No, I haven’t forgotten where the space bar is. I wanted to soap-box about networking and it occurred to me that there could be a play on words here, or at least maybe just on the kerning.
There remains a lively debate on remote versus in-person working and it seems that one of the many casualties of the former is our ability to network effectively.
In our Thursday Associate call, last week, we at Remit Consulting discussed the need for, and potential diminishing of, networking in the traditional sense. The pro-online-networking voices lauded the wider audience online meetings could reach, and the obvious benefits to that. The more traditional (luddite?) of us promoted the view that networking is not just collecting numbers on LinkedIn or suchlike, never to be remembered or viewed again, but is about forming a real connection to others, sharing knowledge not only about our work but a preview into our personal lives and experiences. Call me old-fashioned, but surely that is how true relationships start?
An article last week in BBC Worklife reports on the surprising increase in business travel. Stay with me on this, it is relevant. The big difference in the upsurge here is the motive. Whereas airlines and public alike expected a plummet in numbers travelling due to hybrid working, it seems that the need to connect with colleagues is stronger than ever now that we see each other less frequently, and so travel to meet each other is on the up (no pun intended).
We are a social species currently spending more time in our respective lairs than venturing forth to meet others. In a previous blog (“Smoking causes Coughing”) I mentioned research around the wellbeing benefits of interacting with strangers, so maybe the rise in business travel could be a sign of the few brave ones taking the first cautious steps. Amex GBT data suggests 70% of survey respondents (sample of 425 business workers) feel disconnected when primarily working remotely and 88% of them feel meeting in-person is vital for networking (ah, she’s back).
Networking is not only good for us, it is a human and business imperative. Scuttling out of your lair to reluctantly attend the office, an event, or whatever, and then hurtling back as soon as possible is not going to enhance your life, is not going to bring you that wonderful support network and, critically, is not going to bring in future business.
Networks are everywhere, join one or start one – let’s be human again.