Overloaded by email? Emailing the colleague that sits opposite you and verbally checking they received your email rather than actually having a real face to face conversation about it instead? You’re not alone.

There is no denying that technology consumes our everyday lives, we live in an increasingly on demand world, with the option to be connected 24/7 if we want to.

Communication in the workplace is now heavily reliant on electronic mediums, which can deliver messages through a click of a button or tap of a screen.  Subsequently, affecting how employees operate in the workplace and having a somewhat, negative impact on productivity and relationships between colleagues and/or management.

Since the 1990’s, emailing has rapidly become the preferred mode of communicating across all industries, providing the opportunity to send key messages, updates, attachments and so forth within a matter of minutes.  However, the burning question which businesses and those who can influence it, are now asking, is how can they reduce emails between employees in the workplace and get people talking again?  How can businesses achieve a balance between email and other more meaningful, productive and interactive communication platforms or should we say mediums as we are overrun with ‘platforms’ of varying degrees?  Simply put, how can employers get employees to engage face to face again?

Today, we spend more time communicating with others via mobile devices such as phones, tablets and laptops than through any other medium but this can have a detrimental effect on employees’ health and overall business productivity.  Dissociated messages, blunt instructions and fourteen thousand emails (at times purely insurance type blame trails)  sent back and forth trying to ascertain one point, can have major impact on how we interact with colleagues and how we manage workloads; leaving employees (and management) bombarded with a heavy flow of correspondence and no time to interact on a face to face basis.

Such stressful and at times unnecessary circumstances can lead to individual health deterioration and decreased productivity through increased absences, weakened morale and more often a disengaged workforce.

Although email serves as an instantaneous medium to communicate block messages without the usual conversation banter, particularly with clients, it is fast becoming the fundamental reason for distant, hostile, and disengaged employee environments.  Whilst technology brings a fortitude of benefits to businesses, continuously developing and expanding prospect reach and audience interaction, there requires a balance between electronic and traditional communication mediums, keeping employees engaged and communicating regularly, effectively as well as healthily.

Eliminating emails altogether is neither practical or realistic but reducing the number of times their inbox pings, will create more stable and interactive environments, where employees can work productively and communicate more effectively through positive interactions.

The importance of face to face interaction with colleagues is paramount in achieving a multi-serving workplace that engages staff and recognises nonverbal cues without the stagnated approach of emails or instant messaging.  The former, both lacking personality and instant association between colleagues. As Albert Einstein exclaimed: “I fear the day that technology will surpass our human interaction, the world will then have a generation of idiots.”

Creating change in the workplace can stir up adversity and objection especially if it is affecting protocols and processes which have become ingrained into daily work based activities.  To encourage face to face interaction and reduce reliance on mass emails, we suggest the following gradual steps.  Remember, effective communication is only reachable if it can be easily delivered:

 

Message boards

Encourage employees/colleagues to utilise a large message board which is easily accessible and viewed in an area accessed by all teams i.e. a coffee area or lounge space.  Use the board for group announcements or team meetings.  This will reduce the need for mass mailing and encourages employees to interact and communicate via an alternative written method of communication.

 

Digital displays

This takes message boards one step further and provides employees with digital signage which can be played on a loop through televisions or digital signage facilities.  By displaying updates, policy changes and special announcements this keeps employees aware of any changes in the company and can provide topics of discussion between colleagues at break times.

 

Mobile options

Text messages can offer brief and factual updates but reduces time in creation and delivery unlike an email.  These are incredibly useful if your employee or colleague works off site or even if an emergency has occurred and a message needs to be delivered with high importance.

 

Apps on demand

Although the aim is to reduce electronic communication, apps can function as an instant message provider which can be forwarded and responded too, quicker and much more easily than email.  As the majority of employees own a smart phone, it creates a united communication tree, keeping employees in the loop as the updates are finalised.  Industry giants such as GE still chooses to communicate via mobile apps instead of email opting out of providing their factory employees with work email addresses.

 

Be creative through intranet

A company intranet provides a digital platform which is interactive, responsive and can provide a much more engaging environment for employees to liaise with each other as well as keep up do date with the latest news and company events.  Utilising intranet platforms can also enhance the morale of employees, enabling them to be better connected, and providing the opportunity to bounce off ideas without judgement and having questions answered almost instantly with on hand support and training, if their manager is otherwise predisposed.  Simultaneously, taking the pressure off only managers needing to be the ones that communicate and liaise full time with employees.

 

Shine through video

Video platforms such as Skype enables colleagues to communicate through face to face interaction despite their location.  It provides colleagues the chance to have conversations in person without being in the same room, giving them the opportunity to see each other’s expressions and demeanour in a more relaxed setting and encourages them to be more open and transparent without the pressures of differing personalities, which can sometimes hold an employee back in group meetings.

This type of medium and comms platform also helps to build relationships with remote employees particularly freelancers whom you wish to employ on a long term basis – putting a face to a voice and enriching the experience for all parties.  According to internal comms giant, Melcrum, “93% of internal communication professionals believe that video has become essential.”

 

Show creativity with your office environment

The positioning of office space can have a major impact on employee’s state of mind and can affect how they interact with colleagues on a daily basis.  The use of cubicles and large partitions between desks can isolate an employee, decreasing communication opportunities with their neighbouring colleagues.

An open office encourages employees to interact through face to face contact and nonverbal cues, such as hand gestures and facial expressions, can be picked up straight away encouraging conversation between employees which can have a positive effect on overall productivity.

Coincidentally, industry giants have recognised the impact of a positive working environment.  From the late Steve Jobs, founder of Apple, who is said to have designed workspaces in order to encourage people to have more in-person interactions to internet guru Google, who is claimed to serve employees free food in cafeterias, to encourage them to stay on campus and integrate with their co-workers over lunchtimes.

As Yahoo’s previous CEO, Marissa Mayer, advised ‘Some of the best decisions and insights come from hallway and cafeteria discussions, meeting new people, and impromptu team meetings.’

 

Integrate company culture

The best way to encourage employees to interact and respond to each other in person and on a daily basis is if they can see a company culture that encourages that behaviour, and one that is entwined and alive in the daily attitudes of leaders and managers through their language, communications and activities, and through their colleagues behaviour as well as their immediate working environment.  Ensure that there is a strong employer brand which engages staff and encourages two-way interactivity through listening and implementing their ideas into different aspects of your company.

Your employees are your employer brand representatives inside and outside the business, therefore it is imperative that their voice is heard, often and acted on.

 

Daily or weekly meetings

Generate periodic face to face meetings which check the status of your employee’s working schedule.  This will help prompt them for updates and also encourages them to share innovative ideas among colleagues, liaising ideas which may get lost through mass emails.

These can be held in person, through video platforms or video conferencing. Creating face to face meetings increases trust among employees and encourages group members to confide and liaise more openly than through email.

According to the International Journal of Organizational Design and Engineering, experts found that ‘more team members directly interact with each other face-to-face, and the more they trust other team members, the more creative and of higher quality the result of their teamwork is.’

NB: For all suggestive channels, please remember to request feedback from employees at periodic points of the year.  This will ensure that the newly adopted mediums are providing a positive impact on the company and are engaging staff rather than isolating them even further.

As John Ruskin, the social reformer, wrote in 1851: “In order that people may be happy in their work, these three things are needed: they must be fit for it, they must not do too much of it, and they must have a sense of success in it.”

For more ways to reverse the email spiral, check out this innovative checklist through this link: http://www.emailcharter.org/

 

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Engage & Prosper is a UK based privately owned Employee Engagement Consultancy and Social Enterprise, on a mission to help organisations develop a highly productive and fulfilling workplace culture, with their people, through enhanced employee engagement strategies, fabulous and effective internal communications platforms and tailored reward and recognition programmes.

For more information on Engage & Prosper or to discover how we can help you achieve your organisational and people goals please call +44 (0) 330 223 0464 or find out more at www.engageandprosper.com