One of the characteristics of the Smart Worker is that s/he wants to do his/her job as well as possible – this involves a continuous learning process, but also constantly reviewing his/her productivity in order to find better ways to do his/her job.
The Smart Worker therefore makes significant use of social media tools to help with both personal and team productivity; and s/he is always on the look-out for even better tools to use – although to some this may be perceived as just being attracted to the newest shiny toy.
Social media tools can often help to automate existing tasks and activities, but sometimes they can even improve the process involved.
In Time for a workflow audit, Seth Godin suggests:
“Go find a geek. Someone who understands gmail, Outlook, Excel and other basic tools. Pay her to sit next to you for an hour and watch you work. Then say, “tell me five ways I can save an hour a day.” Whatever you need to pay for this service, it will pay for itself in a week.”
Traditional workplace learning thinking
- Insisting that only enterprise systems, tools and devices should be used.
- Believing that training people how to use these systems effectively and efficiently is enough
- Encouraging the use of personal tools and devices
- Helping with workflow audits to identify new tools and devices that will aid productivity
