Under-sharing

The silent productivity killer

These days we hear a lot about oversharing, such as oversharing information, sharing stuff with people who shouldn’t have access, not putting things in the right place and it then all of a sudden shows up, e.g. in Microsoft Delve* or now with adding Copilot to the mix.

*Some years back this made a bit of panic in some companies that didn’t have a good governance structure, and for the most part hadn’t done proper adoption of new tech tools, nor educated their employees how to work with these tools. Putting content in the wrong place could result in it popping up where it shouldn’t.

Oversharing

There are very good reasons to set up a good governance structure and put on proper policies in your digital platform, to avoid oversharing. There are plenty of blogs and resources about this.

Under-sharing

One thing we don’t talk about much these days is under-sharing, and by my opinion this is equally dangerous as oversharing, and I believe it is one of the main culprits for many things that go wrong in our society today. You may say that there is so much information out there, it is information overload. Yes, it is, however, how do you distinguish what is real and not. That is for you to learn to distinguish, and I am not going into that in this blog. What I will say is that experience, knowledge, insights AND critical thinking make you wiser. 😉

What I see in many organization is the lack of sharing internally, in the organization, with partners and vendors, with authorities, with customers and with any other relevant stakeholders. At the same time technology and technology updates are moving fast forward. These days I see that more organizations, both in the public and private sector have started to wake up and realize they need to take action.

Go to any conference today and I bet you, there is at least one speaker that recommend that we need to collaborate more, we need to share more across departments, across organizations, across so many different places.

Still, we don’t do it…why?

Why we don’t, well I guess you need to tell me that – why don’t you?

There might be many reasons, and I will share some ideas of what you can do below. Before that I had a chat with Copilot and we agreed on the following:

What Copilot says about under-sharing, some examples of situations where under-sharing can be a main culprit:

There are several real-world examples where under-sharing can led to significant issues:

1. Construction Projects: In large construction projects, if engineers and architects do not share updated plans or changes with the entire team, it can lead to construction errors. For instance, if structural changes are made but not communicated to the construction crew, it could result in safety hazards or costly rework.
2. Healthcare: In healthcare settings, under-sharing patient information between departments can lead to medical errors. For example, if a patient’s allergy information is not shared with the surgical team, it could result in administering a medication that the patient is allergic to, causing severe complications.
3. Corporate Scandals: In the corporate world, under-sharing information about financial health or legal issues can lead to scandals. For instance, if a company’s leadership is aware of ongoing legal investigations but does not share this with investors or partners, it can lead to loss of trust and financial damage when the information eventually comes to light.
4. Product Development: In tech companies, if developers do not share progress or issues with the rest of the team, it can lead to delays and integration problems. For example, if one team is working on a feature that depends on another team’s work, and they do not communicate effectively, it can result in mismatched components and project delays.
5. Emergency Response: In disaster management, under-sharing critical information can hinder response efforts. For example, if different agencies do not share real-time data about affected areas, it can lead to inefficient resource allocation and delayed assistance to those in need.

These examples highlight the importance of effective communication and information sharing to avoid misunderstandings, errors, and inefficiencies.

Why working Out Loud, aka moving from collaboration (or lack thereof) in email and private chat to Teams Channels and Viva Engage?

Lack of “working out loud” and relying on email and private chats instead of collaborative tools like Teams channels and Viva Engage can lead to inefficiencies and double work:

1. Product Development: In a tech company, if different teams are working on similar features but only communicate via email and private chats, they might not be aware of each other’s progress. This can lead to duplicate efforts, where two teams develop similar functionalities independently, wasting time and resources.
2. Marketing Campaigns: In a large organization, if the marketing department is split into several teams working on different campaigns, lack of visibility can cause overlap. For example, two teams might create similar promotional materials or target the same audience without knowing, leading to redundant work and inconsistent messaging.
3. Research and Development: In research institutions, scientists and researchers often work on related projects. If they only share updates through private channels, they might miss opportunities for collaboration, leading to parallel efforts on similar studies without leveraging each other’s findings and expertise.
4. Customer Support: In a customer service department, if agents handle cases through private emails and chats, they might not be aware of ongoing issues or solutions provided by their colleagues. This can result in multiple agents working on the same problem independently, causing inefficiencies and inconsistent customer experiences.
5. Project Management: In construction or engineering projects, if project managers and team members communicate primarily through emails, critical updates might not reach everyone involved. This can lead to different teams working on outdated plans or specifications, causing errors and rework.
6. Sales Teams: In sales organizations, if sales representatives do not share their activities and leads in a common platform, they might unknowingly contact the same potential clients, leading to confusion and a poor impression on the client.
7. Human Resources: In HR departments, if recruitment teams do not share candidate information and interview feedback openly, they might end up interviewing the same candidates multiple times or missing out on qualified candidates due to lack of coordination.

