* Why the phone is not the most efficient communication method
Last week I wrote about how instant messaging and other collaboration tools can reduce delays in communications among team members. The newsletter discussed the results of an analysis that showed that distance increases the difficulty of obtaining information from others.
A reader of the newsletter took exception with my conclusion and offered the following (paraphrased) response:
I hate it when research is narrow to prove a point. I have to work with people who think that a fast response is an e-mail message. Needless to say, you and they should try an older piece of hardware: the phone. It might prove to be a very rapid method of transmitting ideas. Further, a fax machine makes available all the information that someone needs instead of having to coordinate an IM conference or wading through all the e-mail to find a specific message. In short, voicemail and fax transmit information and background more efficiently than e-mail or IM.
The reader has a good point. Very often, specific e-mail messages are difficult to find, particularly when they are older. Coordinating collaboration sessions via Web conferencing or IM can be more difficult than just picking up the phone or sending a fax. However, I disagree with the fundamental notion that e-mail and IM do not ultimately make people more efficient than phone and fax. It all boils down to the level of disruption involved with the use of each technology.
Looking back at history, one can arguably view the development of communications technology as successively making communicating with others less and less disruptive and, by corollary, making people more efficient. The telephone made it possible to call someone many miles away without having to take the time to write a letter or travel to that person. Early cell phones were an improvement over wireline telephones because they permitted communications with less disruption to one’s schedule than seeking out a pay phone or staying in the office. E-mail is less disruptive than the telephone because it allows two people to take part in a conversation at different times. IM is less disruptive than the telephone because it offers greater flexibility and integrates more easily with the typical user’s work processes. Handheld e-mail and IM devices are less disruptive than desktop or even laptop computers because they often make access to communications easier. In short, e-mail and IM integrate more easily into most work processes than phone and fax.
I’d appreciate your thoughts on this – please drop me a line at mailto:michael@ostermanresearch.com (or call me at 253-630-5839).
