Deciding what information and communications technology to use at work

Over the years, electronic communication has become the norm, both in our private and professional lives.  Thanks to innovations in information and communications technology (ICT), we now have everything from online messaging services (such as emails and instant messages) to audio-video conferencing applications (like conference calls and video calls).  As a result, lots of business professions have changed significantly, especially office jobs.

Managers can hold virtual meetings instead of in-person meetings.  Instructors and trainers can provide webinars in place of classrooms.  Employees can send electronic messages rather than chatting with coworkers face to face.  In short, thanks to this wide range of information and communications technology, professionals can interact with digital interfaces in lieu of actual faces.

Obviously, electronic communication doesn’t work equally well for all lines of work.  For instance, you really can’t run a sit-down restaurant, perform surgery, or work as a barber online.  Still, for plenty of office jobs nowadays, there’s no reason to forgo working from home as an option, at least some of the time.  (Indeed, there may be an imperative to do so on occasion—say, during a global pandemic crisis!)

Nevertheless, with more people working from home, a question arises.  What’s the best way to communicate, if not in person?  Specifically, what information technology should I use to communicate with my coworkers?  For example, let’s compare two of the most common types of information and communications technology used in work settings today: emails versus video calls.

Should I send an email or make a video call at work?

Let’s begin by acknowledging a common complaint among professionals: getting too many emails! By the time everyone scans all the messages and replies (and replies to replies, and replies to replies to replies), the online communication only seems to cause more confusion.  At that point, it’s often better to make a video call (if a face-to-face meeting isn’t possible) and have a discussion to clarify what everyone is trying to say, or what complex problem they’re attempting to solve.

Then again, it’s not uncommon for workers to complain about having too many meetings as well. Furthermore, if the content of the meeting is simple and logistical (for example, “So-and-so is leaving work early today, so please be her backup this afternoon”), a brief email may be more efficient, and no less effective, than a time-consuming meeting.

So, what’s the best business technology to communicate at work: emailing or video calling (assuming a face-to-face meeting isn’t feasible)?  Well, it depends, but there are a couple ways to help answer that question.  One is to think about what kind of knowledge we’re trying to communicate.  The other is to think about what kind of social interaction is more efficient and effective for communicating that knowledge.

We’ll start with the first point: what kind of knowledge we’re trying to communicate.  To get more precise, we can ask a psychological question put forward by scientist Michael Polanyi: Is the knowledge tacit or explicit?

Tacit vs. explicit knowledge

“I shall reconsider human knowledge by starting from the fact that we can know more than we can tell.  This fact seems obvious enough; but it is not easy to say exactly what it means.  Take an example.  We know a person’s face, and can recognize it among a thousand, indeed among a million.  Yet we usually cannot tell how we recognize a face we know.  So most of this knowledge cannot be put into words.” – Michael Polanyi (1966, p 4).

It was Michael Polanyi, a famous 20th-century polymath, who distinguished between two kinds of knowledge.  On one hand, there’s tacit knowledge.  It refers to hands-on skills that are difficult to verbalize or write down, because they’re learned largely through personal experience.  To illustrate, here are a few examples of tacit knowledge:

• Riding a bike, driving a car, or playing a musical instrument
• Leading a team or managing a group of employees
• Resolving interpersonal disputes or conflicts

Explicit knowledge, on the other hand, refers to information that’s easy to verbalize or put into writing, such as clear-cut facts.  When you read a step-by-step manual or some form of technical writing, you’re reading explicit knowledge.  Here are some other common examples of explicit knowledge:

• Database entries or encyclopedic entries
• Policies, procedures, and protocols
• Product reviews, reports, and ratings

Know-how vs. know-what

Sometimes, tacit knowledge is called know-how, while explicit knowledge is called know-what.  Quite often, these two kinds of knowledge intersect.

For instance, playing a physical sport like soccer has both a tacit and an explicit dimension. Learning how to move and dribble the ball is tacit knowledge.  You can’t learn these skills simply by reading books.  You have to practice to master this skill set.  However, learning what the rules of the game are is explicit knowledge.  Assuredly, you can learn those rules by reading a book.

The same holds true for mental activities such as public speaking.  Learning how to speak (e.g., finding the right tone of voice, making proper eye contact, using timely expressions or strategic pauses, etc.) is tacit knowledge.  But learning what to speak about (i.e., the subject matter) is explicit knowledge.

Tacit vs. explicit knowledge in emails and video calls

Okay, let’s return to the question posed earlier.  What’s the best way to communicate with coworkers: sending an email, or making a video call?  Clearly, the answer may depend on what kind of knowledge we’re trying to communicate.

On one hand, if the knowledge is tacit, it won’t be easy to articulate in mere words or writing.  Therefore, an information and communications technology like a video call may be a more effective way to communicate such knowledge.  For instance, if the information is about how to solve a complex problem (“What’s the most effective marketing strategy for next year?”), you’ll probably want to meet virtually (if not face to face) to discuss and deliberate.

On the other hand, if the knowledge is explicit, it’ll be much easier, and likely more efficient, to articulate the information in writing.  For example, if the information is just a simple and logistical fact or issue to relay (“What’s my schedule for next week?”), an information and communications technology like email should do the trick nicely.

To sum up:

• Video calls work well for communicating tacit knowledge to solve complex problems that are difficult to articulate in mere writing.
• Emails work well for communicating explicit knowledge to relay simple, logistical facts or issues that are easy to articulate in writing.

Of course, after we identify what kind of knowledge we’re trying to communicate, we also need to think about what kind of social interaction is more efficient and effective for communicating that knowledge.  Which brings us to another psychological idea known as “social presence”—a concept we explore in Part II of this article.

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References

Polanyi, Michael (1966). The Tacit Dimension. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.