Yet despite overtaking Slack with 13m daily users, and the fact that you can ramp up productivity and increase engagement simply by implementing it, the software is still underused by a vast number of organisations.
Here’s our case for using collaborative tools to enhance teamwork.
Access to real-time data
The ability to collectively work on a presentation or report increases your output. With information being added, changed and collated in shared docs, projects are now able to be completed faster without harming the overall quality.
Your team can now directly share insights with one another instead of leaving a note that could be misinterpreted hours later.
What’s more, it illustrates how your employees and contractors like to work. Their strengths become better defined, and you can gradually assign them tasks based on their effectiveness in partnership with other team members.
Built-in audio and video calling
Through a simple and easy-to-use app, your team can discuss projects via text, voice conversation or video call.
This might seem excessive, but it sure beats having to get all new employees a video conferencing account – which they’ll then have to install and run separately – just to have a certain type of conversation.
If you have employees who work remotely or are on-site with a client, this is especially beneficial. It’s this access to instant information wherever you are that tightens your processes and helps you meet deadlines with ease.
Fully customisable with open APIs
When your teams start engaging with the software you choose, you should expect to see it steadily turn into a hub of activity, evolving with each user and slowly reflecting your company culture.
Staff can even receive updates from third-party services like GitHub and Twitter, keeping the userbase in the loop with any site or campaign activity.
In the case of Microsoft Teams, their Bot Framework will allow you to create and sync up to your own applications, adding to the bespoke nature of the software.
Enhanced meeting capabilities
While the above benefits should reduce the arbitrary meetings you were previously committed to, there will still be a need for scheduled discussions.
For the most part, conversations concerning deadlines and future campaigns can now be handled through the software you’ve adopted. But for the conversations that require a physical setting, team collaboration software can even help there too.
Microsoft Teams can allow you to schedule meetings, and detail its participants and the topics to be discussed, without needing to send so much as an email. During the meeting itself, you can use the software to take notes and recordings that can be easily shared and stored for future reference.
Where we can help
It’s easy to get disenchanted with collaboration software when you’re seeing that employees aren’t using it.
That’s why we not only suggest and install the right team collaboration software for you here at Focus, but also teach you how to maximise its effectiveness and evolve it organically.
