2020 has been a year of many challenges, and one of the biggest challenges has been on the professional front. Businesses and professions all around the world have suffered immensely due to the onset of Covid-19. Lockdown and social distancing have made it very difficult for the teams to interact with each other, and professional engagement has become rather arduous.
Amongst all this gloom, however, there has been one silver lining. Many companies across the world have found an ingenious way of carrying on their work despite the pandemic with Collaboration tools, available online.
During the work from home regime, collaboration tools have emerged as a productive method to complete projects within set timeline and thereby to achieve good results. Before we get into the details of how collaboration tools help businesses, let us understand what they really are.
- What is a Collaboration Tool?
Business operations have many components such as projects, tasks, departments, internal communications, etc. Collaboration tools are simple software-based systems that allow for these functions to be carried out online with efficiency and ease. Some of the easy collaboration tools are just communication tools like instant messaging services, video conferencing, etc. File storage and sharing platforms are other popular kinds of collaboration tools.
In this blog, however, we will discuss Enterprise collaboration tools (also called Project management tools), which are a more comprehensive as compared to communication and storage services. Crotle, for example, is an Enterprise Collaboration Tool that creates a structured and efficient framework for seamless business operations. These collaboration tools streamline certain aspects of business like Project management, Team Management, Task Management and more to help the organizations become more productive. - Collaboration Tools and Team Management
Collaboration tools have certainly become a reliable source for gaining productivity during the pandemic, allowing teams to function remotely. Moreover, their advantages with respect to team management form a part of the bigger list, which are as follows. - Transparency
One of the key benefits of collaboration tools is that it allows the teams to function in the most transparent manner. Whether it is managing workflow, assigning of responsibility or the chain of command, all these things can be made crystal clear with the help of these collaboration tools. - Seamless Collaboration
It is quite often that when team works in isolation, it has a detrimental effect on the team’s performance, thereby taking a toll on productivity. With the help of collaboration tools, however, all members of the team can be on the same page and function in a coordinated manner to reach their collective goals. - Communication
Communication is central to effective team management, and with the help of collaboration tools, members of a team can communicate with each other seamlessly and without any delay. - Innovation
The best ideas get their due attention when the entire team works in coordination. Collaboration tools bring the team together and develop a culture of collective wisdom, which in turn drives innovation and creativity. - Collaboration Tools & Task Management
One of the most crucial benefits of collaboration tools lies in the fact that they assist the managers in seamless supervision and streamlining of tasks to increase productivity. There are many Online task management tools available today, all of which provide the following advantages. - Easy Creation of Task Groups
With task management tools, you can create task groups for a particular task and assign the relevant team members to that group. For instance, Crotle facilitates the easy addition of the members in a specified group so that they can share feedback and information on the assigned tasks of the project. This simple step helps in avoiding duplicity of work. - Timelines
With the help of task management tools, the members of the group can have a set timeline to deliver the projects. This helps the management to keep a tab on the status of jobs and encourages the members for exercising better time management. - Prioritizing of Tasks
Very often, different team members have different work priorities, which disrupts the efficient functioning of a team. By using a task management tool, you can prioritize the important tasks, resulting in the focused and coordinated team efforts to increase productivity. - Clear Assigning of Tasks
Duplication of tasks and responsibility is another common problem in organizations, especially when you are working remotely. Task management tools help in getting around this problem by clearly defining the delegation of tasks and the chain of command to mitigate any confusion. - Collaboration Tools & Project Management
Project management is arguably the most important function that a collaboration tool can offer. Project managers are the ones responsible for the efficient functioning of teams and the execution of their jobs. A good Project management tool enables the project managers to exercise better command, control and supervision over the projects. Here are some ways in which collaboration tools help in project management: - Better Supervision
Most Project Management tools provide a snapshot of all the work that is happening in a particular project. For instance, the single screen dashboard from Crotle provides a summary of the status of projects, progress on tasks and real-time updates for better planning and control. - Comprehensive Reporting
Reporting and analytics become a whole lot easier with Project Management tools. Progress reports on projects, a list of pending tasks, team performance and information on timelines, are some of the reports that the managers can create effectively with online collaboration tools. - Clear Workflow
One thing that causes confusion among team members is the lack of clarity in the assignment of work. A Project management tool can ease out this confusion by clearly defining the workflows by a hassle-free division and delegation of tasks amongst team members. Many tools also allow for tasks to be segregated into smaller steps, which makes it easier for team members to comprehend. This element of transparency helps in building synergy in business operations. - Improved Time Management
Time is one of the most important factors that determine the success of a project. Project management tools let project managers keep an eye on the time taken for the completion of various activities. In case the teams are lagging behind their schedules, the manager can find out the reasons and quickly make the necessary changes to keep up with the timelines. - Performance Assessment
It is the performance of individuals and teams that ultimately results in a project’s success. And these tools give project managers a clear view of how teams are performing and whether individuals in the team are doing their part or not. This helps the managers in creating an impartial and clear performance report for all the members of the team. - Collaboration is the future!
Collaboration tools have become more relevant in this time because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and organizations have now witnessed the ease and efficiency they bring to business operations.
It would not be wrong to say that in the coming future, collaboration tools will be the mainstream project managing tools that the businesses will inculcate in their daily practices to gain productivity. Collaboration tools are standing out as the new “norm” of today’s world.