Technology has changed the way we communicate. Once, we wrote letters to people who lived a time zone away from us, but now we can record them on Zoom or Google Meet and chat with them as if we were in the same room. Email communication is now the cornerstone of many businesses and the centrepiece of marketing campaigns. In fact, with the rise of remote work over the past few years, some team members may only know their colleagues through email and video chat.
When you unravel the densities of technology, you will see that its purpose is twofold: to improve the world and simplify and improve our daily work lives. On the surface, the opportunities for technology in our offices are very positive. It offers convenience, collaboration, and connectivity. But technology is destroying interpersonal communication by allowing us to communicate instantly in the digital world?
How Technology can Improve Communication
Advances in technology over the past few years can improve communication in the workplace, especially if you and your co-workers are not physically in the exact location. Here are some of the benefits of using the latest communication tools.
This allows you to chat with somebody in real time.
In the past, there was a delay in contacting someone by phone or fax, but today’s innovative communication applications integrated into your business systems allow you to reach someone instantly. If there’s a problem, all it takes is a quick message in Slack or Teams to ask your colleague for help. With the right technology, every employee is easily nearby as long as they have an internet connection. You can send and obtain messages anytime, anywhere. The most common workplace communication apps that promote this closeness include Slack, Campfire, Google, and Wrike.
This allows you to be remote.
In today’s digital world, businesses should be able to work remotely. Technologies like Zoom, Google Meet and other video conferencing platforms allow employees to work from anywhere without sacrificing visual communication with colleagues and managers. While being remote has downsides, including a limited employee culture, being mobile and flexible is essential for businesses today.
Online messages are more reliable.
Miscommunication converts more likely when you rely on people to deliver messages – think of the classic “game of telephone”, in which the communication gets distorted as it is repeated from person to person. Forty years ago, clients or patrons had to call administrators to contact the business owner. If a receptionist or assistant misunderstands what a customer is trying to say, companies may miss important information, resulting in potentially unpleasant consequences for your customer.
Conversely, when you send someone a message digitally, they will receive exactly the words you intended (ignoring any misinterpretation) and can refer back to your text if necessary. Your message is also less likely to get lost than with paper messages.
Digital communications are versatile and have many potential applications.
Technology can be used to connect directly with customers and within your organization. Some companies use chatbots to communicate with customers through social media or websites. Other companies are creating digital communication apps to allow customers to ask questions, leave comments, and make suggestions. This direct message means customers feel heard, and you can better understand their reactions to your products.
Other communication tools include the ability of employees to present their ideas internally through presentations using PowerPoint or Google Slides, which encourages collaboration. They can make these presentations in online video meetings or via interactive displays. Whether or not all participants are in the same room, you are not limited to verbal communication.
How technology can disrupt communication
While technology is an advantage for communications, there are also disadvantages to using digital face-to-face interaction and sharing paper and pen.
Technology doesn’t permanently save time.
Technology promotes efficiency—or so it seems. Chat platforms and email allow us to start a conversation with the click of a key without leaving our desktops. We don’t have to walk around the office or take an hour-long train ride to meet a colleague in person.
Because of the obvious time savings, email and other messaging platforms are tempting compared to face-to-face communication. Still, we must be aware of times when technology may not be the most productive form of communication. For example, you might think that emailing company news to your office is the fastest way to get your point across to the most people. But here’s the tricky: Managers and other employees will likely have follow-up questions, so you’ll spend more time preparing answers than if you had called a company-wide meeting to discuss it in the first home.
To increase productivity and competence, labourers must be mindful of how they spend every minute of their day. The goal of technology is to streamline your daily schedule and free up time so you can focus on more pressing issues. However, sometimes people overestimate these benefits to save time and use technology to replace essential aspects of their work, such as developing relationships with co-workers.
There is more room for misinterpretation here.
Email, text messages and chats are helpful for instant communication that is not limited by place, but as passive communication utensils, they can be easily misheard. Some people do not have the same ability to communicate on digital platforms as in person.
