Poor communication can kill online publishing projects. Here are solutions to five common communication pitfalls which, if left unchecked, can lead to big trouble.
1. Needless information
There are just too many ways in which needless information can distract us. Email, by its very nature, is a tool used to push information to one or multiple recipients. It therefore relies heavily on the sender to get the right information to the right people. Thus, it creates the frustration, familiar to us all, of being copied in on messages of no direct relevance.
The solution
A centrally stored, single place for all project communications, document sharing and collaboration – enabling team members to pull information from it and when it is needed. Basecamp, currently being trialled by Semantico, is a good example of a tool which has arisen out of the need to improve project communications. It includes the ability to subscribe or unsubscribe to any particular discussion.
2. Information silos
The opposite danger is that of not receiving or being able to access the information you need. Ever needed to access important emails in another user’s account?
The solution
Google wave looks towards a brave new world of online collaboration, arising out of the desire to model a communications tool on the capabilities of our current technologies rather than on historical non-electronic forms of communication. On a ‘wave’, documents don’t go back and forth – they evolve in real time! Read more about Google wave on the official Google blog.
3. Interruptions
Most office workers – if they are honest – would admit to scanning their emails the second they arrive in their inbox. We are surprisingly accepting of the fact that this means constant interruptions! Yet it is well known that interruptions impede productivity. Instant messaging, phone calls, impromptu desk visits all pose similar threats.
The solution
How about setting your email to check the server every hour, instead of every minute?
With regards to the impromptu desk visits, growling is not the only solution. Why not treat yourself a set of traffic lights to let your colleagues know when you’re uninterruptible?
4. Mistimed details
Plans and specifications tend to change as you progress through a project. It is therefore important wherever possible to define the details of each project deliverable just before it is to be delivered. The alternative is to risk wasting significant time on thinking about details which will change by the time they are relevant.
The solution
Only produce detailed plans or specifications for work that is going to happen in the coming few weeks.
5. Unfocused meetings
Meetings can be highly toxic!
How often have you sat in a meeting without being clear on what the meeting was trying to achieve? Even when agendas are circulated there is still a great likelihood that time will be wasted due to lack of focus or the wrong people being invited. Meetings are usually very expensive too; a 30 minute meeting with 7 attendees costs a half day!
The solution
- Prepare well for meetings.
- Keep them as short as possible.
- Only invite the people who absolutely have to be there.
Conclusion
It is always sensible to agree appropriate checkpoints and communication channels at the outset of a project. Indeed, this is perhaps the all important first step to avoiding the dangers of poor project communication.
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Richard Padley
Managing Director,
Semantico
This all seems good sense to me, particularly on email: afterall, its a tool not a nervous tic. That said, I confess I HATE the traffic lights idea. Loathe it. What’s wrong with communicating one’s availability through the medium of mime, dance or – heavens forfend – speech?
You make a good point. Though traffic lights would be similar to updating your status to “busy” on IM or creating an out-of-office message to let people know not to expect an instant response – they’re crucially different in one respect: they’re a physical sign-post. As such – perhaps they blur the line between man and machine – and once computers start doing our physical communications for us – we’ve gone too far along the road to becoming a robot!
On the other-hand – they are a quick, clear and efficient method to get an important point across. And they look like fun.