Enabling Team Work

A dyad (from Greek dýo, "two") in sociology is a noun used to describe a group of two people. "Dyadic" is an adjective used to describe this type of communication/interaction. A dyad is the smallest possible social group. (From Wikipedia). Unified communication is technology that supports communication in business processes. The ultimate test of UC solutions is how it actually helps small teams work closer together.

Unified Communications includes communication features using voice, video, messages and sharing their desktop. It integrates with conferencing features that allow employees to participate in meetings and discussions without moving away from their computer. Physically most offices have two kinds of spaces: a private office or workstation for one person, and conference rooms and team spaces for groups. Research show that 70% of innovations occur while working together with someone else and there is significant evidence confirming that working in pairs improves learning, negotiations, problem solving, and innovation.

In a study of 22 dyads at the University of Pittsburgh it was demonstrated that people solved more problems correctly when they were allowed to collaborate, especially when the tasks were complicated and conceptual.

Finnish researchers (published in the Journal of Management Studies) found that dyads impact change more than any other form of group and overcome the sluggishness that often exist in large organizations.

The idea and study of working in pairs lie in the nature of how work is performed. When pairs collaborate they build on each other's ideas and come up with an idea that neither of the two would have come up with on their own. Many corporate challenges are too complicated to be solved in what would fit between one person's ears. We are looking for solutions that would allow several "heads" to meet and collaborate to find the solutions. The main concern is what "heads" need to meet.

The concept of collaborative learning relies on the principle of the dialogue to create new knowledge or solutions. When we work together collaboratively, we share our understanding, opinions, and ideas as a group; and it is assumed no one person has the "right answer."

Using collaborative technologies to help employees to find a colleague, partner or customer that has an understanding, knowledge or experience is a way to virtualize collaborative learning. By making it available on multiple devices, users will reach out to whoever has the right competence for a dyadic collaborative session.

Virtual meeting places are by their nature an excellent opportunity for collaborative learning. Many learning institutions have used virtual meeting places for students to discuss lessons and reach conclusions to problems. But as these technologies now reach maturity they become much more interesting for business to enhance collaboration and introduce new ways of problem solving and competence sharing, or learning. These virtual meeting places provide a record of learning, a flow of ideas shared in small groups (dyads) or larger settings. By using flow mechanisms (RSS feeds) it is much easier to follow a discussion or subject of interest and it does not take time away from "real" work.

The power of working in pairs has been found in the face to face interaction where focused and intimate dialogue can be facilitated. Video solutions have made this possible for people who normally never meet. Instant messaging technologies can be used for sporadic outbursts of dialogue and the possibility to escalate the conversation to voice, video and adding document sharing and so on further enhances the dyadic interaction.

Vendors and their channel partners need to understand how teamwork is performed and how technology is a way to support them. By implementing new ways of working that help employees meet in a virtual environment, using computer and mobile technology channel partners can take part of a new type of lucrative opportunity stemming from the usage of technology, not only the selling of licenses.