Sometimes it is too easy

Most of the world is slowly emerging from some form of lockdown. It is still too early to establish what the ‘new normal’ looks like - how have people’s habits changed due to the enforced period of isolation?  Many people will rush back to their old habits - but many will not.  They will have re-evaluated their values, their beliefs, their priorities - and changed actions and behaviours as a result.

Companies too will have re-evaluated.  We are almost bound to see quite a few re-evaluate the need for great estate - when home working proved so successful for many.

Many of us got used to ‘virtual meetings’ and found Zoom, Teams, Skype and Facetime  very easy to use ..... perhaps too easy.

When email first arrived, it too was very easy and convenient - but this very ease of use turned it into a monster - that consumes attention, focus and resource. We copy too many people into emails and often do not make it clear who is to action  the email. Many people find their lives dominated by email - and not just within working hours.

Virtual meetings might go the same way. Because the various platforms are so easy to use, we might find ourselves swamped by requests to participate in many more meetings - just as we were copied into more and more emails.

Companies need to get a grip on their use of virtual meetings - setting a protocol for when and how they should be used, who has the authority to call them in various situations, how they should be ‘minuted’ or recorded, etc.

Otherwise they will be counter-productive, sucking productivity out of the organisation and demoralising staff. We need to start thinking now about their use - and misuse.