MAALL 2020: Shift Happens: Communication

• Spontaneous interaction/collaboration
• Unspoken, instantaneous feedback (facial expressions and body language) and richness of conversation
• Brainstorming
• Project collaboration: conveyance of goals, processes, and time to completion
• Mail and shipping disruption
• Failed technologies
• Communication platform preferences

• Drake law librarians adopted communication standards with best practices for using Microsoft Teams and email. The conversations leading to the adoption of the standards helped set group norms; the implementation is a work in progress.
• Littler Mendelson’s library onboarded a new employee in a 100% virtual workplace for the first time. They felt the pang of missed communication opportunities and found it more critical to provide extra trainings and through multiple platforms. It was also important to make the new employee feel part of the team, so librarians have held coffee breaks via video conferencing to catch up and get to know one another in a way they used to experience at the lunch table.
• Littler Mendelson held their annual summer team event via WebEx in 2020. We played trivia on staff birthplaces and fun facts and took Gretchen Rubin’s Four Tendencies analysis, learning about each other, why expectation response variety is important on a team, and even how various tendency-types can improve communication with each other.

• South Dakota moved to a hybrid virtual workplace with some staff at home and some in the library. They implemented weekly one-on-one meetings between remote and onsite employees as an opportunity to connect. The meetings are built into librarian calendars and shouldn’t be missed unless truly necessary. The librarians can discuss work topics, but also simply chat about each other’s lives, just as you would do in-person.

• Consider technology-based, conversational communication platforms
  • IM, phone, email, video conferencing. Each meets different communication goals and replicates varying levels of formality.
  • IM is great for a quick question, or a hello for friendly outreach, but not for project planning.
  • Email allows teams to put forth ideas for consideration, consider agenda items in preparation for meetings, keep a project group up-to-date, or send mass communications.
  • Phone conversations ensure accurate verbal communication and maintain relationships.
  • Video meetings and webinars allow teams to read facial expressions and body language, and is the closest we have to in-person meetings in virtual workplaces.
• Balance compromising to meet others at their preferred communication mode and frequency, with when to require certain platforms.
• Adjust the frequency of staff meetings considering urgency of new information, while also balancing meeting fatigue.
• Coffee breaks via video conferencing for informal relationship building
• Monthly phone call check-ins with staff and colleagues you don’t see anymore.
• At least once weekly instant message hellos.
• Focusing on Outcomes (from “Long Distance Leader”)
  • Help each other see how their individual work contributes to team/department/institutional goals
  • Focus on accomplishment, not activity (autonomy and accountability become required skills)
• Focusing on Others (from “Long Distance Leader”)
  • Coaching, communications priorities, ‘you are not alone,’ ‘win together.’
  • Focus on applying skills and interests to institutional goals, moving out of reactive mode and back to big-picture planning.
• Consider communication styles, introverts vs. extraverts, and individual tendencies. Working remotely affects everyone a little differently. Exercises to identify styles and tendencies on teams are a great opportunity to learn about each other. See: Farrington, Rubin, and Rosenberg.
• Rather than telling teams what to do, consider aligning people’s interests, what they want to do, and skills with the evolving mission of the institution. See: Narino.
  • This can be difficult to achieve in times of must-have responses.
  • If reactionary work becomes your normal, starting talking about goals, interests, careers. Try moving toward growth and accomplishment.
• Clarity of communications. Be concise, clear, visualize outcomes, ask for understanding of expectations. Ask if your team is missing any information and for feedback. Build processes together and follow up often.
• Transparency of administrative decision-making, health of institution, and reasons behind new projects requested. Teams respond favorable to honesty and trust.
• Get feedback from your team one how to improve communication.

Tips From Participants

Several participants discussed how we often impose our own impossible standards about being constantly available. Susan Boland shared a what-not-to-do tip: “I know of one IT shop where everyone is on Teams all the time and if you don't pick up when someone calls / chats, you need to have a reason for it.” The discussion also included ways to document your work and focus on the value you are adding, not being on call all day, every day.

This section focuses on communication strategies for teams who moved to and are still experiencing total or hybrid virtual workspaces. We recognize that information professionals continue to innovate with technology and processes for conveying information to stakeholders and patrons, while also developing new best practices. Although the scope of this section focused on departments and teams, further exploration of communication strategies in other contexts would be a valuable future discussion.