f2f

In a world of email, Wiki's, teleconference, web conferencing, etc. etc. - it is valid to ask - is there any longer any need for face to face working? Of course there is! How dull would life become if we spent all our time in front of a screen or talking on the 'phone?

I spend much of my time at present helping organisations and their staff improve their performance through what we call e-Working - using all of the above tools, to do what they might do whilst taking up space in an expensive office - to do the same, and more, whilst at home, on the move, or in places close to their customers. In one organisation, we have reduced operational costs by almost 40% by reducing the needs for office space and facilities.

To what extent have they eliminated face to face contact? Well, typically they still work in the office for 30-40% of their time. and the reason - well, many of the people they need to interact with are not yet familiar with virtual working. in any case, when we are meeting people for the first time, kicking off a new project, negotating a contract ... there are important and powerful reasons to do it face to face. The chemistry is just not the same on line. Most of us get a buzz out of meeting people face to face - meetings are just richer when all the senses come into play.

I fully expect that as more of us become familiar with the use of virtual collaboration tools, we will do less and less face to face. However, except where geographical barriers make it impossible or just too expensive, I fully expect that we will still spend a significant amount of our time in face to face contact with friends, collagues and business partners.

A common hearing is the follwing: Face to face meetings are very useful in kicking off certain programs or projects. Afterwards, the on-line meetings and tele-collaboration run a lot easier. It can overcome some barriers when working remotely.