Deutsch
… is the common opening when people meet in the hallway, at the coffee machine or on their way to the staff restaurant.
Away from the desk, relationships are built and strengthened. Topics are addressed that are truly important for the staff. There is an exchange of information. You can let off steam or have a laughing fit. Stories are told and ideas shared. You update each other. And all this in a real informal manner. For companies, this office grapevine – direct communication – has an invaluable advantage over any way of formal communication.
Based on this insight, companies consciously create communication islands to support the exchange of information and create transparency.
The idea of the office grapevine was adopted as early as the middle of the 1980s and implemented in the Open-Space method. This way you get access to topics and information that you would usually only hear about at the water dispenser.