If you find working in a bustling office already distracting, adding new digital workplace communication tools might seem like a bad idea. However, with a few areas of guidance, workplace communication tools can provide your team with additional outlets to connect and collaborate.
Digital workplace communication tools have become increasingly valuable to organizations that need to facilitate collaboration and communication between traditional in-office staff and remote employees.
Technology does offer some ways to create and maintain boundaries for employees, but reducing disruptions and ensuring productivity also requires a change in your culture and communication strategy
Office 365, for example, allows you to choose from a variety of technologies, including instant messaging (IM) and email, team sites in SharePoint, and social enterprise newsfeeds. But to turn these into effective communication channels you need to design a communication structure that fits your digital workplace and align it with a strategy that’s appropriate for your company culture.
Here are three tips for using technology to improve communication while reducing distractions:
1) Digital workplace etiquette: The most important step in avoiding a culture of disruption is to set expectations for etiquette. If you see someone hard at work at their desk, you’d probably think twice before interrupting them for a casual chat. Similarly, it’s vital to pick up on digital workplace etiquette. With IM, for example, most people don’t want to be interrupted for inane chatter. At the same time, if you have a quick question about a project you’re working on, IM is more considerate to others than sending them an email. Email takes more time to process than an IM, and that time savings makes up for any disruption an IM may cause.
2) Closing the virtual door: When used correctly, communication tools also serve as the digital equivalent of closing an office door to show that you’re busy and need quiet space to focus on work. Social and presence awareness tools like Lync and Skype allow you to set your status as available (green), away (yellow) or busy (red). With Office 365, Lync automatically switches your status to “do not disturb” when you’re doing a presentation (this feature has a manual override). Additional ways to eliminate distractions include turning off your email notifications and using your calendar to block out time when you’re busy.
3) Increasing communication efficiency: By implementing groups and newsfeeds through enterprise social networking (ESN) tools, you choose when to look at news updates instead of receiving interruptions throughout the day. This form of threaded conversation is also more efficient than email.
Let’s say you’re working on a proposal and want some advice on the language in one of the sections. The default approach might be to email a person, or possibly a few people, asking for advice. This one-to-one format limits the feedback you’ll receive. With ESN, however, you could create a post asking for advice and best practices. You still have the ability to direct the post to the attention of those same few people, but others who’ve chosen to look at the thread might also respond. As a result, you’re likely to get more information in a more timely fashion, while avoiding unnecessary disruptions. In other words, ESN opens up new lines of communication while giving people the option to choose when and how to participate.
Reducing distractions also means changing the company culture, especially if you have a varied workforce. The digital workplace requires more than tools — it also needs an acceptance of what those tools mean. When someone blocks off time to focus, coworkers must understand and trust that they’re actually working, and have good reason for blocking off distractions.
Learn more about helping your organization communicate in today’s digital workplace by contacting Portal Solutions
