The need for collaboration at work goes back to the days when the original hunters had to coordinate activities with the gatherers. With a shared goal of survival, a group of hunters/gatherers undoubtedly shared tips and insight with each other (“don’t head toward that river – there’s a pit of vipers!”), provided regular updates (“hey everyone – we’ve foraged enough pine needles and dandelions for tomorrow’s stew!”), and heaped praise and recognition as warranted (“thanks for killing that rampaging wildebeest!”).
Today’s work environments are generally wildebeest-free but the need to collaborate still exists. In fact, one could argue, in our globally dispersed workplaces – buoyed by hybrid and remote work – the need to collaborate in easy and meaningful ways is an even MORE elemental component for both success and continuity.
And we’ve got loads of tools and platforms to help. We use Google and Microsoft (everything) platforms. We can choose from amongst numerous project management tools galore. We collaborate via chat, document sharing, video conferencing and meeting rooms (with notes!). We crave efficiency via checklists, comment and edit tracking, and auto-save.
I’ve been working remotely for 4+ years now and we can’t function without access to shared documents, online sticky notes, and customizable dashboards.
But I do miss on-site:
Bulletin Boards with:
- HR announcements (“Upcoming Open Enrollment!!) affixed via neatly aligned push pins
- ancient (curled edges) memos printed on fluorescent paper – designed to capture-the-eyeballs
- 3-month-old safety meeting minutes
- pictures of smiling employees (and guests) from the 2019 Service Awards banquet
Whiteboards with:
- in-process design (or redesign) of workflows and process maps with lots and lots of boxes, arrows, circles, and exclamation marks
- “to-do” lists (complete with due dates and color coding) that are in your face and unavoidable the entire day
- motivational quotes, scribed by the most optimistic person in the office, and updated on a weekly basis
- a calendar view of who is “out of office” with scheduled return date (filled in by the vacationing and/or traveling employees themselves)
Chalkboards with:
- artist renderings of flowers and trees
- (yes; I have worked at places where we had actual chalkboards with honest-to-god chalk and eraser. No one used them …but there they were.)
Are online collaboration tools essential and convenient? Absolutely. Can we organize and ideate and work together virtually? Most assuredly. Are these tools driving productivity as we sit here in the new world of work? You betcha.
But I must admit I pine for the days when we thumbtacked a note to a bulletin board. I yearn to draw a lopsided smiley face on the HR Department whiteboard and get a tad nostalgic thinking about the smell of fancy fruit-scented markers.
At the mercy of my senses, I want to walk-through spaces to feel the “vibe.” Being tactile I feel the need to connect to items by touch (this probably also explains my absolute aversion to online-shopping). And I enjoy hearing the hum in a coffee shop or the muffled voices of teams meeting behind closed doors.
So to that end I’ve taped an inspirational saying on my computer monitor, have drawn an anemic looking dog on my (very small) home office whiteboard, and filled a diffuser with citrus essential oil.
Now let me go and open that SharePoint document ……..
*****
Photo by Pat Freling of Paint Strategies
