Today we are releasing the results of a study that was conducted by Forrester with Citrix Online (you know, the GoToMeeting folks who help us keep the lights on around here) that looks at how business people communicate and collaborate across the globe.
As workshifters, we all know how liberating it is to work when, how and where you want, and that technology helps us do that without comprising quality of work or efficiency. But does the rest of the world get it? Forrester conducted a study with Citrix Online that looks at how business people communicate and collaborate across the globe, and it turns out that the in-person meeting is alive and well with 84% of respondents still having them. However, these in-person meetings often are inconvenient to coordinate and don't achieve the agenda's goals. In fact, only 45% are very satisfied that planning meetings achieve the task in hand and less than half believe any type of meeting to be very efficient! What is it then, fellow workshifters? Are people just in plain denial about the effectiveness of in-person meetings?
Communication isn't simple as people deal with complex and challenging work environments. From dispersed workforces, an accelerated pace of business and changing attitudes and work styles, it's important for companies to look at such snapshots of current trends and practices. It provides the opportunity to think about the implications for how to build the right organizational meeting/communication structure.
The study includes interesting findings that shed light on similarities and differences across generations and countries with how people like to interact with coworkers and what they need to be productive. For instance, contrary to what people probably assume, Gen Y does not have the monopoly on tech use and social tools in the office. They're actually least likely to share information via text messages and use social networking the least frequently!
And how do the different surveyed countries compare in their individual business languages? Check out the infographic below:
