Reaching out to our teams has never been so easy. Instant messaging channel has massively helped to fast track responses in organizations. Report linker survey has found that 43% of employees use instant messaging apps for business communication. With the shift in knowledge economy it is no longer ‘Business@ Speed of Thought’. Businesses are conducted @ speed of bandwidth. Anyone can reach everyone anytime.
Yet, how many of this ‘everyone’ like being engaged? The reality depends on how many experience the human touch.

Imagine, you are set to start another work day after a hard day’s work. The following chat messages flash on your phone.

• Can I ask you something quick?
• See this link and comment
• I want a quick update on
• Did you check the mail I sent last night?

How do you feel? Maybe like a hippopotamus in the middle of a muddy swamp surrounded by alligators!

How motivated are you to respond? The answer is probably—“of course not!”

Why? The sender handles you like a ‘humanoid chatbot’. Now, how does it feel if a chat starts with “Hey Good Morning , How has your day been?”

EX (Employee Experience) is the sum total of all the interactions that employees have with the organization. EX is about moments that matter to the employees. Your company could organize free medical camps for wellness. Yet, when a leader and peers ask an employee, “How are you doing?”, it triggers a neural impulse that “this organization is interested in my wellbeing”.

‘When dealing with people, remember you are not dealing with creatures of logic, but creatures of emotion’
– Dale Carnegie

Everyone has a basic desire to be loved, praised and cared for. When you respect your employee’s emotions, they feel valued. Emotional Intelligence is the ATM to withdraw positive business outcomes. Employees treated well, put up their best. Each staff has the responsibility of co-creating a positive ecosystem.

Agreed?

If so, let us ‘be the change you want to see in this world’.

When you get a straight to the point question on chat the next time, do not allow your etiquette to get cloned. Follow these four simple steps.

• #1 Greet the sender
• #2 Ask how the sender is doing
• #3 Wait for a few minutes. If online, there is a 99% chance that the sender will greet you back.
• #4 If your response is urgent, provide. Else, wait for the sender to greet.

At the step 2, the sender has a high likelihood to realize that they have been impersonal, yet you are courteous.

When you initiate a chat, recalibrate to the days of postal letters. We asked for the wellbeing first, before anything else. What makes Social media popular? People have an innate desire to be ‘liked’, and acknowledged.
The central idea is not to repackage the Hygiene factor in Herzberg’s Two-factor theory. The Organization’s culture determines market leadership (Unravel the new linkage between culture and competitive advantage, through the Chapter-Rough Stones and Marbles in ‘Father Of Your Team’. To read this chapter for free, write to reach@authorvenkat.com )

Have you watched a typical Quiz contest in television? What was the viewership?

Think about ‘Who wants to be the Millionaire’ or the Indian variant ‘Kaun Banega Crorepati’. Beyond the celebrity factor and money, what engaged millions of viewers? Simple – The viewers felt connected with the respondent and the person asking the question.

Personal touch unlocks ‘enormous untapped potential’ in every business transaction. Feel privileged that you have access to this potential, every time you start your chat with employees.

– Venkat Kumaresan

Author of ‘Father Of Your Team’, the World’s First Book on implementing Paternalistic leadership
www.authorvenkat.com