NYC team building outings

I received an Email inquiry earlier this week – the subject line was, “Time Sensitive Corporate Team Building Outing NYC.” Naturally, I wrote back immediately.

No reply.

I sent a follow-up Email a few hours later – still, no reply.

I tried calling the phone number provided. No answer, AND…

Voicemail box was full.

I finally reached this person, and we scheduled a call for the following afternoon. Can you guess what happened when I tried to call?

You guessed it – no answer. And the voicemail box? Still full. I’ve been trying to get this person on the phone to discuss her “time sensitive” event for 2 days now, to no avail.

It could be that this person is incredibly busy, distracted, flaky, or just plain rude – however, I’m willing to bet that this isn’t an isolated incident; that in fact this person is the product of her workplace environment, where lax communication standards and expectations are the norm. What other explanation is there? How else could somebody manage to work in a New York City office in 2015, yet not reply to Emails? Not empty their voicemail box? Schedule meetings labeled “time sensitive,” then blow them off? If she alone was guilty of this behavior, surely she wouldn’t be in her position for very long. However, if EVERYBODY is acting this way, then the problem is diffused across the entire work group.

It’s true that I’m but a lowly New York corporate entertainment vendor, however what if I were a client? Do you think I’d be pleased if I were treated this way? Workplace communication issues can lead to serious problems with teamwork, collaboration, productivity and yes, even the bottom line. If you suspect your team has trouble communicating – be it with each other or with stakeholders outside the group – you should make it a priority to identify and address the key underlying causes, before any real damage is done.