ePlatforms
Digital Tools in My Workplace
Social Media platforms are more and more involved in everyday aspects of our life. I work as a marketing automation consultant in a digital agency, actively engaging not only with my colleagues but also clients. That serves me with in opportunity to test drive variety of platforms from daily communication to hands-on online collaboration.
Here’s a summary of tools in active use at my workplace, either for internal purposes or in partner engagement and collaboration.
| Tool | Description (how we use it & other) |
|---|---|
| Slack* | Slack is our main communication channel. It offers easy way to collaborate, setup private channels, and invite guests. Nowadays, we also use the Slack <> Google Calendar integration to automatically update statuses. Also has a voice/video call feature and huddle with screen sharing functionalities, which is super nice for ad-hoc calls. |
| Asana | Used for personal tasks management and project management. It’s a lightweight ticketing system, e.g. way easier to maintain and navigate around than Jira. Asana also offers customization such as automation rules and reminders to team members. I’m still fairly new to Asana but so far I enjoy it! 🙂 |
| Google Meets | Used primarily for meetings within smaller audience. It’s not the ideal tool for meetings of large groups, although nowadays Google tries to catchup with Zoom by offering some interactive features and breakout rooms. |
| Microsoft Teams | Although we don’t use Teams internally, it is still very popular tool amongst our clients, some wouldn’t even allow to hold meetings anywhere else for privacy and security concerns! What I dislike about it – it’s slow, more difficult to access without Microsoft account and offer close to none interactive features which might be essential for meeting within large audience. At least we can raise a hand now! |
| Zoom | They’ve really experienced boom during the pandemic, haven’t they? We’d use Zoom for large audience meetings or online workshops. It’s so easy to get around once you’re in but I’m still having hard time setting up a meeting in Zoom! 😀 |
| Miro | As a part time service designer, this is definitely my favorite online collaboration tool of all times! You can do pretty much everything in Miro – run workshops, create sketches, low-fi prototypes and flowcharts, documentation, presentations… It’s very interactive, easy to adopt and fast in motion. |
*Not so long ago, Slack got acquired by Salesforce. They’ll probably introduce even more integrations in the future, which will give them opportunity for monetization.
Our account management and inter company planning team is heavily relying on Salesforce where we create Opportunities. Other tools we work with include Jira, Confluence, Figma, Mural, Trello, Google+, Doodle, Canva…the list goes on and on. 🤯
Discovering New Digital Tools
For this chapter, I looked into tools I didn’t know so much about or never gave it much thought in regards to professional application.
In consulting, employees are often expected or even required to collect certifications like scouts. Many technology providers have created own paths customized paths and certification programs designed for specifically for the role one fulfils in the environment. (Example: Salesforce Trailhead.) I see potential to utilize Open Badgets internally, like during onboarding process for new employees, where they must demonstrate that they have acquired necessary knowledge about the company and its processes. 🥇
Our company puts emphasis on culture to retain and attract talent. We work hard and earn to have a little fun even during packed business days. As of now, there’re designated Slack channels for sharing non-work-related content such as pet videos, fun office activities, and such. 💃🏽 Open access TikTok or Instagram would perhaps be more suitable place for sharing this type of content. Also because it wouldn’t be so distracting for people who really just wish to focus on work.
Vimeo & YouTube for video sharing such as training recordings, how-to, company updates and other. Currently, we’re uploading videos and recording to Google Drives. That has two major cons, first of all the files consume a lot of storage space, secondly, Google Drive online player doesn’t support large files and so they often have to downloaded to local disc.
Wix promises easy to create, design, and manage websites. This could be used for intranet – one digital tool that in many companies doesn’t get much love. It also allows mobile app creation which in today’s mobile-first oriented world is much more user-centric than traditional web pages. Some information is best stored right at hand. 📲
Successful Use of Digital Application
Digital tools have become almost too available. In the end of the day, having too many tools doesn’t make life easier. Companies, especially the ones with even somewhat siloed teams, tend to adopt new tools fast, and without proper strategy for its use.
So what are the key success factors in adopting digital tools?
- There is a clear need for the tools.
- Create an understanding of its strengths, how the tool will help to resolve challenges, and what the limitations are.
- The company (or team) has a strategy and responsible roles for roll-out, administration and maintenance of the tool.
- Survey employees about their preferences.
- Run a pilot before investing time and resources to the full potential.
- Collect feedback and continuously work on improvements.
Pros & Cons of Social Media
Social Media carry pluses and minuses. Let’s take a look into how the Internet impacts professional life and behavior.
BENEFITS
- Enables faster connectivity
- Physical location independent collaboration
- Enables faster communication
- Has component of fun and entertainment
DRAWBACKS
- Addictive
- Parasites on productivity
- Transforms face-to-face conversation
The beauty of Social Media is that we can engage with whoever wherever in the world. This allows us to expand our network and social circles, and brings us faster more accessible collaboration with colleagues across time and space.
The dark side, however, is not to be forgotten. Many can find it easier to communicate when hiding behind an avatar or icon. People will find words they struggle with in live face to face interactions. This can negatively impact our interpersonal relationships in reality. Secondly, it is well known that the digital world is highly addictive, and is designed to be so by its makers, and kills productivity and shortens focus time-span.
Self-evaluation
During the last two years, digitalization of collaboration and business processes took off with the speed of light and we have seen more and faster progress than ever before. To give you an example, before the pandemic, all workshops would be held on-site (in person, in clients or our own premises). Holding workshops and complex planning meetings online was considered inconvenient, uncomfortable. Now, it feels more natural to continue collaboration in the digital environment. It is also cost and time efficient, therefore more popular amongst the management.
The task provided me with an opportunity to look at the use of digital application and at workplace and social media from a new angle, re-evaluate the benefits as well as remind of the negatives of their use.
References
Digitalscholar. (2022). Top 10 Advantages And Disadvantages of Social Media [2022]. [online] Available at: https://digitalscholar.in/pros-and-cons-of-social-media/.
Dsouza, D. (2021). What Is TikTok? [online] Investopedia. Available at: https://www.investopedia.com/what-is-tiktok-4588933.
Dsouza, M. (n.d.). 26 Pros and Cons of Social Media. [online] Productive Club. Available at: https://productiveclub.com/pros-cons-social-media/.
Openbadges.org. (n.d.). About | IMS Open Badges. [online] Available at: https://openbadges.org/about.
Powerful Features for Your Website | Wix.com. (2010). Powerful Features for Your Website | Wix.com. [online] Available at: https://www.wix.com/features/main.
TikTok (2018). TikTok. [online] Tiktok.com. Available at: https://www.tiktok.com/en/.
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