Attention and Distractions in a Social World

The whole topic of distraction has been in the news a lot of late, primarily with regards to the impact of texting on driving.  And the news isn’t good.  A recent study showed that texting while driving increases the risk of having an accident by over 23 times—making it slightly worse than driving while under the influence of alcohol.  Distractions are a big problem from whatever we do, be it driving or spending a day at the office.  Clearly, we humans are not good at doing two things at the same time.

 

And the problem has macro implications as well.  Last year I participated in an executive round table where the CEO of Burger King described the challenges of marketing in an attention deficit plagued world.  He stated that 20 years ago that the single biggest challenge to reaching customers was budget and priority.  Today, the scarcest resource that he manages is customer attention.  Individuals, especially Gen Y and Millennials, have so many options available to them that getting a tiny slice of their attention is overwhelmingly difficult.

 

Of course, customers aren’t the only ones with attention deficit problems, I was at another executive forum this spring where the topic was how best to manage millennials.  We had a small group of high performing employees who were fresh out of school who described their work styles and strategies.  While much of this was positive, the topic of scratching their “Facebook itch” during a slow time at staff meeting was a flash point for the audience.  Let’s face it, social media efforts have to deal with the whole issue of distraction to be successful.  When I talk to HR professionals and ask for common push back to their proposed social media efforts, the threat of distractions is always 1 or 2 (the other is fear of negative publicity).

 

Part of the reason why social media has the potential for being so distracting it is the way that we humans are wired to work and learn.  David Block, the author of a new book called Your Brain at Work describes the neurobiological foundations of learning.  Social interactions inherently raise our arousal levels which dramatically increase our ability to absorb information.  Add a dose of immediate positive reinforcement (have you ever observed a teenager with a huge smile driven by a quick text response?) and you have the perfect formula for the quick absorption of information. 

 

So, like many other technologies, social media is both a great opportunity and potential distracter.  Our challenge as shepherds  of our human capital at our own organizations is to harness the power of social media to increase engagement, productivity, and learning while minimizing the distracting elements.

 

No magic dust will guarantee that you will solve this dilemma, but being proactive with your social media efforts is a good start.  Here are some specific tips:

1. Define your employee engagement strategy to include social media as one of its critical components.  The tools of a social strategy should directly contribute to your overall goals of engagement.  One cannot be separated from the other
2. Use 80% carrot and 20% stick.  You will need policies that prevent employees abusing social media.  Nobody wants employees updating their Facebook during a team meeting.  But focus on the upside of social media as a means of improving collaboration and learning.
3. Define clear expectations for results from social media activities.  Time at work is ultimately about getting measurable results.  Social media provides a means of spreading participation amongst a broader range of employees.
4. Set a great example.  Your HR team can be leaders in creating a social business.  Defining activities and outcomes and then communicating results will focus everyone’s attention on what’s possible.

 

So enjoy your journey into the world of becoming a social business.  This is a great opportunity to focus your attention of exceeding your competition and engaging in common activities that will energize your business.

 

 

Comments

[Mighty]

Thanks for the specific tips you put here. I've been searching for my own system of dealing with distractions. I'm trying a new one I've come across lately. Hope it works. :)