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Using collaboration tools to simplify working together
With the dawn of a New Work era, interpersonal skills are in high demand: Physical separation poses great opportunities and challenges alike.
To ensure these do not stand in the way of the success of your work, a large number of tools are available to support you in everyday digital work. These collaboration tools make it possible to work together optimally within teams and across departments, regardless of location, technical setup or time zone. They are essential for successful remote, hybrid or in-person teamwork.
Make collaboration tools indispensable
These tools are only really useful if the largest possible number of members uses them – the effect is known from social media platforms, for example. The more active participants, the more valuable the network. Quitting the network becomes simultaneously harder. For example: A company cannot afford not to use e-mail if all customers, suppliers and other stakeholders use e-mail for communication. It would result in a severe decrease in competitiveness.
The same goes for collaboration software.
When optimally tailored to the needs of the company and its users, and reliably integrated into everyday activities, employees cannot avoid working with it.
By management deciding to introduce a collaboration tool, the first hurdle has been cleared. Now it’s time to get down to business: inspire employees. If the workforce is onboard, the project can go further. However, it sometimes happens that not everyone is willing or able to get involved in a new workflow. But to use collaboration tools like they’re intended, everybody needs to participate.
Tips and help on how to do it below!
Things to consider when choosing a collaboration tool
Only great collaboration tools can easily and quickly integrate into the company process:
- It must be supportive and adaptive, not restricting or overcomplicating processes.
- The testing phase is very important. A team from different departments is best suited to test, collecting as many perspectives as possible.
- Don’t decide on your own, and rather sleep on it a night or two.
- The collaboration tool is like a “new team member”. The onboarding and integration of this member needs to be carefully planned. There must be a competent contact person.
How do you ensure that collaboration tools are accepted and used by employees?
- Honey catches more flies than vinegar: Implementing a collaboration tool resembles a marathon rather than a sprint. You always have to keep focusing on the goal, prioritizing the benefits for daily business: We want to work together as a team more efficiently. Getting everyone excited about this development is essential to the success of the tool.
- Keep it simple: Always be available for questions or concerns, get in front of possible frustration. The implementation phase is most successful when things are moving along. As soon as employees work with the tool, experiences and learnings occur. In this way, the collaboration tool is constantly becoming more valuable for the company. You work with it, learn from experience, and work faster. When communication flourishes, that’s the sweet spot.
- Practice makes perfect: Based on the previous point, learnings should always be shared with the network. Providing application examples and specific use cases keeping them up to date can prove very helpful. These exercise fields should be as interesting and entertaining as possible, so people enjoy using them often. At Conceptboard we offer our users specific advise depending on their branch or department.
- Some learn faster than others, this is also the case here. One way to ensure no one is left behind would be to introduce “sponsors” to the group. The ones who are quick to understand and apply the collaboration tool can help colleagues who struggle. This takes some of the support pressure off the admin – and helps the entire network in case of absences – collaboration isn’t threatened by sickness or vacation, as there is a solid base of young experts who can help out.
- The proof of the pudding is in the eating: “Messing something up” is just as unlikely as deleting the internet. Of course, the collaboration tool has to be continuously maintained and cleaned up, but regular employees cannot cause any damage due to their user license. And if something should go wrong, there is always the in-house admin or external customer support.
- Reward diligent use: Incentives for acquiring knowledge, either on a personal, team or departmental level, can help to raise morals when the implementation phase gets frustrating. There are no limits to creativity here.
Go from Teamwork to Dream Work with Conceptboard
Conceptboard supports your company perfectly. Especially companies valuing complete data protection while at the same time expecting consistently high performance at all times. Are you looking for a user-friendly collaboration tool that, in addition to a classic online whiteboard, offers additional functions and over 100 templates?
Sign up here and test Conceptboard now for 30 days free of charge!
If you want to read more tips about successful hybrid, remote or teamwork in general read our most loved articles:
