can change roles, check weekly usage and even quickly remove users in the case that they leave the company.

Seamless Integration with WeChat

The WeChat Work application can be integrated with your WeChat Official Account. The seamless integration of these apps is useful for extending the capabilities of what WeChat Work can accomplish beyond internal management.

Once you activate the integration on your WeChat Official Account, there will be a “Chat With Us” feature. Your customers can use this option to send inquires to your sales agent who can then follow up. This is one of the features that can assist you in improving relationships with customers and generate more sales.

Conclusion

If you haven’t integrated WeChat Work, now is the time to do so. WeChat has already proved to be an amazing tool for businesses operating in the Chinese market. WeChat Work is now enabling companies to integrate a management tool that makes internal operations more productive.

WeChat Work can be integrated with your WeChat Official Account and you can use this platform to improve communication with your customer. As has already happened with the standard WeChat app, we have a feeling that WeChat Work will completely change the way businesses manage their operation.