That "one-line chat" is wasting 3 hours of your subordinate's time. The "invisible loss" statement for remote organizations [The Science of Team Building Vol. 23]

"It's not worth setting up a Teams call, so just send it via chat."
"If you just throw the URL over, the PL will figure it out, right?"

Do you think this is "improving operational efficiency"?
What would you do if I told you that the "one minute you saved on explanation" is actually causing tens of thousands of yen in damages to the entire team?

Last time, I talked about "member mentality (the stress of solving mysteries)," but this time I'm going to talk about something even scarier: "money and productivity."

In remote work, a leader who underestimates text communication is not only stealing their subordinates' time, but is also a "money pit" that silently melts away project profits.

■ Calculating the "total damage" of one sloppy chat

For example, suppose you send a message on Teams saying only, "Regarding Company A, please handle it," omitting the details.
Let's calculate the cost of the actions taken by the PL or member who received this, based on an hourly wage (assuming 3,000 yen).

1. Decoding (15 minutes): Searching through past logs, asking, "Does 'regarding Company A' mean the email from yesterday? Or the regular meeting?"

   • Cost: 750 yen

2. Context disruption (30 minutes): This is the biggest point.
   Members will start another task while waiting for your reply. However, it is said that once a human brain loses focus, it takes an "average of 23 minutes" to return to the original deep focus (flow state).
   This is called "context switching (cognitive cost)."

   • Cost: 1,500 yen (brain reboot time)

3. Rework (90 minutes): Work proceeds with a misunderstanding, and later you have to fix it, saying, "No, that's not it."

   • Cost: 4,500 yen

Total loss: 6,750 yen / 1 chat

As a result of skimping on the explanation cost (5 minutes = 250 yen) because you were "busy," the organization has paid over 6,000 yen.
If this happens 5 times a day, how much is the monthly loss? Doesn't just calculating it give you the chills?

■ "I'll tell you on Teams later" is the worst kind of interruption

Conversely, it is also dangerous to suddenly call without checking the PL's schedule because "it's too much trouble to type in chat."

For development members and PLs, a sudden call while working is a "forced shutdown of concentration." Having Teams ring while writing code or thinking about complex designs is as outrageous as waking someone up while they are sleeping.

• Sloppy chat = A hotbed for rework and switching costs

• Sudden Teams messages = Destruction of productivity

You might be thinking, "Then what should I do?"
The answer is simple.Have a standard that you can judge in "3 seconds".

■ Don't get lost! The "3-second rule" for choosing tools

Professional PMs choose tools in an instant with the following three questions.

1. Can it be answered immediately with "Yes/No"?

If the answer is "yes," use [Chat].

• "Did you check the document?" "Is this the location for tomorrow?" "I'm sending the URL."

• This is communication based only on facts that doesn't waste each other's time.

2. Is "consultation/discussion" necessary?

If the answer is "yes," use [Meetings].

• "I'm torn between Plan A and Plan B." "The specifications are complex and I want to explain them verbally."

• If a chat rally continues for more than 3 exchanges, please switch to a call immediately. It's faster that way.

3. Will "work" be generated?

If the answer is "yes," it's not chat or meetings, but [Tickets (Documents)].

• "Create this feature." "Fix this bug."

• This is the most important one."Getting someone to do something (work request)" When you do this, always leave the "request details, deadline, and completion criteria" in a place where it will be stored. Requesting via chat is the same as handing over a "fleeting memo."

[This issue's takeaway] Saveable version: Communication sorting table

Please share this image with the entire team. It will become your compass when you are lost.

Next preview: The PM's "Weapon Shop" is opening

"I understand that requests should be sent via tickets."
"But I don't have time to write a proper document every single time!"

To those of you who thought that:
Next time, I will release the "Golden Template Collection for PMs that you can finish with a copy-paste" that I use in my actual work.
It is a "magic wand" that allows you to complete a request message that PLs and members will thank you for, just by filling in the blanks without thinking.

Vol. 24, stay tuned.

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