How long do you spend on social channels and message apps each day? Honestly…

The truth is, we live in a highly-connected digital environment. So, it’s only natural that this preference for screen-based communication flows into the business world. Your staff members, particularly the younger generations, will be accustomed to discussing everything and anything through their mobile devices.

And let’s not forget, digital communication has absolutely enhanced the modern workplace. This new level of connectivity allows us to get things done faster, be more mobile and work remotely when we need to. We can even reach our colleagues around the world in real time, to resolve issues on the spot.

But, this can have a negative impact too. Your teams may rely too heavily on screen-based communication, which could mean they lack essential collaboration skills, teamwork abilities and the camaraderie found in a more traditional workplace.

Here are four warning signs that your team may be relying too heavily on digital communication, and some suggestions on how to resolve them:

1. Shh… a very quiet office space

When you spend time in your team’s workspace, do you notice minimal verbal chatter? Your team is clearly meeting their deadlines and discussing projects, but there’s little evidence of it.

Business chat channels like Slack and Flock are great for logging information to refer back to and for keeping business comms transparent, but it shouldn’t be the only source of discussion, particularly on private chats.

The solution:

To avoid misunderstandings down the line (and a deadly-silent workspace!) your teams should chat regularly to flesh projects out face-to-face. To help encourage this, why not suggest regular project catch-ups and desk-based conversations with staff?

These chats needn’t be formal, just a quick gathering around someone’s screen to go over the latest action points and progress, and to keep the conversation flowing.

2. Work is done more than once

This is particularly problematic if your team relies on asynchronous channels like email, rather than having ‘live’ conversations.

When you team’s communication is an ongoing back-and-forth exchange, with multiple documents being sent and re-saved, there’s a good chance communication can get missed and workload becomes duplicated.

The solution:

Perhaps suggest that your teams discuss their roles and responsibilities in person at the kick off of a project. Once a project has finished, a retro to discuss what worked and what failed is also a great team activity. If your teams are remote, then perhaps this should be done via conference call, FaceTime or Skype. Then, regular progress updates will keep everyone on the same page.

Finally, introduce the concept of ‘working’ documents, like Google Docs, to ensure everyone is working on the latest versions and removing duplicate input.

3. Team misunderstandings

This is a trickier one to watch out for. Work-based misunderstandings may not always be work related. They could be personality clashes or other personal problems between staff. Perhaps two colleagues don’t quite see eye-to-eye over a project or their personal circumstances, or you notice they spend minimal time in each other’s company.

Let’s face it — we all have that one friend, family member or colleague whose ‘online’ personality is wildly different to their real life personality. The problem is, screen-based communication leaves greater scope for misinterpretation. It can sometimes generate a perceived lack of authenticity or sense of indifference, depending on your team’s digital social skills.

The solution:

To help reduce any unnecessary work-based clashes, encourage your staff to spend time together for non work-related activities. This could be a quick Friday afternoon drink, or a lunch offsite. Allowing your team to socialise in a setting away from the office (or at least separate from work) allows them to relax and feel more comfortable in each other’s company.

It’s worth remembering, however, that despite your best efforts you simply can’t force people to get along. If the problem escalates or persists, perhaps discuss it with each team member and see if you can find the root cause and a more long-term resolution.

4. Lack of teamwork

Have you noticed a siloed mentality between your staff? This can be increasingly evident if your team is fast-growing or there’s a high turnover of staff. Maybe each team member works incredibly hard on his or her part of a project, but neglects to update other stakeholders on the outcomes and requirements. Is your team sometimes missing joint deadlines, or failing to get a project out the door?

These can all be signs of a lack of inherent teamwork. Your team’s output should be cumulative, not based on individual work alone. It’s essential for your business that your workers feel comfortable collaborating, picking each other brains and tapping each other’s skills and strengths to reach the best solution.

The solution:

If this is a persistent problem, there’s a good chance that your team has never been in a scenario in which they must work together to reach a final outcome. Maybe they are too used to relying on their individual skills to see the value of joint effort.

The best way to tackle this is to plan a team building activity that engages all members of the team. Rather than sports events or overly active games that could isolate some members, it should be an inclusive activity that encourages your staff to think critically and to rely on each other’s strengths to succeed.

Escape Hunt’s exciting escape experiences, for example, are the perfect way to get your workforce thinking outside the box, working collaboratively and putting their collective communication skills to the test. That way, the skills your team develops away from the office can be applied to the next team project.