TIME FOR A LITTLE POOR CONCENTRATION AND DISTRACTING DISCUSSION!
I am really proud of our global team. Satisfaction levels for quality and service are at the highest levels on record. However, there is a ‘but’ and this is particularly aimed at our staff aged 35 and under: there is no talking going on. If I was a 20+ graduate joining thebigword, I’m sure I would have been fired after a few weeks due to my poor concentration span and tendency to flit from one task to another (I like to call it dynamism). This is reflected throughout my old school reports which describe how disruptive and talkative I was, leading to a fair amount of caning.
The majority of the people in the company are highly educated, with at least one, if not multiple degrees and 85% speak more than two languages. What sometimes surprises me is the silence when I walk through the office – of course this might just be when I’m walking through the office - but the reality is that staff do communicate with each other and our customers on a regular basis, it’s just that tapping has replaced talking. Sending silent electronic messages has seemingly done away with the old-fashioned ‘inconvenience’ of actually speaking to people.
This modern trend is harmful as people of all ages are increasingly losing the vital skill of oral communication. E-mail allows people to hide behind the screen and relies on the recipient gauging the tone of the sender leading to confusion as meaning is lost in translation. A joke can be read as an insult; a suggestion may be taken as a patronizing comment – just pick up the phone!
So as an experiment, I asked one of our brilliant techies how much time he spent on the computer at home. “Oh, every night, after all I have 124 friends to keep in touch with, from all over the world,” he said. I wasn’t surprised by this answer but when I asked him when he had last actually spoken to them he explained that he never actually spoke to most of them, as he was far too busy dealing with his Facebook messages.
“How about a little experiment?” I said. “Try not to go on Facebook or any other social networking sites for the next three days – that’s it. Think you can handle it?” He hesitated, thought about it, and later sent me a text message saying he would take me up on the challenge.
I didn’t see him for two days, but on the third he contacted me to say that he had kept his promise and managed, with some difficulty, to abstain. However, when he had tried to arrange going out for a meal with some old friends, he soon realized that he didn’t have their phone numbers and was still refraining from social networking so had no way of contacting them.
This guy is smart, personable and popular at work but why not consider taking your car and seeing a friend or perhaps going into a bar and actually trying to chat someone up? Or even more out there, visiting a family member? I suggested these things to him and was astounded when he said: “Oh I never thought of that!”
This issue does however have serious implications. Whilst I understand the many benefits of social networks, including how they can actually make people feel less isolated, they also tend to reduce physical interaction. Dating is disappearing, as is calling in to see friends unannounced. People are spending more time in the virtual world at the expense of actually living their life.
I am on a mission to stop this. At our office we have removed instant messaging, after our research showed that a huge amount of time was taken up with inane prattle. Hopefully this has encouraged people to actually talk to each other.
I am determined to start a talking revolution, to ensure we speak to our customers. That is of course if we can get through their voice mail messages.
So all of you out there if you can hear me, let me have your suggestions on how we can get back to talking, where we don’t have to read and try to decipher our customers’ needs, but can listen to what they are actually saying.
So think about it. No Facebook tonight, no LinkedIn and no twitter. Pick up the phone, talk to a friend, or just knock on your neighbour’s door. They might be scared to death as you probably haven’t done this before, but just explain the above and they’ll understand, hopefully.
The majority of the people in the company are highly educated, with at least one, if not multiple degrees and 85% speak more than two languages. What sometimes surprises me is the silence when I walk through the office – of course this might just be when I’m walking through the office - but the reality is that staff do communicate with each other and our customers on a regular basis, it’s just that tapping has replaced talking. Sending silent electronic messages has seemingly done away with the old-fashioned ‘inconvenience’ of actually speaking to people.
This modern trend is harmful as people of all ages are increasingly losing the vital skill of oral communication. E-mail allows people to hide behind the screen and relies on the recipient gauging the tone of the sender leading to confusion as meaning is lost in translation. A joke can be read as an insult; a suggestion may be taken as a patronizing comment – just pick up the phone!
So as an experiment, I asked one of our brilliant techies how much time he spent on the computer at home. “Oh, every night, after all I have 124 friends to keep in touch with, from all over the world,” he said. I wasn’t surprised by this answer but when I asked him when he had last actually spoken to them he explained that he never actually spoke to most of them, as he was far too busy dealing with his Facebook messages.
“How about a little experiment?” I said. “Try not to go on Facebook or any other social networking sites for the next three days – that’s it. Think you can handle it?” He hesitated, thought about it, and later sent me a text message saying he would take me up on the challenge.
I didn’t see him for two days, but on the third he contacted me to say that he had kept his promise and managed, with some difficulty, to abstain. However, when he had tried to arrange going out for a meal with some old friends, he soon realized that he didn’t have their phone numbers and was still refraining from social networking so had no way of contacting them.
This guy is smart, personable and popular at work but why not consider taking your car and seeing a friend or perhaps going into a bar and actually trying to chat someone up? Or even more out there, visiting a family member? I suggested these things to him and was astounded when he said: “Oh I never thought of that!”
This issue does however have serious implications. Whilst I understand the many benefits of social networks, including how they can actually make people feel less isolated, they also tend to reduce physical interaction. Dating is disappearing, as is calling in to see friends unannounced. People are spending more time in the virtual world at the expense of actually living their life.
I am on a mission to stop this. At our office we have removed instant messaging, after our research showed that a huge amount of time was taken up with inane prattle. Hopefully this has encouraged people to actually talk to each other.
I am determined to start a talking revolution, to ensure we speak to our customers. That is of course if we can get through their voice mail messages.
So all of you out there if you can hear me, let me have your suggestions on how we can get back to talking, where we don’t have to read and try to decipher our customers’ needs, but can listen to what they are actually saying.
So think about it. No Facebook tonight, no LinkedIn and no twitter. Pick up the phone, talk to a friend, or just knock on your neighbour’s door. They might be scared to death as you probably haven’t done this before, but just explain the above and they’ll understand, hopefully.
