The success of any company is underpinned by the way the people within the business work together. Here, Jimmy Rodriguez looks at five creative ways organizations can leverage online tools to encourage collaboration between team members.
Collaboration among teams is challenging as more and more companies shift to remote work. The good news is that technology can help you manage that challenge. Tools that facilitate online communication and project management are an excellent way to promote collaboration.
This guide will look at the five ways you can bring your teams together. If all the departments in an organization work towards a common goal, the company benefits.Â
Ready? Let’s dive in!Â
Why Is Collaboration Between Your Teams Essential?
Organizations can boost productivity and help teams achieve their goals faster through collaboration. When people work together, they create a healthy bond. That means you’ll have different people in different departments working together towards common organizational goals.Â
Source: Bit.aiOpens a new window
Here are three main reasons collaboration is key to your organization:
- It is key to keeping top talent around: People want to stay in companies where they can connect with their colleagues and feel a sense of belonging. An employee-first culture also helps retention.
- It is critical to problem-solving: Sometimes, a problem requires a different perspective or help from another team. Asking for help should become standard practice for teams to find the best solution.
- It allows for efficient teams: Complex projects require more than one person’s expertise. When you collaborate, you can tap into other people’s talent. This ensures efficiency.
As virtual workspaces become the new norm, your team needs to continue to collaborate. But with teams spread across time zones, it can be challenging for companies to encourage teamwork across different departments. There’s no physical break room. Nor are there daily face-to-face interactions in the office.Â
Learn More: Shining a Light on Community Collaboration in an Era of Social Isolation
5 Ways You Can Use Tech to Encourage Collaboration
Technology helps teams communicate and collaborate even when they are miles apart. Let’s look at five ways tech can encourage collaboration in your company.Â
1. Use online communication tools
Online communication tools are great for bringing your teams closer together and ensuring clear communication. Slack and Teams, for instance, allow you to chat quickly with specific team members and ask questions. You can also use Slack to manage group communications.
Email is also still a favorite communication tool. If you prefer something close to face-to-face interaction, use a video conferencing tool like Zoom or Google Hangouts. Thanks to technology, you can talk to your colleagues in real-time. That means you can get things done more efficiently together.
Online communication tools help you streamline your work. Instead of sending a reminder about an important meeting to each team member, post the date and time for everyone to see. Use the sharing function to share important documents, too.Â
2. Integrate your business applications
We’re living in an increasingly interconnected world. Open API for different software applications and tools like Zapier helps you connect your business’s various tools. These integrations can provide you with better insights into your company’s operations.
For example, you can now integrate ecommerce platforms with essential business solutions such as email marketing tools, accounting software, and social networks. You can do this in one of three ways:Â
- Use add-ons and extensions.
- Employ task-specific solutions that integrate with third-party platforms.
- Leverage multi-purpose connectors.
With integrations, you can share data across channels easily. So in the case of ecommerce platforms, you can easily set up an email marketing campaign based on activity in your ecommerce site.
Regardless of your business, you can use integrations to simplify workflow and ensure everyone is on the same page for easy collaboration.
Learn More: 4 Subtle Reasons for Building Collaboration Into Business Continuity Plans
3. Create a schedule and stick to it
As we’ve grown as a company, the way we’ve coordinated our teams has changed. We’ve tried to retain that system of transparent targets. We set quarterly Key Performance Indicators (KPI) for the people who work in the teams and our departments.
The image below provides an excellent example of some transparent company goals.
transparent company goals
Source: InfrafocusOpens a new window
Our KPIs are broken down into monthly and weekly goals. Having a system for tracking your company goals is essential.
Let’s say you’re launching a marketing campaign. You’d need your marketing and sales departments to coordinate with each other to ensure the campaign’s success. With a calendar, you can specify the point persons for different aspects of that campaign. Who in the marketing team should get final approval for marketing collateral? Who from the sales team should give that final approval?Â
A team management platform helps improve accountability and supports collaboration.
There are plenty of great free team management platforms available. You can even use a calendar to show the tasks each person should complete within a timeline.
Ensure that all teams are working according to the plan. If they do not stick to the plan, the entire workflow will suffer, and there will be a delay.Â
4. Reinforce company culture
To ensure you create that culture of teamwork, make collaborative work a part of your team members’ daily routine. Regular online meetings with all the team members, for example, can help establish teamwork as a company core value.
You can then use technology again to reinforce that company culture.
For example, on Chanty, create customized chat rooms where people across departments can collaborate. You can also create a virtual water cooler in your online communication platform. Here, all employees can share their thoughts and bond. That’s what social travel networking site Nono FOMO does. According to ForbesOpens a new window , the company has a #photos and #music channel on Slack where people can talk about anything outside of work.
The idea is to show your teams that collaboration is not a one-time thing in the company. It’s something that will last forever.
Learn More: Collaboration is Key to Improving Efficiency in Your Organization
5. Organize fun activities for employees
You can use technology to organize fun activities for your employees and establish that teamwork culture.
Online communication platforms such as Zoom can provide you with the platform, but you can use other tools for your fun activities. Ask your team members to download the Words With Friends app, for instance. Then ask them to divide themselves into two and play. They can switch partners after each game.Â
Sometimes, the communication platform is all you need. Organize virtual games such as charades. You can even ask your team members to participate in quizzes for a prize.
Parting ThoughtsÂ
Collaboration is critical to the success of any organization. When everyone works together as a team, the team can reach its goals. That also helps keep morale up and increases employee retention.
Technology can help encourage that collaboration, which is even more critical as more companies switch to long-term remote work. I mentioned five ways technology can do that. Now it’s over to you.
Do your research and choose the right tools for your team. Be creative in using those tools to encourage collaboration. Do all these, and you’ll have a team —  in the real sense of the word.Â
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