Meeting Etiquette

Community Manager — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 13:13:00 GMT

Across the pond, the new English Prime Minister has set tongues wagging with his decision to ban cabinet members from using mobile phones and BlackBerries in meetings. This tempest is in an English teapot but it does bear thinking about at home. I would be lying if I didn't say that at times, I would love to ban phones, blackberries, and laptops from meetings. Technology has clearly changed the way we work and live. But has it changed the rules of what is polite and acceptable in business meetings?

Maintaining Meeting Etiquette

According to Christine Pearson, a management professor at Thunderbird School of Global Management, Thunderbird School of Global Management technology and its omnipresence in the workplace is eroding civility. Pearson interviewed 9,000 U.S. workers and managers for her book The Cost of Bad Behavior and concluded that texting and emailing during meetings is a serious lapse of etiquette.

"No one likes to be snubbed, of course, but the offense can take on a new edge when the winner is a machine," observed Pearson in a recent New York Times article Sending a Message that You Don't Care.

Managers work hard to plan and execute successful meetings. Don't let a meeting be derailed by texting and cell phone interruptions. Establish a protocol for managing meeting technology etiquette.

Steps could include:

Remind everyone that face-to-face meeting time is valuable.
Impose a moratorium on devices during some meetings, but allow breaks for checking e-mail, texts and networking accounts.
Work with your staff to set guidelines about what is and isn't reasonable in your particular workplace.
Hold everyone accountable to the guidelines - including yourself.

One of the first rules for life we are taught as young children is 'mind your manners.' Keep this old truism firmly in mind when next tempted to check your e-mail or send a text during a meeting. Remember, that the message you could be sending is that what is on your e-mail or cell phone is more important than interacting with the person you are with.

Do you think meeting etiquette is being executed well in your workplace? Could your office stand to improve its meeting etiquette policies? Share your thoughts here and on the Beyond Folders Community's Facebook and Twitter pages.

by Candie Harris

Home/Work: Blurring Personal and Professional Identities

Community Manager — Thu, 27 May 2010 12:21:00 GMT

Clear demarcations between work and personal life have gone the way of the three-martini lunch. Using work computers to shop online or make vacation reservations is as common as BlackBerries buzzing at school recitals or a co-worker friending you on Facebook.

Technology increasingly enables people to live a 24/7 existence, eroding the line between home and office. Today, professionals can even work while on vacation. Rather than bemoan the change (a Luddite-like finger in the dike) today's employee should embrace technology for the positive attributes it brings to creating healthy work/life synergy.

Managed appropriately, technology enhances flexibility, productivity and business and personal brand value. Social media is a case in point.

Consider that Twitter and Facebook can be set up for personal use, professional use or a hybrid model. Experiment with what works for you and your company.

For many knowledge workers, a hybrid professional/personal online presence is desirable. Social media is not only fun, it is an extremely powerful marketing tool. Used effectively, you can build a meaningful personal brand by engaging the social media channels that are right for you.

When you venture into social media be sure to manage potential pitfalls by arming yourself with tools to protect your online reputation. Equal care should be taken not to run afoul of your company's personal use standards for technology. Avid texters should take note: the Supreme Court will soon decide if a California police department violated an employee's privacy when it inspected personal text messages he sent using a work-issued pager.

Familiarize yourself with what is permissible at your job.

In the end, judgment matters. The best way to avoid violating your company's technology use standards, or with revealing too much personal information to professional contacts is to use good judgment.

The old adage applies: If you wouldn't want to see it on the front page of the New York Times, do not say it, or do it...or Tweet it!

by Candie Harris

Beyond Folders : technology, communications

Meeting Etiquette

Home/Work: Blurring Personal and Professional Identities