There are a few different types of stress that may be present in your business right now, either or both of which could be causing no small amount of distress to your team members and disruption to your processes. Let\u2019s explore the sources of these stresses\u2014digital\/workplace friction and interpersonal friction\u2014and what can be done to help resolve them.<\/p>\n
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Let\u2019s begin by examining how digital friction, also known as workplace friction, can impact your employees\u2019 workdays.<\/p>\n
Let me ask you a question: how many different applications are your team members expected to use to communicate and\/or collaborate with? All said, how many different applications do they have to choose from for this purpose?<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s the long and the short of it: the more options your team members have to choose from to process and store information, the harder it is going to be to find later on. The same can be said if your company has so much information, the important and pertinent data is hard to find.<\/p>\n
Finally, we have to discuss how many options people have to communicate with their coworkers\u2014and how many of these communications are strictly necessary. We\u2019ve all been there: we\u2019re a participant in a group chat, and while the conversation going on is important, it doesn\u2019t currently concern you\u2026 or perhaps the chat is being used for some healthy, team-building off-topic conversation that you, again, have no stake in. The incessant notifications can easily become a stressor, especially when we\u2019re trying to focus on some other task.<\/p>\n
The name of the game is to streamline. That\u2019s really it. Establish which tools are to be used for certain processes, and set the example for the rest of your team to follow. This is also made easier by removing legacy systems and focusing on the outcomes when making different decisions. Which of your solutions accomplishes the most for your business, presenting the most value? Eliminating the rest will reduce the friction your employees feel in their daily processes.<\/p>\n
\u2026and it’s one that remote work has unfortunately made all the more challenging\u2014and, it would seem, common. This is for a variety of reasons. The fact that your team members can hide their body language behind a keyboard certainly doesn\u2019t help, and neither does the tendency for such matters to go unaddressed as management awaits the opportunity to discuss it in person.<\/p>\n
And, while I hope you aren\u2019t shrugging this off as something for your team members to \u201cjust deal with,\u201d it is important to recognize that this kind of animosity can have impacts on your business as well. In addition to poorer outcomes on projects and the like, workplace issues have caused many people to call in sick at times\u2014ultimately impacting the bottom line.<\/p>\n
There are a few things you can do to make this simpler, especially where your remote team members are concerned. First off\u2014and related to our first point\u2014you need to be sure you\u2019ve provided them with the communication options they need to properly work with each other. While it is important that you don\u2019t overload them with software options, they still need to have a variety of communication channels available to them. Fortunately, many modern collaboration platforms include the important ones\u2014video conferencing and instant messaging.<\/p>\n
You also need to be able to spot potential problems, and these communication tools can help you do so. Check your team\u2019s body language while video conferencing, and keep an eye out for any changes in their behavior while messaging the team as a whole. If one person changes their tone or even stops participating when someone else engages, that\u2019s a sign you need to step in.<\/p>\n
Whether you need assistance identifying the software that will best serve your business or need the communication solutions to keep all your workers engaged and happy, we can help get you set up. Reach out to us at (215) 525-3223 to learn more.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
There are a few different types of stress that may be present in your business right now, either or both of which could be causing no small amount of distress to your team members and disruption to your processes. Let\u2019s explore the sources of these stresses\u2014digital\/workplace friction and interpersonal friction\u2014and what can be done to help resolve them.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":5688,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[54,50],"tags":[114,118,85],"class_list":["post-5686","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business","category-blog","tag-business","tag-human-resources","tag-workplace-tips"],"yoast_head":"\n