Every company benefits from effective collaboration and increased productivity. Some companies had already integrated remote work as a permanent feature of their work model. For others, however, this is still largely uncharted territory marked by major upheavals. The COVID-19 pandemic, in particular, has forced many companies to have their employees work from home. This has caused many employers to worry that the quality of communication and collaboration will suffer and that employees will feel isolated.
Astudy by Stanford Universityfound that employees who worked 100% from home were actually more productive, but often felt lonely and isolated. In contrast, those who worked 100% in the office often felt distracted.
However, the former doesn’t have to be the case, as there are many ways to promote and ensure effective communication, collaboration, and productivity within teams. All it takes is the right tools to provide employees with optimal support.
In this article, you’ll learn how various tools support collaboration among remote teams and boost productivity. As a Microsoft Partner, we’ll introduce Microsoft tools that we’ve used for many years and find to be the most effective.
Collaboration in the workplace is constantly evolving
First and foremost, collaboration means working together toward a project or goal, and it is more important today than ever before. However, successful collaboration doesn’t always go as smoothly as planned. Sometimes teams lack a shared vision, or team members don’t understand their roles, which leads to confusion and inefficiency.
That’s why choosing the right collaboration tools is so important. Fortunately, workplace collaboration has come a long way since the days of endless email threads and repetitive meetings. Today’s tools leverage the benefits of a constantly connected network, offering real-time access to files and collaboration that’s well-suited for distributed teams and hybrid work models.
So-called collaboration tools, such as video conferencing and cloud computing software, have been developed to improve efficiency, productivity, and teamwork.
The importance and necessity of collaboration tools became particularly clear during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Many employees were forced to work remotely for extended periods of time. According to asurvey by Gartner Inc., nearly 80 percent of workers will use collaboration tools for their work in 2021, compared to just over half of workers in 2019.
There are many types ofonline collaboration tools that help teams communicate effectively and stay coordinated. Using the right tools at the right time ensures that teams can work more efficiently and that employees feel fully supported. Here are a few tools that can help.
Five Types of Collaboration Tools to Boost Productivity
Project management tools to keep everything on track
Whether you're planning weddings or building websites, most companies have likely worked on large-scale projects that require contributions from many people. Fortunately, there areproject management tools that help tackle all these tasks effectively. Since every team member has access and dashboards can be viewed during team calls, collaboration and communication within the team are always strengthened. Additionally, an overview allows for optimal resource allocation and budget management. Employees can be assigned to specific project tasks based on their expertise, and financial resources can be managed efficiently.
Video conferencing builds relationships
You often find yourself in a situation where an important meeting is scheduled, but half the team is traveling or working remotely.Video conferencingis a way to enjoy all the benefits of an in-person meeting without having to deal with the costs and logistical challenges of in-person planning. In this post, discover exciting features in Microsoft Teams.
Things get done faster via chat
Sometimes the most efficient approach is simply to ask a quick question and get a prompt response. Withinstant messaging tools designed for the office, team members can quickly check in and resolve issues.
Reduce delays – review and sign documents in real time
Forget about email chains with attachments and confusing edits that don’t make it into the document or presentation. With real-time document collaboration, teams can work on the same project at the same time—whether it’s a text document, a spreadsheet, or a PowerPoint presentation.
Cloud storage with version control for better organization
Saving projects or documents to the cloud allows everyone involved to access them from anywhere in the world at any time. This means that any employee can go online at any time, locate a specific version, and save a copy if necessary before adding feedback. In addition, collaboration tools like Microsoft Teams make it easy to find files and share them securely with others. As a result, real-time collaboration is a major advantage.
Employee productivity is increased by:
- Less email communication
- Time savings
- Centralizing all files in one place
Implementation of Collaboration Tools
Collaboration tools prove to be valuable when they can be integrated into existing workflows and processes. However, for collaboration tools to work for everyone, they must be easy for employees to adopt. Once a Solution has Solution , time should be taken to train employees and gradually introduce them to the new software or tool.
Some important features to consider when selecting software include:
- Chat and Multi-Channel Messaging
- Flexibility (asynchronous, live, and whiteboard collaboration)
- Integration options
- Security, Compliance, and Data Protection
- Scalability
Conclusion – How Digital Solutions Help Small and Medium-Sized Businesses
Microsoft tools are designed to take a significant amount of work off the hands of managers and team members. However, for these tools to be useful, they must integrate easily with other solutions already in use. Additionally, change management plays a role in the learning curve when introducing new tools. When new team members join, it may take some time for them to become familiar with using the tools. A brief“Getting Started Guide,” YouTube channels, or a professional digital transformation consultant can help accelerate employee training.
More and more small and medium-sized businesses are opting for these collaboration tools because they are useful, affordable, and scalable. Consequently, the benefits of digital collaboration tools lie in increased efficiency and productivity within a company.
According to asurvey by the SMB Group’s Directions for the Future of Work, the use of cloud-based collaboration solutions in small and medium-sized businesses is widespread and continues to grow. Currently,60 percentuse real-time chat/messaging tools such as Microsoft Teams. About half of small and medium-sized businesses also reported that all or most of their collaboration tools are integrated with other solutions. This demonstrates that online collaboration tools are suitable for businesses of all sizes and types.
