I’m currently enrolled in a course called the Organizational Aspects of Business Process Management. One of the main themes in the course is how to lead change in addition to managing it. While discussing this theme in last night’s session it occurred to me that some users who develop rogue IM work habits could perhaps, in the right context, be viewed as change leaders rather than problematic users.
Working as an information professional, either as a full-time employee or a consultant has afforded me a lot of opportunities to quietly observe the work habits of all kinds of users. I often learn about these rogue habits either by accident, when a user will innocently talk about their processes without any thought of having done anything wrong, or intentionally. In the latter case this most often happens when a user is so frustrated with current work practices that s/he has taken it upon his/herself to find a more efficient and productive solution. We hear about these things all the time for example when employees install and use apps & services such as Snapchat or Dropbox. Other examples include buying and using unauthorized devices like tablets and smartphones. Or sometimes employees feel pressure to be available at all times, or finish their work in overtime (evenings and weekends) and will email attachments, or forward work emails, to their personal emails to work at home.
In a workplace that is changing rapidly and is largely influenced by remote and/or mobile access via hand-held devices, it’s no wonder that users are looking for modern solutions. This is especially important considering that many employees now have access to better and more sophisticated solutions on their personal devices than they do in the workplace. It can take a long time to make changes in the workplace. Users who are required to work in mobile and collaborative environments often can’t wait for the workplace to catch up, nor can they afford the loss in productivity if they do things by the book.
For me I think the challenge comes with balancing all the positive aspects of these mavericks with the rigid, formal regulations I’m often hired to implement and enforce. As a user, and a human, I have an enormous amount of compassion for these rogue users. They’re creative, innovative, motivated, and diligent. And above all, they’re really concerned about getting their work done. Of course there are disadvantages to these types of personalities as well, but I prefer to focus on the fact that these employees are self-starters, not afraid of change, and have taken the initiative to make things better. Often, the employees are working in unchartered territories simply because the organization has not anticipated or encountered these kinds of IM challenges and no policies or guidelines are in place.
As an information professional, the challenge is in figuring out a way to leverage all the amazing things that come from these rogue IM practices and apply some structure. The first step is in understanding why the users have elected to go down an unchartered path before devising a way to bring them back under the safety of the corporate umbrella. The hope is that the new solution will be harmonious between the user, their work habits, and all the rules and regulations. Where’s that fairy dust when you need it!