Emails & Phone Calls – Time and Place

Why are emails still being used to send documents to each other? Why would any knowledge worker ever want to use email when working on a project? The current system of exchanging emails is slow, and time-consuming communications that have proven inefficient. How many times have you found out someone never received the email? At Byagi, we are an international group. The development team shares information on a couple of platforms where those that need access have access. Emails are not essential in how we get business done. Phone calls get made methodically.

As a knowledge worker, there is nothing worse than getting interrupted with a phone call.
Talk is cheap, so why do so many insist on picking up the phone to disturb knowledge workers. “Teams are more productive when everyone can disconnect to focus and respond when they’re ready. Instead of saying “You there?”, Just ask your full question and check back in later” (https://twist.com/). The quote is from a service called Twist where teams meet and collaborate on projects using threads. There are some other project management tools that the Entertainment Industry can use in place of emails and phone calls. Another favorite service is Slack, but like anything, it is how to use it and make it beneficial to the work process, not a distraction.

When is “old school” considered dated and irrelevant? Does anyone think of a follower, late adapter or laggard as an “A-List Producer?” Why are these silo tools still being used when working with a team on a project? When are Producers going to step into the current decade and embrace mobile devices & computers in the back office? By that, I mean to demand the use of them by the entire production. When are Studios going to start paying for quality equipment, data and information systems on productions? By that, I mean demanding that vendors start supplying the best equipment, services, and digital solutions?

The actions and current processes in Hollywood reinforce my questions and observations. How do I know this? I am currently pulling double duty working on productions and building the first real back-office disruptive software to hit the industry in 40 years. Also, talking to peers doing the same work. There are a few more hurdles to overcome before studio leadership has the resources to make the needed changes and embrace digital technology, but it is coming, which is why we built Byagi. We are solving the pains of the back office for everyone on the production, and are ready for those with a sense of urgency and willing to make the change.

Using our system you no longer email budgets, you share them. In our web application, you no longer need to call for approval; the person required for the approval logs in and takes care of it first hand. Time and place are essential to remember. Everyone has a choice to be current and relevant, but that is sometimes difficult, tedious, nerve-racking, unsettling, but necessary. ALineProducer by Byagi is a platform business solution that will help your team feel confident and become successful in their transition to the digital back office future.