Effective Communication Through the Use of Web 2.0 Tools and Technology
The March article I wrote covered the impact of 21st century technology on a landlord’s ability to stay connected with their tenants. This month, I am going to discuss the impact that many of these same tools have on my business partners and my LLC. As I mentioned earlier, almost everywhere we go today there are students and adults “plugged in” to their phones, -Tops players and the like. While this technological revolution is intimidating for some, it is a way of life for others. What my business partners and I have discovered in recent years is that once we overcome some of our individual and collective preoccupation with technology, many of our business processes and daily communication have become more effective and efficient. This month, I’ll talk about our use of two tools from the Google suite: Google Docs and Google Calendar.
As our business began to grow and we divided our roles and responsibilities into departments, our communication system became a tangled bird’s nest of phone calls, emails, face-to-face conversations, and handwritten notes. Even though we had designated jobs and responsibilities, we were still so interconnected that, needless to say, this lack of a clear system created a chaotic mess of miscommunication. At the time, to keep our individual schedules in order, two of us were using the calendar software associated with the Top Producer real estate program (which could only be shared by the two people by syncing their calendars on their PCs), one of us was using iCal and Apple’s iPhone to keep a calendar, and the fourth was using the calendar on his Blackberry. Obviously the problem here was that only two of us could see when the other was available, and that was only when he took the time to physically sync his phone. We ask ourselves, ‘what do we need?’ We decided the answer was that we needed a shared calendar system that would work with both Macs and PCs, Blackberry, iPhone and Treos, and that didn’t require physically syncing information; it would have to happen wirelessly. Our first look was at GoDaddy’s online software, which, despite having to enter all of our information twice (once in GoDaddy and once in our own personal calendars), worked for a short time. As we continue to test our systems, we decided to take it to the next level: use Google’s online calendar. The difference this has made has been very beneficial. Google, since it is web-based and free, can work with all our devices. We’ve also been able to download apps that allow our iPhones and Blackberries to enter information directly into our personal calendars, which are then uploaded to Google automatically, thus speeding up the process. Now we can, without much effort and in real time, see when they are available for meetings, presentations and the like. This has helped us with a better use of our time and energy.
Have you ever been in a situation where you were collaborating on a document, letter, or email memo with one or more colleagues? This question brings us to the second area where we needed to improve: paperwork. While email has become second nature for quick and easy communication, it also comes with its own set of challenges. Collaborating on documents via email, while possible, isn’t always the most effective. While we were developing letter templates, maintaining our books and other standard tools for our business, our inboxes became a chaos from multiple drafts of these templates. The challenge here was that it was very difficult to keep track of which draft was the most recent, who was the last person to modify the draft, and whether we were both modifying the same or different segments. Again, the need we had was for an easier, more efficient, and more effective way to collaborate and share documents. After some discussion and searching, we decided to use Google Docs. Another Google Suite tool, Google Docs, allows us to create a document (Word, Power Point or Excel) that we can invite each member to view and edit. The benefit here is that any changes or modifications that are made are done in real time and in a document that anyone invited can see. For example, if two of us are working on the same draft letter for our tenants, once one of us makes a change, the other person sees that change almost immediately. This reduces the chance that we will unknowingly overwrite each other’s work. Google Docs also keeps track of the document’s revision history, so we can always review a previous version if we deem it necessary. As a bonus, all of this work is done online, so we’re not wasting reams of paper and printer ink, and we only print the document when it’s final. go green!
As I mentioned before, the bottom line is that technology has helped us evolve the way we communicate, socialize, and do business. While there are a million options, I wanted to share our experience with two tools, from the Google Suite, that have helped us streamline our communication systems and make more effective use of our time, energy, and resources. If you’re still a little hesitant and overwhelmed by the options available to you, I suggest this: ask yourself, “what systems or processes do I need to improve to help my business?” Then spend some time researching Web 2.0 tools that meet your needs, ie we needed a better way to share business calendars and keep track of our personal calendars, and Google Calendar fit the bill. Also, choose ONE app to try and give it time. This will allow for a learning curve for you to develop a level of comfort and experience with the tool.
Accept the challenge and enjoy the rewards!