Technology

Friday Buzz: Keep Things Flowing

The importance of not letting the workflow defined by your tools get in the way of your organization's ability to collaborate. Also: Some basic tips to keep members engaged.

Is it possible your organization has too many ways to collaborate?

Rich Millington of FeverBee suggests in his latest post that, instead of bringing on yet another productivity tool, the real problem you might be facing with collaboration is that your workflow is overly complicated, which slows everyone down.

But making changes to improve things requires kid gloves: By being too drastic, you could end up making the problem worse.

“Understand that most collaboration problems are workflow problems,” Millington writes in his blog post. “Either gradually help individual teams within the organization make a big change or simplify the change for the entire organization. Minimize the disruption to workflow by being creative and embracing integrative tools. It’s a lot easier to make improvements this way.”

Respect and Rewards

Getting members engaged in your organization isn’t always an easy task—in fact, it can be a challenge to move the needle. Over at Aptify, writer Jennifer Barrell has a few ideas for moving that needle, and they come down to two things: respect and rewards.

One of the best ways to show respect is to listen closely to member feedback, she writes.

“Members often ask for certain training or tell you when they need better ways to find qualified employees for their businesses,” Barrell explains. “Give them what they ask for—that’s the best reward you can offer.”

Check out her full post for a few more ideas.

Other Links of Note

Fridays can be tough. Don’t make them tougher by checking your email first thing in the morning, writes Lifehacker’s Kristin Wong.

Wish your phone lasted a whole lot longer? You may want to keep an eye out for what’s happening at MIT. Apparently, an alum of the school has created a battery that lasts twice as long as batteries currently on the market.

Twitter is working on ways to improve the level of the tweets you see. The company launched a “quality filter” on Thursday. Check its blog for more details.

Ernie Smith

By Ernie Smith

Ernie Smith is a former senior editor for Associations Now. MORE

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