Can We Stop the Decline in Communication?
The Shift in How We Communicate
We have moved away from being a society of people who talk to each other regularly. I grew up in the 70s and 80s – remember when we had telephones hanging from our walls? We were taught how to make a call and how to answer one. When we would want to do something or meet up, we would either just go to someone’s house to see if they were around or we would call ahead and then make some plans.
Mobile
Then came the pager and secret codes… car phones were still out of my reach as they were so expensive. Toward the end of my high school years, I had pager and this was easiest way to reach out to friends. It was a marvel that we could even let someone know we were trying to reach them using codes to share why and send short messages.
On the heels of the pager came mobile phones and text messaging. Still not easy because these were not smart phones in any real sense, based on today’s technology.
So the advent of smart phones, text messaging, instant messaging, and now Facebook & other social sites have changed the way we communicate.
“I’ve Heard This All Before”
You are probably saying to yourself, “I’ve heard this before… I can see it myself, what are you getting at?”
What I have been thinking about and what I’m worried about is the decline of our communication. We now no longer have conversations with people. We don’t even write emails longer then a paragraph and then it isn’t even in a paragraph form. Most of my emails are bullet points as that is how people read these days. They read in bullet points and blurbs.
Text messages are shortened to words with no vowels. And with social media, people simply communicate in likes and reposts.
How did we get here?
How, as a society, did we get here? People will spend more time sending a text or instant message then just making a call. It would be faster with less error in message and comprehension if they would just have a conversation.
I am worried that the skill of good communication is leaving us, as a whole.
The ramifications we might want to think about
Lack of real conversation leads to no real relationships. No communication in dating – swipe left or right? No communication in relationships leads to surface marriages and divorce rate increases. No commitment to anyone or anything.
What message does this send to future generations? How do we pass this skill and this message down to our kids and their kids, as well?
No communication skills in the workplace; which leads to high turnover and no real loyalty of employees to their employers.
No ability to share or convey feelings.
This is a slippery slope, and we don’t have much control over where it goes.
Just some of my random thoughts on how people don’t communicate these days.
For the Employer
So, we at Dovetail Software have a created a product that allows employers to increase the amount of communication with their employees – through different channels and different methods. As most employees are losing the ability to communicate, we want to make it easier for them to reach out to HR, to find answers they need and get the help they want. If we don’t have the ability to reach and communicate with our employees, then for the same reasons relationships fail, so will keeping employees. If they can’t express themselves, then we need to help them and make it an easier process than it has historically been.
At the same time, we need to protect ourselves, as employers, to what employees are doing. We want and need to track HR’s interactions with employees. This is where Case Management comes in.
The use of an HR Case Management system ensures that all interactions with employees are reported and tracked, that the response from HR or management is consistent and timely, considering legal and regulatory compliance, and securely housing records in a single location, easily accessible by appointed administrators.
Connect with me
If you want to know more, please reach out – I’d love to show you some options we have to help both employees and employers.
-Matt Yunker, Sales
myunker@dovetailsoftware.com
