Collaborating Online Is Sometimes Better than Face-to-Face

If you’re embracing online collaboration as a necessary evil — the only way to work with an increasingly dispersed team of global or remote workers, for example — then you’re doing it wrong. Online collaboration is not a second-best substitute for face-to-face work: It’s a complement with its own perks and benefits.

Source: hbr.org

Stegmeier Consulting Group’s Insight

It’s interesting for our team at Stegmeier Consulting Group to see so many workplace change initiatives boil down to organizations attempting to enhance the communication abilities of their employees.  The open office environment, for example, seeks to encourage collaboration and “spontaneous interactions.”  Office restacks (or redesigns) often will seek to strategically relocate certain departments within a close proximity of one another in order for them to work closer together and streamline business processes.  With a growing trend focused on improving teamwork and collaboration, instituting telecommuting programs that allow for work to be completed off-site may seem counterintuitive.

In truth, teleworking does not need to be viewed as a roadblock to refining an organization’s communication capabilities.  Instead, it can be looked upon as an opportunity.  As this article points out, one can consider the assemblage of a virtual team for instance.  Imagine an employee at location A working more regularly online with colleagues located at locations B, C, and D.  The intermixing of skill sets of employees who may otherwise never meet is a perfect chance to breed inspiration and new ideas.  And depending on where your employees are located, it’s feasible to think your organization’s projects are being worked on and passed along 24/7.

At Stegmeier, we recognize that remote workers collaborate differently and that this shift in work-styles can be scary for many managers.  Similarly, many senior leaders may feel remote work is a necessary evil, in order to corral heightened real estate costs, but are concerned of its effects on communication, productivity, and corporate culture.  If either of these scenarios describes your organization, there are a number of ways we can help ready your workforce.  We encourage you to visit our website to learn more about our services and the clients we have helped in the past.
Stegmeier Consulting Group can assist with a wide range of challenges involved in implementing a workplace change initiative.  Contact us to find out how our services can help your organization.

https://stegmeierconsulting.com/contact/

Phone: 440-846-1410

Changing the way organizations manage workplace change