Using collaborative tools like Teams channels and Viva Engage can help centralize communication, making it easier for everyone to stay informed about ongoing projects and initiatives. This reduces the risk of duplicate work and ensures that efforts are aligned across the organization.

Break down the silos

Why is under-sharing risky?

Under-sharing can be as risky as over-sharing, especially in professional settings where critical information needs to be accessible to the right people at the right time. Here are a few thoughts on this:

1. Transparency and Accountability: In scenarios like evaluating tenders, not knowing about a partner’s legal issues can lead to significant risks. Ensuring that all relevant information is shared transparently helps in making informed decisions and maintaining accountability.
2. Collaboration and Communication: Effective collaboration tools like Microsoft 365 and Teams are designed to facilitate seamless communication. However, if team members are not sharing updates or critical information, it can lead to misunderstandings and errors, such as construction mistakes in for example in a house building project.
3. Data Governance: Implementing strong data governance policies can help balance the need for sharing information with the need to protect sensitive data. This includes setting clear guidelines on what information should be shared, with whom, and through which channels.
4. Training and Awareness: Regular training sessions can help team members understand the importance of sharing relevant information and the potential consequences of under-sharing. This can foster a culture of openness and proactive communication.
5. Technology Solutions: Utilizing features like shared channels in Teams, project management tools, and automated alerts can help ensure that important information is not missed and is accessible to all relevant stakeholders.

By addressing under-sharing, organizations can improve decision-making, enhance collaboration, and reduce the risk of errors and oversights.

The importance of adoption and continuously educating your workforce

Adoption means that you and your employees are using the tools you have implemented in an optimal way and as a natural part of their toolbox. Adoption doesn’t just happen by itself, you need an

• Adoption strategy
• Adoption Plan
• Adoption Governance

as adoption is a continuous process. As the organization grows with the technology and technology updates takes place continuously, there will raise new needs from the organization, and new updates needs to be implemented and communicated, and in some instances, need to be trained on.

Employees need to learn the W’s

• Why the tools should be used
• What the tools should be used for
• Who should use which tools
• How to use the tools
• When to use which tool

And continuously learn good practice for using the tools in relevant contexts.

Ownership

Somebody in the organization needs to decide why, how, what, how and when and train the organization in this.

Somebody needs to own the platform, the governance of it and decide on the W’s. People will eventually figure out how to work with the technology functionality-wise, to find out how to make channels in Teams, or add a task to a Planner dashboard. This is NOT what you start making guides or guidelines for in the organization. Microsoft Learn got that covered.

What employees are asking for is how do we do the W’s in OUR company?

Changing the way we work can become a battleground – bring your people along!

If you bolt your door with 5 locks and even change your wooden door with a 3-layered metal and steal door it won’t be secure if someone else in another part of the house open up the veranda door wide open, because you haven’t told them about the bear in the garden.

The same goes for sharing content in an organization. Here are some advices for how to do just that, it is not hard, it just needs to be done. Below you’ll find a list of what can be done.

Build trust and make people feel safe

Changing from working in email inbox (I have full control – and not sharing) to work out loud in channels in Teams can be one of the most difficult things to do. Not because of technology, because it rocks with some fundamental psychologies, and you are wise not to underestimate this.

If I use my email inbox as a power tool, in the sense that I decide who gets which emails or if there is an email that I don’t want shared or people to know about I can hold it back; I have a certain level of power and I might be afraid to loose this if we change the way we work. If the same information is shared in a channel in Teams, everyone can see it. This can result in some people resisting the change. If you make sure people understand that moving into Teams channels is not a threat, and instead it is a win for all parties, the adoption will go much smoother. Understanding and respecting your colleagues worries and concerns and empowering them through

• Continuously training
• Sharing and celebrating when colleagues do good things in new tools
• Make clear guidelines and guides
• Share good practices in bite size pieces and regularly over time

are good ways of bringing them over into a new way of working.

