Technology Is Reducing Face To Face Communication
Based on 1,000 responses, research conducted on behalf of communications provider Lumison found 68 per cent of respondents said they have less face-to-face interaction in the office than they did five years ago. Only 15 per cent said that wasn't the case. However, this doesn't mean technology is making us antisocial, argued Aydin Kurt-Elli, CEO of Lumison, just more effective. "A lot of face-to-face communication has probably always been unnecessary," said Kurt-Elli. "Walking to a different floor, or another part of the office, or even a different office to hold a conversation is often not practical." "I would always argue in favour of using the best form of communication for any situation or scenario, whether that is instant messaging, email, phone, SMS or indeed face-to-face conversation." And the research did find that some occasions still call for face-to-face conversation over any other form. Asked how they would break bad news in the workplace, 95 per cent of respondents said they would do it face-to-face. Just two per cent opted for either a phone call or email and just one per cent said they would send a SMS text message.
While I don't disagree with Kurt-Elli, I firmly believe that face-to-face is the most important communication form; we're hard-wired to get our information in-person.
While it's not always practical, it is important for organizations to (as Kurt-Elli suggests) select the bast form of communication for any situation or scenario. Bad news needs to be delivered face-to-face, for example. Laying people off by text message or email simply isn't acceptable.
Face-to-face also builds trust between leaders and the front-line, improving engagement. It's important to be able to look a leader in the eye and to get unrehearsed, candid and authentic answers to questions.
Town halls, all-hands meetings, intimate breakfast sessions, and other get-togethers are critical; you simply can't abdicate these to digital channels. Even John Chambers, who runs Cisco Systems -- one of the most digital of companies -- counts on his monthly birthday breakfasts to maintain a real contact with his employees.
