A business is only as strong as its team. Clear communication – where everyone feels free to share their ideas – can hold a team together, but it’s the healthy collaboration that ensures a business’s growth. Even if team members bring forward new ideas, true development only starts when they have the tools to seamlessly work together. Most companies’ internal communication is already well established with video calling and instant messaging, which are key for collaboration. However, businesses often overlook how important it is to collaborate externally as well: this is how different companies reach their shared goals and how innovation grows. Plus, distance is no longer an issue with all the various online collaboration tools available out there.
Boosting collaboration within a company is never easy – especially when a business hasn’t followed management best practices right from the beginning. For example, micromanaging is the enemy of efficient collaboration. Instead, team members should be responsible for their own tasks. Another important aspect is to set SMART goals so everyone understands which objective they should work towards. Some other recommendations for improving collaboration includes rewarding team effort, providing one-on-one coaching, and offering a judgement-free work environment. It’s also essential that managers lead by example, as this is the best way to ensure everyone sticks to a collaborative work culture.
But even the best gurus will tell you that you need more than the right environment to succeed. If you don’t provide software that facilitates communication and collaboration, then your team will be left with just good intentions. Something as simple as file sharing can help a lot, as it allows team members to work together on all types of documents. Additionally, work management platforms offer everyone a good view of ongoing projects, who is doing what, and a forum for discussing ideas. In the meantime, communication software goes hand in hand with collaboration. Having web conferencing software, a straightforward virtual phone system, and a way for coworkers to send a quick chat message are essential for efficient collaboration.
There are plenty of collaboration tools out there catering to small businesses. These come with everything your team will need to be able to collaborate at affordable prices.
Mondays are the worst. It’s difficult to get back into work after two days off. To make matters worse, it’s often the day that managers overwhelm their team with handing out tasks. The Tel Aviv-born monday.com uses this notion ironically to highlight how painless the first day of the week (or any other) can be when workflows are managed well. Ever since its foundation in 2012, the company has provided a reliable task management platform where you can work on projects and tasks without losing focus. Its collaboration tools make teamwork as smooth as possible, and its custom workflows make it all even easier. Plus, monday.com provides informative customer service, a free plan for individual use, and a 14-day free trial for its paid plans.
With the rise of working from home, web conferencing software is now a key component of many businesses. It’s important to use conferencing software that’s reliable, which is why a lot of businesses turn to tried-and-tested companies with good reputations like Microsoft. Released in 2017 to replace Skype for Business Online and to compete with Slack, Microsoft Teams aims to combine online chats, calls, and conferencing to be the ultimate tool for workplace collaboration. As part of the larger Microsoft umbrella, Microsoft Teams has access to a huge number of integrations like OneNote, OneDrive, Outlook, and many more, all combining to create a comprehensive package. Users can test out the premium version of Microsoft Teams by signing up for a 30-day free trial, or by signing up for Microsoft Teams' free forever version.
Canva is one of the most popular graphic design platforms on the market. Not only is it extremely easy to use, but it comes with thousands of templates that allow you to create beautiful designs in just a few minutes. Although it doesn’t offer the same flexibility as other apps like Photoshop, it’s the perfect solution for anyone who doesn’t have advanced design skills but needs to create visuals for social media, websites, reports, and more. Canva also caters to businesses by allowing coworkers to edit images together and providing shared file management. Canva offers a limited free plan that you can use forever. But considering all the features and templates you get with a paid plan, the $9.99 per month subscription is worthwhile.
Based in Switzerland and founded in 2013, pCloud is one of the most secure cloud backup services on the market. It offers peace of mind with 256-bit AES end-to-end encryption and 30-day file revisions. Beyond privacy, pCloud’s ideal for both beginners and advanced users, and subscriptions cover an unlimited number of devices. The online backup service automatically syncs documents and folders from all devices and stores data in a logical file structure. Last but not least, sharing documents is a straightforward process. Users can share files by creating unique links on the website, desktop application, and mobile app. There are also no size limitations when it comes to uploading larger photos and videos. Prices start as low as $4.17 per month, but it’s possible to use pCloud’s services at zero cost by taking advantage of its 10GB free version.
When aiming for effective collaboration, businesses need to keep 12 principles in mind:
Relationship management is number one for a reason. However, instead of just the first step, it’s more like a framework that holds together all the other principles. For example, collaborative leadership tends to be a weak link due to someone trying to become the boss. Well-managed relationships will help remind everyone that there’s no boss per se, only team member collaboration, and that it’s more about consensus building than who’s leading who.
It’s similarly important to always keep the company’s overall vision in mind, and you can only achieve this if your team not just works but thinks together. Team building events and happy hours will forge connections between team members, and they won’t even realize how invested they’ve become in the common goal.
These practices are crucial indeed, but there’s even more you can do. For instance, it’s more challenging for remote companies to collaborate efficiently, so investing in the right remote team management software is important. But all business types benefit from creativity, and you’ll need content creation tools to share and develop ideas together. And if your business requires that your sales agents to join forces, it’s also essential you get the best sales software for small businesses.
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