Chet Harding Analyzes the Merits of Digital Office Communication

The modern office in East Windsor runs on instant communication. Far from the days when email and fax machines ruled the work landscape, today’s digital platforms enable employees to keep in touch with each other at all hours. While this constant contact can be highly beneficial, it is also possible that it creates too much noise and distracts employees from truly important information. Professionals like Chet Harding, the co-founder of Improv Asylum and an experienced marketing and advertising executive, use these systems to help their employees communicate both in and outside the office.

Social Media in an Office Setting

One way to look at the influence of programs like Slack is to compare it to social media. It is a self-contained ecosystem which can be highly collaborative and useful in nature, but it can also turn to time-wasting conversations and activities. As with all social media, it is easy for dedicated channels to turn into virtual water coolers, giving people an office-sanctioned way to distract themselves from work.

In extreme cases, damaging rumors and innuendo can spread through the office chat, causing people to feel uncomfortable. Human resource officers need to be kept involved with these issues, making sure that everyone has a positive work environment. These problems have always been part of the workplace, but the instant quality of communications means that they can quickly get out of hand.

The Age Divide

Collaboration software is tailor-made for the millennial worker. Having grown up in an environment where it has always been possible to get in touch with someone at the touch of a button, they are ready to communicate on multiple fronts at the same time. Older employees may have a more difficult time getting used to the “always-on” quality of these collaboration systems. As the office ecosystem moves away from email and toward these instant forms of communication, older workers may be left behind.

Integration with Mobile Apps

With most modern collaboration software, it is possible to download a mobile app and to use the software while you are out of the office. This can be very helpful for employees in East Windsor offices when they need to reach someone and ask a question, but it can also be damaging to require employees to answer work communications outside normal business hours. Employees can become dangerously stressed, reducing job satisfaction and possibly causing them to look elsewhere for work.

Creative Expression

Instant office communications systems are excellent for creative workplaces. The nature of these programs helps creative professionals collaborate quickly and easily, leading to better outcomes. When creative professionals use collaboration software like Slack to share their ideas, they can put information together in novel ways. Instant feedback from coworkers is another benefit of these programs.

New Ways of Looking at Work

Collaboration software also presents a new way of organizing projects. With card-based and project-based systems, employees can visualize their work in a new way. This can produce more streamlined operations and reduce the amount of employee time that is needed to perform a task.

Changing the Way Offices Work

At its best, real-time collaboration software has the potential to change the way offices work. Providing instant communication means that ideas can be bounced off colleagues more efficiently, and tiresome meetings can often be avoided.

However, this technology also has its disadvantages. The office may break into cliques, and social problems such as harassment may occur. The always-on nature of these programs may distract people from performing their jobs.

If these systems are used with care, Chet Harding stresses that they can be a huge benefit to firms in East Windsor.