'We risk creating a society that only connects on-screen' - CITL CEO Tree Hall on life post-pandemic

We must keep the benefits of remote working - and remember that humans are social creatures, says CITL CEO Tree Hall

2020 was a hectic year for many, and charities especially so. Donations plummeted even as the need for their services rose, putting hundreds of organisations at risk at a time when they were needed most.

Computing's Noel Anderson sat down with Tree Hall, CEO of the Charity IT Leaders Forum, to discuss this fundamental contradiction, and how technology might help the charity sector pull itself out of the situation it now finds itself in.

Tech To The Future With Tree Hall

The CITL celebrated its 20-year anniversary last year, when the interview was filmed, and Hall began by looking back at changes to the tech sector. Cloud, of course, was a massive driver that has transformed the way IT leaders view their role: "Instead of thinking about the acquisition of shiny bits of tin and putting those into place for people, we're now talking about systems, about processes." A follow-on effect of that has been making it easier for IT to gain acceptance at board level. Hall noted that the organisations that have done that are the ones who can now stand up and celebrate success.

No look at the past would be complete if it wasn't followed by a bit of future-gazing. The ongoing effects of the pandemic and the return to the office were a key topic. "There's a kind of sense that we're all in it together, and I think there's a real pragmatism and a tolerance in our meetings now that is not normally there when you're sitting in a boardroom. That is going to change as we start going back into workplaces, and certainly some of our members are finding that's quite a tension to resolve for them at the moment, where you have some members of staff back in the office, and they're sitting in a meeting room together, and they're engaging in that meeting. But you've got people coming into the meeting remotely from home, and suddenly that equality is gone. I think we've really got to work on ways to retain that sense of equality and retain the opportunity that remote working has given us."

The downside is that "we run the risk of creating a society that only connects on-screen; where we don't have those physical human interactions." Striking a balance between work convenience and social need will be key after the pandemic.

Looking further into the future, Hall predicted the continued growth of smart technology, but sounded a warning note about becoming reliant on it. "Do I really need to turn the lights on from my wrist, or can I just get up and press a light switch?" she asked. "I worry sometimes that if we make life too easy for ourselves, if we remove all of those mundane, everyday functions, we start to become a bit purposeless and we just drift as people."

Watch the video above, or click here to read the full transcript on the Delta website.