Because the loss of coffee conversations impairs the flow of information in companies, Scholderer, a company specializing in IT service management (ITSM), has developed a virtual coffee corner (Virtual Coffeecorner = ViCo). "Until now, informal exchanges between IT employees have taken place at the coffee machine, but this is no longer the case with the home office," explains Managing Director Dr. Robert Scholderer. "The walk from the computer to the coffee machine and the meeting with colleagues is no longer necessary, the exchange is limited to the home environment." According to initial findings, this has led to serious communication problems in some companies, particularly between IT colleagues

"We initially assumed that the increased demand for the creation of IT service catalogs would be easy to cover by increasing the number of employees," says Scholderer. However, we underestimated the importance of information technology. "Everything now has to be controlled. Even the smallest process gap can lead to misunderstandings when working exclusively from home." These problems could add up and affect the quality of the IT service catalogs to be created.

Scholderer has therefore developed a system that allows employees working from home to keep an eye on all activities and get involved. "At the same time, virtual coffee meetings were set up in the team calendar as virtual coffee corners, in which everyone can participate as they see fit," explains Robert Scholderer.

This virtual coffee corner replicates the natural encounter in the coffee kitchen. "It should be open for ideas, humor and team experiences as well as for the professional exchange of ideas when an employee is stuck and needs inspiration," says Scholderer. Everyone is free to attend. The meetings are non-binding and do not have to be prepared in advance. You can also take part if you don't want to contribute anything yourself, but just follow the conversation of your colleagues - "just like in real office life."

To ensure that the meetings at the virtual coffee machine don't get out of hand, three fixed appointments lasting 15 minutes each are set in the team calendars every day. "We know companies that have tried to handle this more flexibly, but it hasn't worked," says Robert Scholderer. The clear structure of the digital meeting improves coordination between the IT service provider and IT employees and thus increases the effectiveness of home office work.

Scholderer is a service and consulting company specializing in ITSM for IT service and service level agreement (SLA) with training on provider management.