The Benefits and Risks of Digital Communication Between Teams

Featured article by Cher Zavala, Independent Technology Author

There are many different benefits that the digital age has brought to businesses. For example, there is the variety of new industries and products that have been launched since the Internet was created, and the ability to pitch and sell to customers worldwide.

However, there can also be some unique changes to this Internet age that business owners, managers, and human resources workers need to be aware of. If you and your team are like many workers across the globe these days since communication has vastly changed, in-person social interactions are few and far between. You’re likely to email a colleague who is sitting just a few feet away from you, rather than going to chat in person, and probably spend half your day communicating via some sort of online tool.

While this new way of getting things done can increase productivity and allow businesses to utilize talent from around the world, it does radically affect staff management requirements. Now, more than ever, creating and strengthening a company culture is a vital key for successful teams. Read on for some of the benefits and risks of digital communication that you should plan for today.

Remote Work

Digital communication methods like email, Skype, social media, and online applications have made it possible for team members to work from wherever they happen to be located in the world at the time, as long as they have access to the Internet. This not only allows workers to have more flexible hours and the ability to conduct business from home or a coffee shop if they choose, but has also paved the way for companies to hire staff members from other countries — often at cheaper rates.

This expansion of talent pools also means that it is easier for human resources managers to bring on board the most qualified people for positions, even if they don’t live in the same city or country as the firm’s operating base.

There can be some downside to having teams spread across the world though. For starters, it can be difficult for managers to supervise their staff properly, as well as provide the same kind of face-to-face mentoring that can occur when working more closely together. Similarly, having your staff in different parts of the globe can result in a lack of team cohesiveness, as members often have never even met each other. In addition, if workers are having issues with a project, don’t feel included, are unhappy in the role, or having any other sort of issue, this can often go unnoticed.

New Ways of Communicating

When examining the positive results of online communication tools, it’s easy to see how they make it easy for workers to chat freely and at any time of the day or night at a low cost. This means that questions can be asked and answered more quickly than in the past, and vital business information discovered in a flash.

Quicker response times regularly leads to increases in productivity, responsiveness, profits, conversions and the like. As well, affordable credit-card processing is now possible for every sector and country, and teams can work together without having ever met.

Another benefit is that digital communication allows users to pause before they send emails and other messages. This means that information can be edited, and the best version of a response sent. This makes communication clearer, more concise, more polished, and more detailed.

Also, this ability to stop and think before responding also allows people to calm down before sending faulty, argumentative, or even downright rude messages if a misunderstanding occurs or tempers flare. Emails and the like also provide workers with a digital record of what was written, in case it is needed as a reference point at a later date.

Some potential risks do stem from using online communication tools all the time however. A common issue that human resources managers are being faced with these days is that of workers burning out. Since team members have the ability to check and reply to emails, and work on projects at all hours, they often don’t end up having enough down time. This can lead to a lack of sleep, an increase in stress levels, and decreased productivity, as well as burn out in the long run.

As well, it’s important to remember that tone and body language cues cannot typically be picked up when reading digital messages. This makes it much easier for misunderstandings to occur, and can lead to team disagreements plus information not being passed on correctly.

Furthermore, due to the “sound bite” nature of regular texts, emails, and social media updates, many people send frequent short messages, rather than having in-depth conversions with each other. This can prohibit teams from picking up on the complexity or gravity of situations, as well as keep chats at a surface level only, with no deeper levels of meaning.