Standardization

Create standardized teams, such as:

• Department teams
• Project teams
• Work group teams
• Summer party organizer group, and other defined group

have the same set of channels, and tabs in these channels, perhaps 4-5 channels that are the same for all respectively. Each owner of a team in Teams can add more channels if need be.

Use standard channels for most of the collaboration and communication in the team. Use private or shared channels only when really necessary. If considering to create a private or shared channel in a team in Teams, consider first if you should make a new team in Teams or gather the “private” or “shared” in a joint team in Teams.

Example of consideration for a project team:

E.g. if I am running a project, all project members should have access to everything related to the project, including the contract, as this is what they are delivering on. However, there might be a couple of appendixes to the contract, e.g. related to prices and resources, or other sensitive information. You might consider to create a private channel in the project team for this kind of documentation. However, with a private channel you create a new SharePoint site, in addition to the existing team in Teams for the project, and you cannot use Planner. In this case, perhaps instead of storing/sharing this documentation in a private channel in the project team, I can instead share this documentation in another team in Teams, the “Project and portfolio”-team in Teams, where “my” project has a channel and only the project management have access there.

Use the Microsoft 365, Microsoft Viva and Microsoft Copilot to enhance information sharing and collaboration within teams. Here are some of the most effective ones:

1. Microsoft Teams: This platform offers chat, video conferencing, and file sharing, making it easy for team members to communicate and collaborate in real-time. Features like shared channels and integrated apps can help keep everyone on the same page.
2. SharePoint: Ideal for document management and storage, SharePoint allows teams to create, share, and manage content seamlessly. It also integrates well with other Microsoft 365 tools. SharePoint can be used as a shared knowledge base where team members can document important information, procedures, and FAQs, share videos, guidelines, logs, and much more.
3. OneDrive: For personal file storage and sharing, OneDrive is a great option. It allows users to store files in the cloud and share them with colleagues, ensuring that everyone has access to the latest versions. OneDrive should only be used for personal storage and sharing, and ad-hoc sharing, e.g. if needed to share with external parties that you don’t have a shared Teams with, not for work processes. Any work related work process content should be shared in SharePoint or SharePoint via Teams.
4. Planner: This task management tool helps teams organize and assign tasks, track progress, and collaborate on projects. It’s particularly useful for keeping everyone informed about project status and responsibilities. Tasks you get in Planner shows up in your personal task app Microsoft To Do, if opening in Teams menu it is called Planner.
5. Viva Engage: A social networking tool for businesses, Viva Engage facilitates open communication across the organization. It’s great for sharing updates, asking questions, and fostering a sense of community. Viva Engage is meant for building relationships, interest networks, knowledge and interest sharing across the organization.
6. Outlook: Beyond email, Outlook offers calendar and task management features that help keep everyone informed about meetings, deadlines, and important events. Outlook calendar is available via the Teams left side menu, it is the same calendar.
7. Power BI: For data sharing and visualization, Power BI allows teams to create interactive reports and dashboards, making it easier to share insights and make data-driven decisions.

Using these tools effectively can significantly improve information sharing, reduce the risk of under-sharing, enhance overall team collaboration and perhaps indirectly reduce oversharing.

Conclusion:

In conclusion, both oversharing and under-sharing information can have significant consequences in any organization. While oversharing can lead to information being accessed by unintended parties, under-sharing can be equally detrimental, causing inefficiencies, errors, and missed opportunities. It is crucial to

• Establish a robust governance structure
• Educate employees on how to ensure sharing the right information with the right people at the right time.

By leveraging collaborative tools like Microsoft Teams, SharePoint, and Viva Engage, and the rest of the Microsoft 365 and Microsoft Viva platforms, organizations can foster a culture of transparency and effective communication. This not only enhances productivity as well as ensures that everyone are on the same page, ultimately leading to better decision-making and a more cohesive work environment. Remember, the key to successful information sharing lies in striking the right balance and continuously adapting to the evolving technological landscape.

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Next steps:

Read the blog all the way down here? 🤩Fantastic! Here are some things you can do next:

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Explore Our Resources, and discover YOUR paths: Explore my previous blogs about anything collaboration and communication to deepen your understanding and enhance your skills.

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As you embark on this journey towards transforming your work culture and embracing the principles of working out loud, remember that building a trusting and collaborative environment takes time and effort. Stay committed to fostering open communication, sharing knowledge, and supporting one another. By leveraging the right tools and maintaining a positive mindset, you can create a workplace where everyone feels valued and empowered.

Good luck, and may your efforts lead to a more connected and productive organization!👋😊