By Charlene O'Hanlon

Plantronics has released a study that reveals a lot about the way professionals use communications in the workplace. And, as it turns out, traditional mediums still rule.

How We Work: Communication Trends of Business Professionals,” looks at the communications habits and preferences of 1,800 employees worldwide. The findings show that for the most part, professionals rely on more traditional forms of communication to drive results. E-mail is critical to the overall success and productivity of 83 percent of respondents, of which 81 percent say the same thing for phone calls. Audio conferences were rated critical for 61 percent, while sending or receiving IM was for 38 percent of respondents. Social media came in last at 19 percent.

The study also showed definite preferences in the ways employees collaborate; if collaboration is more critical to success and productivity, in-person and video-driven meetings are preferred over text-based communication. Despite its popularity, e-mail is not the preferred method of communication for mission-critical decisions, and only 3 percent of respondents prefer it for complex or technical discussions.

How We Work shows that, given the demands of work today, professionals are essentially creating communication tool belts that allow them to pick the right tool at the right time,” said Clay Hausmann, vice president of Corporate Marketing at Plantronics in a prepared statement. Video, voice and text-based communications all have a role, as does social media, and one isnt growing at the expense of another. The pace of innovation around new communication technologies is astounding, and yet it is the end user who ultimately decides which technology will play a key role in their business communication and for what purpose.”

The full study can be found on Plantronics website.