If someone sends you a memo in all caps, does that mean they are angry or upset? If someone sends you a short reply, are they ignoring you because they don’t like your idea, or are they just trying to speed up the process? Effective communication depends on words, eye contact, and tone of voice. Because online communications are screen-mediated, digital communicators often miss the contextual information they need for productive and transparent discussions. Thus, they fail to collaborate as effectively as they could in person.
When we don’t communicate through technology or fail to connect well, it leaves a gaping hole that employees will try to fill with guesswork rather than informed understanding. Technology makes communication more accessible, but we often must draw more critical conclusions with less information. Consider the nuances of your writing before engaging with someone online, as reducing interaction can have serious consequences.
Dehumanization poses risks to business.
Technology makes connecting with people worldwide easy, but what about those near us? Instead of meeting a friend for coffee, we quickly grab our phones and text to ask how they are doing. We call on a family member’s birthday to wish him a happy birthday instead of stopping by his house with a written card. As face-to-face communication declines, our smiles are replace by emojis that act more like punctuation marks than emotional signals.
The same goes for the office. Most of our interactions today happen via computer or phone rather than in person. When we start to become more familiar with our employees as usernames or email addresses rather than as individuals, this becomes a problem. How can we sit on a computer screen late and expect to develop quality relationships? We can’t – communication must be more than short phrases, acronyms and emoticons.
If we remove strong communication, we also remove the most critical components of a great team: collaboration, honesty, inclusion, and camaraderie. Worse, online chat’s screen distance and impersonality can cause colleagues to become less empathetic towards each other and cultivate a culture of isolation.
Technology is a powerful distraction.
While smartphones and other mobile devices allow us to connect with others when we’re away from our computers, they can also confuse us with essential tasks. For example, drivers become distracted when talking or texting on their cell phones.
Technology can also distract the office, as messaging is often used for personal and professional purposes. If people use the same smartphone for personal and professional communication, their messages will likely interfere with their work tasks throughout the day. The advent of social media means the risk of distraction on mobile devices increases dramatically.
How to Develop the Right Communication Style for Your Business
Perhaps the problem comes down to this: It can be challenging to live with communication technology and just as difficult to live without it. Whether technology improves or harms your communication and how it impacts the workplace depends on how you use it. Here are tips for creating the right technology-enabled communication style for your company, considering the abovementioned pros and cons.
Determine which digital communication tools and strategies are best for your business.
- Email: Often used for simple updates and questions. It is not the best tool for solving complex plans or problems.
- Instant messaging. Platforms like Slack allow you to connect with people through various online channels in one-on-one or group chats.
- One-on-one conversations: This is most effective for learning and providing professional feedback.
- Team conversations. This format is effective when your employees frequently work on projects with multiple people with different roles.
- Group Meetings: This should be done with caution. They are usually best suited for group practice or presentations.
- Curate your internal communications. When sending digital messages to employees. Consider the essential information that needs to be conveyed and the questions employees may have after reading the message.
- Ask for feedback from team members. Regardless of the method of communication, feedback from your employees is very important. Create a standardized process for receiving input and implement an open-door policy so employees feel free to contact you however they choose. Also, create ways for customers to leave reviews.
- Determine the time of day and platform where your team members can most communicate. If you use multiple communication platforms, pay attention to colleagues. Critical hours and deadlines so you can prepare your message when they’re available without interfering with meaningful work.
- Take advantage of personal interaction opportunities. Individual conversations are best for boosting morale and improving company culture. Even if you rely heavily on digital communications, don’t miss opportunities to have face-to-face conversations. These are great opportunities for one-on-one communication and team building.
There are times when talking in person is more accessible than other times. The reverse is also true. Constantly evaluate your company’s communication methods and technologies, and be flexible as conditions change. Technology-based communication can be suitable if you know when and how to use these tools. Using technology thoughtfully and purposefully shouldn’t take away our communication skills—it should make us stronger communicators.
