Why you should treat the tech you use at work like a colleague | Nadjia Yousif

譯者: Lilian Chiu 審譯者: 易帆 余

So, imagine a company hires a new employee,

想像一間公司， 僱用了一個新的員工，

best in the business,

他是業界最好的人，

who's on a multimillion-dollar contract.

他的薪資合約高達數百萬美元。

Now imagine that whenever this employee went to go meet with her team members,

現在，想像一下，每當這位員工 要去見她的團隊成員時，

the appointments were ignored or dismissed,

約好的會面不是爽約就是取消，

and in the meetings that did happen,

就算確實有實際會面，

she was yelled at or kicked out after a few minutes.

不到幾分鐘她就被吼罵 或甚至被趕出去。

So after a while, she just went quietly back to her desk,

過一陣子後，她靜靜地 回到自己的座位，坐在那裡。

sat there with none of her skills being put to use,

她的技能通通沒有被拿出來運用，

of course, being ignored by most people,

當然，大部分人忽視她，

and of course, still getting paid millions of dollars.

當然，她還是能繼續 領那數百萬美元的薪資。

This hotshot employee who can't seem to catch a break

這位似乎一直無法突破 僵局的大咖級員工，

is that company's technology.

其實就是該公司的科技。

This scenario is not an exaggeration.

上述情境並沒有誇飾。

In my job as a technology advisor,

我的工作是科技顧問，

I've seen so many companies make the well-meaning decisions

我曾經見過很多公司 做出立意很好的決策，

to put huge investments into technology,

對科技砸重金投資，

only to have the benefits fail to live up to the expectation.

最後的獲益卻完全不如預期。

In fact, in one study I read,

事實上，我讀過一份研究，

25 percent of technology projects

它說有 25% 的科技專案計畫

are canceled or deliver things that are never used.

會被取消，或是做出來的成品 從來沒有被用過。

That's like billions of dollars just being wasted each year.

也就是說，這些公司每年 浪費了數十億美元在這些科技上。

So why is this?

為什麼會這樣？

Well, from what I've seen,

嗯，就我的觀點來說，

the expectation from the top management is high but not unreasonable

管理高層對於科技能帶來的益處

期望很高，但不是不合理。

about the benefits from the technology.

They expect people will use them,

他們期望人們能運用這些科技

it will create time savings,

來節省時間，

and people will become genuinely better at their jobs.

並確實地把工作做得更好。

But the reality is that the people on the front line,

但，現實是，前線的這些人，

who are supposed to be using these softwares and tools,

也就是應該要使用 這些軟體和工具的這些人，

they're skeptical or even afraid.

他們抱持懷疑或甚至會害怕。

We postpone the online trainings,

大家會把線上學習向後拖延，

we don't bother to learn the shortcuts,

不想費心地去學習捷徑方法，

and we get frustrated at the number of tools

對於得要記住這麼多工具的

登入方式和使用方式， 感到很挫折。

we have to remember how to log into and use.

Right?

對吧？

And that frustration, that guilt -- it's racking up,

那種挫折感、罪惡感，會不斷累積，

the more that technology is inserting itself into our daily working lives,

那些科技越是強行介入 我們的日常工作生活當中

which is a lot.

越是難受。

Brookings says that 70 percent of jobs today in the US

布魯金斯說，現今在美國， 70% 的工作職位

require at least mid-level digital skills.

都需要至少中級以上的數位技能。

So basically, to work these days,

所以，基本上，現在若是要工作，

you need to be able to work with technology.

你就得和科技一同工作。

But from what I've seen,

但，就我所知，

we are not approaching this with the right mindset.

我們並沒有用 正確的心態來面對這件事。

So here's the idea that I've been toying with:

所以，我把這個想法付之執行：

What if we treated technology like a team member?

如果我們把科技當成是 團隊成員來對待呢？

I've been writing my own personal experiment about this.

我持續地把這些個人經歷寫成文章。

I've spoken to people from all different industries

與來自各種產業的人對談，

about how they can treat their core technologies like colleagues.

談他們可以如何將他們的 核心科技當作同事一樣對待。

I've met with people from the restaurant industry,

我見過餐飲業的人、

medical professionals, teachers, bankers,

醫療專業人士、老師、銀行家、

people from many other sectors,

以及許多來自不同領域的人，

and the first step with anybody that I would meet with

見到每一個人，第一步都是

was to draw out the structure of their teams

先在組織圖中畫出

in an organization chart.

他們團隊的架構圖。

Now, I'm a total geek when it comes to organization charts.

