What are collaboration tools?
Collaboration tools are important for your hybrid office, as they will be able to assist your teams and groups to achieve the common goal of your company. The collaboration tools definition consists of online ways such as apps or software that can help people on teams collaborate with each other. They can also be physical such as pen and paper, but digital tools are much more helpful. There isn’t just one type of collaboration tool, instead, there are many different types that can be used depending on the situation it calls for.Â
Using collaboration tools in the workplace can be a major help for staff and supervisors, as they bring clarity, generate quality group work, and have visibility and accountability. For more on how collaboration tools help, keep reading!
How collaboration tools help
1. Tracking progress
Just because you structure a group project in a certain way doesn’t ensure it will proceed in that manner. Business evolves by the minute. Teams want the ability to adjust just as rapidly, which collaboration tools provide.Â
Modern collaboration solutions aid in the creation of flexible workflows and teams. Person A, for example, posts client input on a logo to the #Logo Slack channel, where Person B can make modifications and submit a new version to Dropbox without modifying the shared link. In real-time, everyone has the new logo.Â
Teams can’t function without the capacity to act, react, and reallocate resources as quickly as projects change. Collaboration tools enable teams to react to changes as rapidly as they should, avoiding delays and keeping projects on schedule.
2. Group work
Every team member is a valuable asset. Teams succeed because they are more than the sum of their parts—but only if each component contributes to the total. When members of a group are unable to work together effectively, the aid they can provide is restricted. Person A may work off-site and be unable to obtain collateral for their share of the project, causing the larger effort to stall. Person B may not accomplish their work well if details X, Y, and Z aren’t provided to them, which has a bad effect on what Person C does.Â
Collaborative technologies allow for full group participation and synergy, ensuring that everyone makes a meaningful contribution. In a true display of collaboration, each member leverages their skills and talents to propel the project ahead.
3. Visibility and accountability
It’s a recipe for disaster to expect individuals to collaborate without complete visibility into what they’re working on together. Every team member must be able to grasp the larger picture and understand how their work fits into it. This is made feasible via collaborative tools. For example, logging into a Google Doc and tracking changes with others. Another wonderful example is the ability to see task deadlines in a project management app. Everyone is on the same page and pursuing the same objective.Â
With this level of visibility comes a level of accountability. Team leaders know who to hold accountable if a task isn’t completed. Alternatively, team members can be proactive in recognizing when others require assistance and collaborate to keep the project on schedule.
Implementing collaboration tools in the workplace
Pick collaboration tools that are good for everyone
Fortunately, AI technology exists to make remote work as (if not more) productive than being present in person: tools that display a person’s name on the screen, facial recognition, gesture functionality, transcription tools, and more.Â
Transcription software, for example, can be a game-changer for everyone in the room. It’s an excellent tool for note-takers, as we all know how difficult it can be to take notes in real-time without losing important details. However, if someone misses a meeting, they can easily catch up by reading the transcription afterwards
Identify problems and bring in solutions
Depending on your company and team, you have to make sure that you know what the problems are in order to be able to solve them. In terms of collaboration, there may be many areas in your company where some staff may feel that the communication is not adequate or is lacking something.Â
To fix this, try to ask your employees what areas of collaboration they feel are not sufficiently given attention. Do this by surveying your employees and try to get a perspective on everything that is missing.
Examples of good collaboration tools:
When it comes to collaboration tools you have many options available to you. Some may be more suited for your company’s needs than others.Â
Below we’ve created a list of a few collaboration tools that could help your staff become more productive:Â
- Asana: This is a great tool for organization and collaboration. Asana allows employees to easily and efficiently see their work moving through different stages. It also provides a timeline to show how everything project-related fits together. Besides that, Asana also helps teams track work.Â
- Trello:Â Â Trello is a great visual collaboration tool that allows its users to organize any projects in a visually appealing and flexible way. It also has a good number of features and good automation options. This might not be the app for you, however, if you’re looking for a heavy-duty project management app.Â
- Explain Everything: This is a cloud-based collaborative software that allows its users to visualize their ideas. The unique thing about Explain Everything is that it can be used to record meetings or video presentations and share them with the team and even non-users. You can also take notes on the interface.Â
- Miro: Miro helps build and develop ideas with remote and in-office teams. Users can visually map out their strategies on a canvas, in real-time. A great thing about this tool is that users can integrate with other apps and coordinate projects together with the team.
Train your employees
It is important to not simply dump a set of tools onto your employees and expect them to figure them out on their own. Instead, make sure you set time away for information sessions and training sessions to allow your staff to get accustomed to the new tools you provided them.Â
Make sure you invest a lot of time and effort into this aspect, as you will want to give your team the tools and skills that are necessary for them to be productive and to grow. You must also make sure you train managers on how to measure performance in a fair manner between all the staff, regardless of time in or out of the office.
Conclusion
Implementing collaboration tools into your hybrid workspace is an important aspect of the development of your company. With collaboration tools, so many things can be achieved, such as visibility and accountability, which in turn gives your employees trust in each other. Implementing collaborative tools will make a big difference for you and your company.
