Due to the Covid-19 pandemic more and more teams are working remote. This not only includes working from home but also from different geographies and time zones. Team collaboration has never been more important. What used to be a simple task of walking over to a colleague’s desk and sharing information, now is more complex. Seamless collaboration means team members can reach out to each other easily through email, calls and video chats to discuss the issue at hand. When all these means of connecting with each other happen naturally without any extra effort or stress, just like connecting in person, the collaboration is seamless. Seamless collaboration fosters a sense of shared responsibility. Things get done faster and without any errors. Everyone’s productivity goes up and there is higher customer satisfaction.
The success of team collaboration depends on the company’s existing practices, strategies and communication tools that are used within the organization.
Here are some ways to promote team collaboration and boost productivity
1. Get a good collaboration tool
There are collaboration tools for just about every type of business. Online collaboration tools help both remote and in-house teams achieve greater levels of coordination, complete projects on time, optimize resources and achieve higher productivity. Provide access to team collaboration software that can bring all communication like email, chat, audio calling, screen sharing etc in one place.
2. Improve communication
According to the statistics, 57% of employees report not being given clear directions and 69% of managers are not comfortable communicating with the employees in general. Improving communication is key to improving collaboration. Therefore, organizations should invest in the right tools, get regular feedback from employees, encourage two-way communication between employees and management and organize team-building activities.
3. Reduce emails
According to a McKinsey report, the average professional spends 28% of the workday reading and answering emails. That equates to a staggering 2.6 hours spent and 120 messages received per day. By agreeing with your team on communication rules, you can reduce distractions and eliminate email overload.
4. Reduce meetings
One survey revealed unproductive meetings prevent 65% of workers from completing their work. Meetings also increase the chances of people committing mistakes in their work. Face-to-face meetings were replaced by Zoom meetings post-pandemic and soon many employees started suffering from Zoom fatigue. Companies must streamline their communication in such a way that only a few meetings are needed
To learn more : online collaboration tools examples