談到組織圖，我根本是個怪胎。

Org charts are really cool because, if they are drawn well,

組織圖很酷，因為，如果畫得好，

you can quickly get a sense of what individual roles are

對於每個人的角色， 你馬上就能有點概念，

and also how a team works well together.

也能知道團隊如何一起合作。

But if you look at a typical org chart,

但如果你仔細觀察典型的組織圖，

it only includes the boxes and lines that represent people.

只有用方塊和線條 來代表「人」的那種組織圖。

None of the technology team members are there.

你在上面會看不到 任何一位科技團隊成員。

They're all invisible.

它們都是隱形的。

So for each of the organizations that I met with for my experiment,

所以，在我的實驗中， 針對每一個和我會面的組織，

I had to draw a new type of org chart,

我都會畫一種新型的組織圖，

one that also included the technology.

把科技也納入其中。

And when I did this, people I spoke to

當我這麼做時，和我談的人

could actually visualize their technologies as coworkers,

就能真正視覺化地 將他們的科技視為同事，

and they could ask things like:

他們就會問這樣的問題：

"Is this software reporting to the right person?"

「這個軟體向『對的人』報告嗎？」

"Does this man and machine team work well together?"

「這個人和機器團隊合作得好嗎？」

"Is that technology actually the team member

「那項科技是大家都覺得尷尬

而會躲避的團隊成員嗎？」

that everybody's awkwardly avoiding?"

So I will walk you through an example of a small catering company

我會帶大家一起探討 一間小型餐飲公司的例子，

to bring this experiment to life.

讓這個實驗能生動呈現。

This is the top layer of people who work at Bovingdons Catering Company.

這是 Bovingdons 餐飲公司的最高層人員。

There's a sales director, who manages all of the customer interactions,

包括業務主管， 他要管理所有的客戶互動，

and there's an operations director, who manages all the internal activities.

還有營運主管， 管理所有內部的活動。

And here's the people who report to the sales and operations directors.

這些則是要向業務 及營運主管報告的人。

And finally, here's the view

最後，在這張圖中，

where we've overlaid the software and the hardware

我們把 Bovingdons 全體員工會用到的

that's used by the Bovingdons staff.

軟體和硬體也列出來，

Using this amazing org chart, we can now explore

用這張很讓人驚奇的組織圖， 現在我們可以探討

how the human team members and the technology team members

人類團隊成員和科技團隊成員

are interacting.

要如何互動。

So the first thing that I'm going to look for

我首先要找的

is where there's a human and machine relationship

就是人類與機器之間的關係，

that's extra critical.

這點格外重要。

Usually, it's somebody using a technology

通常，這個圖就是某位員工

on a day-to-day basis to do his or her job.

每天與科技的工作關係圖。

At Bovingdons,

在 Bovingdons，

the finance director with the accounting platform would be one.

財務主管與會計平台就是一個例子。

Next, I would check on the status of their collaboration.

接著，我會察看他們合作的狀況。

Are they working well together?

他們在一起工作順利嗎？處得來嗎？

Getting along?

In this case, it turned out to be a tenuous relationship.

在這個案例中發現 他們的關係是很薄弱的。

So, what to do?

所以，該怎麼辦？

Well, if the accounting platform were actually a person,

嗯，如果會計平台真的是一個人，

the finance director would feel responsible for managing it

財務主管會覺得自己 有責任要管理它

and taking care of it.

並照顧它。

Well, in the same way,

同樣的，

my first suggestion was to think about a team-building activity,

我的第一個建議是要想出 一個建立團隊的活動，

maybe getting together on a specialist course.

也許可以一起去上一堂專業課程。

My second suggestion was to think about scheduling regular performance reviews

我的第二個建議是要為會計平台

安排定期的績效檢討，

for the accounting platform,

where the finance director would literally give feedback

在檢討時，財務主管 要提供回饋意見

給販售這個平台的公司。

to the company who sold it.

Now, there will be several of these really important human and machine teams

在每一個組織中，都會有數個

這種重要的「人類──機器」團隊。

in every organization.

So if you're in one, it's worth taking the time

如果你是其中一員， 就值得花些時間

to think about ways to make those relationships truly collaborative.

想辦法讓那些關係變成 真正的協同工作關係。

Next, I'll look on the chart for any human role

接著，我會在圖上尋找有沒有人

which might be overloaded by technology,

可能會因為科技而負荷過多，

let's say, interacting with four or more types of applications.

比如說，要和四種 以上的應用程式互動。

At Bovingdons, the operations director was interacting with five technologies.

