How Bad Are Messages Overloading Your Team?
How Bad are Messages Overloading Your Team?
Messaging overload is a massive issue in teams today!!
All signs suggest that it’s going intensify more if organisations don’t make serious changes.
Individuals receive up to 250 messages per day across messaging platforms.
Sure, they help increase productivity & save on some meeting time, but are they really that productive?
Research shows employees:
- Check messages up to 75X a day
- Are constantly distracted by new messages & requests
- Spend 2.5 hrs a day or 30% of their time reading & replying to messages
- The rise of internal chat platforms has significantly increased the pressure
30% of time = 30% of salary cost & growing…
That’s a huge alarm bell for any organisation.
Let’s dive a little deeper & see what we can do about it!
Messaging Pressures Increasing
Slack, Zoom, Workspace, Teams, Skype & even social media sites like Facebook, Messenger, & WhatsApp are all part of the many avenues of communication available. They are all in addition to the more traditional messaging source of email.
They all positively contribute to how teams work together, but at what cost?
Organisations & teams absorb valuable time, money, & resources using multiple platforms for communication & connection but spend less time on the ‘HOW’ to make messaging effective.
It’s critical that you establish boundaries & clear ‘modus operandi’ on all channels of communication to manage the employee impact of online messaging.
Establish Messaging Boundaries
The addition of new messaging services & chat channels has accelerated connection, but at what cost?
The quantity of messaging hasn’t decreased – its increased!
The time demands on individuals hasn’t decreased, its intensified!
The workload & pressure from increased messaging has increased workplace strain.
The level of urgency has expanded.
The expectation of answering messages has magnified.
All leading to overloaded team members who are increasingly more concerned about their inbox & messages received.
Messaging is a huge investment
~30% of salary costs – is a massive investment in messaging that is a massive cost if organizations don’t get it right.
Equally the ongoing impacts of workload pressure on teams – no one is sure on what the potential health costs amongst teams & employees is going to be?
Remember, this challenge is going to be more difficult to manage as we chat & email excessively if we don’t take significant action!
Leaders need solutions for messaging
Leaders themselves need to first recognise the potential problem of 30% of time use on messaging & start making changes themselves.
They themselves, could be higher than 30% & the main source of the problem!
Workload challenges with messaging don’t correct by themselves – people need direction – they need to see a way forward.
The significant increase in internal messaging won’t improve performance if:
- Everyone is waiting for the next message or
- Are instantaneously responding to messages as they arrive!
- They are not writing messages with conviction
If nothing changes – the pressure will get worse
There is much more to Messaging than pressing send!
- Establish clear directions on how to use messaging
- Share them widely with your team.
- Tackle the intensity challenge of internal chat systems
- Be clear on messages you send & what they mean
- Remove messaging overload by addressing quantity & quality
- Free up employees time & focus by addressing messaging
- Make messaging overload a key internal target
- Change your own behaviours to positively impact messaging
Creating Edge understand the challenges faced by leaders & are 100% focused on making a difference on messaging overload & team pressures. To help on messaging you may want to look at this : Creating Edge Email & Chats Course
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