The effect of physical channels lost
Before going deeper into the new digital communication channels used, we talked with our interviewees about the changes to their established communication habits, particularly those that require physical contact. One manager told us that he used to do a “walk around the office” every day, checking on all employees and having both informal and project related conversations. This channel has been lost during remote work completely. Similarly, there has been no chance to have spontaneous encounters with team members. Instead, every single information, question or instruction has to be incorporated into a “communication package”, usually a formalised online meeting.
As a result, the manager noted that communication in general has become more formal, with the informal channels all but having disappeared. This applies both to communication between supervisor and employees and within a team. While he noted that soft skills remain important in the communication with his team, it is also necessary to have the tools to put them into practice.
Digital tools used
The most common tool being used to enable remote workplace communication is Zoom (or alternatively Skype for Business, MS Teams and Cisco Webex, with the latter two having extended functions and are more likely to be used by large corporations). With these tools people can schedule team meetings, one-on-one video calls, have (partly) the opportunity to work collaboratively on documents, and can engage in both team chats and private chats, which would be the closest thing there is as a substitute for chit chatting and (formerly) verbal interaction.
In addition, in some companies Slack has increased its usage during the pandemic (according to some interviewees “tenfold”). Slack is a tool that enables the assignment of tasks and responsibilities and combines it with a communication channel. The people using Slack felt that “disorder” had vanished from the workplace and that the tool would grant “a new window of opportunity” both for managers and employees to better establish roles within organizations.
Email remains to be an important communication channel, replacing some direct communication and being used mainly for more “official” types of communication.
Picking up the good old telephone or writing someone a message via WhatsApp is used mainly for quick and urgent issues that cannot wait. Moreover, it should be noted that the use of WhatsApp as a communication channel traditionally is high in Mexico and it appears that its use has increased during the pandemic.
Advantages and disadvantages of digital channels
In general, employees mentioned that it is more difficult to reach out to and get hold of their supervisors (particularly missing the opportunity to drop into their office). Another disadvantage mentioned is the frequent incident of technical problems with the (new) digital communication channels. While some employees feel controlled by the need to turn their camera on during video meetings, managers raised another interesting point: They are more hesitant doing confidential conversions via video call because they cannot be sure if someone else in the back of the camera may be listening, too.
Another issue associated with digital communication channels is the limited possibility to perceive non-verbal information or intercultural particularities. While one-on-one video calls still allow to see the other person reasonably well and to interact with her almost as if meeting them in-person, this is almost not possible during team meetings via Zoom or MS Teams, when images of the participants are small (if the camera is turned on at all).
Shift in usage time
When talking about how communication channels have gained or lost usage time and importance before and after the start of the pandemic we discovered an interesting fact: The use of several different digital communication channels fostered in many cases multitasking behaviour. As an example, an interviewee described how she would be in a Zoom meeting, would chat with a colleague via WhatsApp and work on a shared document, all at the same time. Obviously, this was not possible (at least not to that extent) in the physical workspace. While it is not entirely clear as to whether this multitasking behaviour would indeed increase productivity, in any case it further increases the usage of digital communication channels. As a result, it was possible (and perfectly made sense) that some interviewees reported a sum of time attributed to all communication channels per day or month of more than 100%.
Comic Strip: "Motivational Messages"
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