在 Bovingdons，營運主管 就要和五種科技互動。

Now, he told me that he'd always felt overwhelmed by his job,

他告訴我，他總覺得忙不過來

but it wasn't until our conversation

但一直到我們進行了對談之後，

that he thought it might be because of the technologies he was overseeing.

他才發現原因有可能是 他在監管的科技。

And we were talking that,

我們在談的是，

if the operations director had actually had a lot of people reporting to him,

如果真的有很多人 需要向營運主管報告，

he probably would have done something about it,

那他應該得想個辦法來處理這樣的困境，

because it was stretching him too thin,

因為太多人向他報告 會讓他分身乏術，

like, move some of them to report to somebody else.

比如，他可以讓其中一些人 改向其他人報告。

So in the same way, we talked about moving some of the technologies

所以，我們用同樣的方式來談 是不是能讓其中一些科技

to report to someone else,

向其他人報告，

like the food inventory to go to the chef.

比如食物庫存就向主廚報告。

The last thing that I'll look for is any technology

最後，我還會尋找圖上有沒有

that seems to be on the org chart without a real home.

哪一項科技看起來是沒人理的。

Sometimes they're floating around without an owner.

有時，它們會到處遊走， 沒有擁有者。

Sometimes they're reporting to so many different areas

有時，它們要向 許多不同的部門報告，

that you can't tell who's actually using it.

讓你無法分辨出到底是誰在用它。

Now, at Bovingdons,

在 Bovingdons，

nobody appeared to be looking after the marketing software.

看來並沒有人在照顧行銷軟體。

It was like someone had hired it and then didn't give it a desk

這就好像是有人僱用了它， 卻沒有給它一張桌子，

or any instructions on what to do.

沒有指示它要做什麼。

So clearly, it needed a job description,

所以，很明顯， 它需要工作內容描述，

maybe someone to manage it.

也許還需要有人管理它。

But in other companies,

但在其他公司中，

you might find that a technology has been sidelined for a reason,

你可能會發現有的科技 被冷凍是有原因的，

like it's time for it to leave or be retired.

比如，該是它離開 或退休的時候了。

Now, retiring applications is something that all companies do.

每間公司都會讓應用程式退休。

But maybe taking the mindset that those applications are actually coworkers

但如果調整一下心態，把那些 應用程式當成是真正的同事，

could help them to decide when and how to retire those applications

可能可以協助他們決定何時 及如何讓這些應用程式退休，

in the way that would be least destructive to the rest of the team.

才能把對團隊中 其他人的傷害降到最低。

I did this experiment with 15 different professionals,

我和十五位不同的 專業人士做過這個實驗，

and each time it sparked an idea.

每次都會有一個新點子冒出來。

Sometimes, a bit more.

有時，還更多。

You remember that hotshot employee I was telling you about,

你們還記得我前面提到的 大咖級員工嗎？

that everybody was ignoring?

被大家忽視的那位？

That was a real story told to me by Christopher,

那是克里斯多夫 告訴我的真實故事，

a very energetic human resources manager at a big consumer goods company.

他在大型消費品公司工作， 是一位活力十足的人力資源經理，

Technology was a new HR platform,

科技是一個新的人力資源平台，

and it had been installed for 14 months at great expense,

十四個月前就安裝完成， 耗費很多金錢，

but nobody was using it.

但沒有人在用它。

So we were talking about how,

所以，我們就談起了

if this had really been such a hotshot employee with amazing credentials,

如果它真的是個大咖級的員工， 且有驚人的資歷，

you would go out of your way to get to know it,

你會不遺餘力地去了解它，

maybe invite them for coffee,

也許邀請他們去喝咖啡，

get to know their background.

了解他們的背景。

So in the spirit of experimentation,

所以，抱持實驗的精神，

Christopher set up one-hour appointments,

克里斯多夫約了一小時，

coffee optional,

要不要咖啡自己決定，

for his team members to have no agenda but to get to know their HR system.

這時間要他的團隊成員 沒排別的議程，

只去了解他們的人力資源系統。

Some people, they clicked around menu item by menu item.

有些人會把選單中的 每一個選項都點選過。

Other people, they searched online for things that they weren't clear about.

其他人則是上網搜尋 他們不清楚的地方。

A couple of them got together, gossiped about the new software in town.

他們幾個人聚在一起， 八卦這個新來乍到的軟體。

And a few weeks later, Christopher called to tell me

幾個星期之後， 克里斯多夫打電話來告訴我，

that people were using the system in new ways,

大家開始以新的方式 使用這個系統，

and he thought it was going to save them weeks of effort in the future.

