I’m a purchaser… get me out there!
There is a piece in the news today that ties in superbly with what Ellis Watson said during his presentation to the CIPS Conference last week.
A survey by the magazine Computeractive claims that one in three workers spend more time emailing their colleagues than talking to them in person.
Without knowing the specifics of the survey, it’s tough to judge if this is really that surprising. If your colleagues are based in Shanghai, Krakow and Buenos Aires, arranging regular face-to-face meetings is going to be a little tricky. But if those surveyed are using email to talk to people in the same building, perhaps it is.
It certainly adds weight to Watson’s exhortation that buyers need to “get out there” a bit more. He encouraged purchasers to reduce the amount of time spent emailing, and take a more personal approach to dealing with stakeholders.
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Many businesses these days have a blame culture, and for that reason more and more employees feel they have to put everything down on emails in order to have black and white proof that something has been actioned, or someone has been given a task to carry out.
Its sad, but it is a reflection of how working practices have become more blame orientated. I do agree that nothing substitues for the face to face contact with colleagues and suppliers alike and this should be encouraged more. We need to get away from the dependence on getting everything in writing.
Having recently endured an Interim Manager who sent at least 4 lengthy emails per day (a.k.a streams of consciousness) to colleagues sitting within whispering distance, I can wholeheartedly endorse these sentiments.
It is important not to tie everyone with the same brush. I enjoy nothing more than having a conversation, it is certainly more effective.
However, I encourage senior members in organisations to encourage and demonstrate to the younger members the importance of face to face communication, as technology reigns supremes for us younger lot!