Embedded Files
You like Google Workspace and have experienced the spirit of collaboration that it embodies. But your coworker is still using Excel for even the most basic lists and your boss does not care. The guy from the other department just sent you an image - in Word! Should you give up until you reach the top of the food chain? No, turns out there's actually a lot you can do.
Every person counts.
Being nice
Being nice
Tell people that new and better ways of working exist. Many people are not hostile to new ways, they just don't know (you'd be surprised).
Help people use the new tools. Especially if you're a power user - it is easy to forget that not everything is intuitive at first.
Tell people why we are doing all of this. It's not about the tool, it's about the team!
Lead by example. So your boss did not specify that he wants the report like it's 1999? Send it in Docs, already reviewed in record time.
Learn about the tools yourself and become a reference. There are tons of material - everything that is not covered can be googled. Or learned here.
Be curious. There are so many things happening in the Google space - plug in and become the source of news for your team!
Small actions go a long way
Small actions go a long way
Meet: Join a Meet at the same computer and set up audio/video for them. Show them how to correct those settings.
Drive: Ask what their folder structure looks like, and create a couple of folders for them. Show them how to put "shared with me" files in their folders.
Docs/Slides/Sheets: Edit a file with them at the same time.
Chat: Help them set up their preferred client. Set up a chatroom for their team (and add the team). Install Chat on their mobile.
Being ... determined
Being ... determined
This is where things become a bit pugnacious, but that can be fun, too. You, the Underground Change Person©, are backed by PwC's strategy which asks all of us to use Google Workspace. Here are some ideas with more impact, but also more exposure:
FOMO. The "fear of missing out" will work to your advantage,if you start using the new tools exclusively. Nobody wants be an outsider.
Do it for them. Convert Office documents to Docs/Slides/Sheets where it makes sense. Every reviewer, comment and task in those documents increases their legitimacy. Creating a Shared Drive for your team, uploading documents there and sharing document links will cement its place, too.
Share successes. Look back at situations that got resolved elegantly ("I was at the client and the laptop died, but I had the info on my phone!") or new ways of working ("We did this without emailing a single document version!"). Suggest to do this more often.
Push. Ask that meeting invites be converted to Meet, especially recurring ones.
Convincing people in a mixed environment might take unconventional actions. Do it tactfully, and your team will change smoothly and will not look back at the bad old days. Thank you for reading!
#gmailPublished 2018-12-06 by Holger Matthies.Modified 2021-02-02 by Holger Matthies.Written listening to Paul van Dyk - From Then On.
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