他認為將來能為他們 省下數週的功夫。

And they also reported feeling less intimidated by the software.

他們也說自己感覺 比較不怕這個軟體了。

I found that pretty amazing,

我覺得這相當不可思議，

that taking this mindset helped Christopher's team

採用這種心態， 讓克里斯多夫的團隊

and others that I spoke to these past few months

以及過去幾個月內 和我談過的其他團隊

actually feel happier about working with technology.

都真正覺得和科技共事 變得更快樂些。

And I later found out this is backed up by research.

後來，我發現有研究 支持這個方法。

Studies have shown that people who work in organizations

有研究指出，在組織內工作的人，

that encourage them to talk about and learn about the technologies

若鼓勵他們在工作場所

談論科技、學習科技，

in the workplace

have 20 percent lower stress levels

他們承受的壓力層級就會比

than those in organizations that don't.

沒有這麼做的人更低 20%。

I also found it really cool that when I started to do this experiment,

我還發現一件很酷的事， 當我開始做這個實驗時，

I started with what was happening between a person

我是從一個人和一項各別科技

and an individual technology,

之間的關係當作開端，

but then it ultimately led to ideas about how to manage tech

但接著，最終還是會延伸到討論

要如何在整個公司當中管理這些科技。

across entire companies.

Like, when I did this for my own job and extended it,

我針對我自己的工作來做 這實驗，並將它延伸出去，

I thought about how our data analysis tools

那時我想過，我們的資料分析工具

should go on the equivalent of a job rotation program,

應該要有類似工作輪班的程式在裡面，

where different parts of the company could get to know it.

讓公司中不同部門的人 能夠認識它。

And I also thought about suggesting to our recruiting team

我還想過要向 我們的徵才團隊建議，

that some of the technologies we work with every day

我們每天會使用的一些科技

should come with us on our big recruiting events.

應該要和我們一起參加 我們的大型徵才活動。

If you were a university student,

如果你是大學生，

how cool would it be to not only get to know the people

這是件很酷的事，因為你不只是 認識將來會共事的人，

you might be working with,

but also the technologies?

還有你將來會共事的科技。

Now, all of this begs the question:

這一切，都帶出了一個問題：

What have we been missing

一直把我們每天工作要用到的

by keeping the technologies that we work with day to day invisible,

科技隱藏起來， 會讓我們錯失掉了什麼？

and what, beyond those billions of dollars in value,

且，在那幾十億美元的價值之外，

might we be leaving on the table?

我們可能有什麼沒考量到？

The good news is,

好消息是，

you don't need to be an org chart geek like me

你不需要成為 像我這樣的組織圖怪胎，

to take this experiment forward.

也能進行這個實驗。

It will take a matter of minutes for most people

對大部分的人來說，只要幾分鐘，

to draw out a structure of who they work with,

就能畫出他們和哪些人 共事的結構圖，

a little bit longer to add in the technologies

再多花一點時間， 就能把科技也放入，

看到整個團隊的狀況，

to get a view of the entire team,

and then you can have fun asking questions like,

接著，你就能享受 問這類問題的樂趣：

"Which are the technologies that I'll be taking out for coffee?"

「我會邀請哪一項科技 一起出去喝咖啡？」

Now, I didn't do this experiment for kicks

我做這項實驗並不是為了好玩

or for the coffee.

或喝咖啡。

I did it because the critical skill in the 21st-century workplace

我做的目的，是因為在 21 世紀， 在工作場所的重要技能

is going to be to collaborate with the technologies

將會是和科技一起協同工作，

that are becoming such a big and costly part of our daily working lives.

因為科技正在成為我們工作日常中 非常重要的一員。

And from what I was seeing, we are struggling to cope with that.

就我所看到的，我們正在 掙扎著要對付這類狀況。

So it might sound counterintuitive,

這聽起來可能有點違背常理，

but by embracing the idea that these machines are actually valuable colleagues,

但若能開放地接受 這些機器其實是有價值的同事，

we as people will perform better

我們人類的表現也會更佳，

and be happier.

且過得更快樂。

So let's all share a bit of humanity

所以，咱們來分享一點人性給

towards the technologies and the softwares and the algorithms

和我們一起工作的科技、軟體、

and the robots who we work with,

演算法和機器人，

because we will all be the better for it.

因為這麼做能讓我們都變得更好。

Thank you.

謝謝。

(Applause)

（掌聲）