Keeping employees who are spread across different locations in sync is challenging for any business, even during the best of times. But it's especially tough for those that have had to quickly adapt to the world of hybrid working – as many had to over the last couple of years. As a result, business owners must maintain effective communication and collaboration among teams regardless of where they’re based. Fortunately, disruption doesn’t have to be the norm, with tools and technologies specially designed to nurture collaborative, virtual working environments.
We’ve all been there before. Searching across an abundance of different platforms and frantically looking through a desktop full of open tabs struggling to provide an up-to-date update or an accurate status report because you all often refer to different documents to get your work done. If you want to work better together then consider implementing collaborative tools such as Microsoft 365, Slack, Asana, Trello and Podio. These platforms are brilliant for enabling teams to set their own processes and for providing a standard unified view of progress. While providing a central repository for all projects, including documents, notes and emails. All of which will enable you to be productive from anywhere.
Read on to learn more about our top five online collaboration tools…
When collaborating, you want to seamlessly build ideas, organise files, attend meetings and work with others at the touch of a button. And with Microsoft 365’s platform, it doesn’t matter if someone is working remotely or is sitting across from you. By integrating Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook in one easy-to-use application, teams can set their own processes and remain constantly connected. It provides employees with a single place for sharing communications, monitoring activities and enabling better productivity.
Perhaps the icing on the cake is that Microsoft 365 is a cloud-hosted platform that can be used not just with Windows, but also with Mac, Android, and iOS. So, you can rest easy knowing that you can communicate and collaborate from anywhere.
Slack is a simple but effective instant messaging and collaboration service, loved by many established businesses.
Available on both desktop and mobile, Slack allows you to send direct messages and files to a single person or group of colleagues in real-time. What's more, the app supports video calls, so you can talk to team members about upcoming projects.
Plus, you can set up different ‘channels’ to stay organised. Similar to organising files on your computer, Slack channels allow you to add team members into specific groups to keep all relevant information, files and people together in one place, ensuring colleagues are well-connected.
You don’t have to be a big corporation to use Slack, its free plan is one of its best features, so you can test it with your team before committing.
Next up is Asana, a comprehensive and flexible work management platform that helps teams track projects, and keep dates, responsibilities and assignments top of mind.
The solution makes it easy for teams to focus on tasks currently at hand by letting you create to-do lists, set deadline reminders, and keep an eye on your team’s progress and workload. In real-time, you can see what’s important and your team need support, so you can keep work on track and avoid collaborative chaos.
With more than 200 integrations, Asana brings together everything your team needs to communicate, collaborate, and coordinate work from start to finish.
Available on desktop and mobile, Trello helps you combat the challenges of a scattered workforce by letting you organise projects virtually.
Trello’s boards, lists, and cards, which can be organised by teams and different tasks, are a visual and straightforward way of bringing projects to life. Within these, you can set up to-do lists and delegate tasks among colleagues, so communication and actions are clear, coordinated, and relevant to the business' activities and aims.
Even better, it’s free to use, with more than 150 integrations to provide your business with extra support. But there’s also a premium version too; available with unlimited boards, advanced checklists and more features to help make every project a success.
Looking for a trustworthy cloud collaborative tool? Look no further than Podio – a flexible work management platform that helps teams organise dates, responsibilities, and assignments. With Podio, you can collaborate across all projects, while keeping track of the priorities – thanks to the platform’s focus on viewing the status of projects to keep everything on track.
Available on both web and mobile, Podio boasts impressive integrations to help you reap the collaborative benefits.
Help your team make the most of remote working by learning how to maintain productivity. Read our article here.
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