Workplace collaboration is one of the hottest topics in business today, and for good reason. Companies that prioritize collaboration, especially those that take advantage of online tools, are rapidly outpacing competitors that fall behind the trend. When an organization makes collaboration a priority, it can expect to see improvements in a variety of areas, from budget performance to employee satisfaction. Let’s take a look at some of the most significant benefits of collaborative work management in today’s business environment.
Improved Efficiency
Perhaps the most obvious benefit of online work collaboration is an improvement in efficiency. While this benefit will impact any size organization, larger enterprise-level companies with complex processes and projects can experience the most dramatic improvements. Rather than wasting time searching through old emails or even paper documents to find critical information, team members are able to access all relevant project documents in a centralized location. When teams are aligned its easier to coordinate their efforts with the strategic goals of the company. According to PMI studies, organizations that align and coordinate their project management efforts to their business strategy “report 27 percent more projects completed successfully and 42 percent fewer projects with scope creep.”
Collaborative tools also facilitate work on tablets and mobile devices, letting employees respond more quickly to requests and questions from colleagues or customers, no matter which device they’re using.
Better Time Management
Online collaboration makes it much easier for organizations to build teams that can work around the clock, by engaging team members in multiple geographic locations.
For example, a software development team might consist of individuals based in Europe, North America and Asia, each working in 8-hour shifts and handing work off to the next team at the end of its normal business day. Sharing of this sort was challenging (if not impossible) in previous decades, due to the difficulties of transferring notes and status updates from one team to the next. Today, collaborative tools like Planview AdaptiveWork make it easy to store project documentation and other critical information in a single location, ensuring that every member of team knows exactly what has been done and what needs to happen next.
Lower Costs
Online collaboration can help companies reduce costs in several areas. Travel expenses are a perfect example – rather than spending thousands of dollars on airline tickets, hotels and rental cars in order to bring team members together, businesses can use collaboration software to help teams work virtually, either from their homes or local offices. Companies can also lower their expenses by using collaborative work management tools to engage lower-cost resources (such as offshore employees) to perform tasks that would otherwise be handled by outside contractors or higher-cost employees.
Improved Quality
Teams that work collaboratively tend to produce higher quality work, because team members are able to work together to identify potential problems and find solutions more quickly and effectively. Team collaboration helps each employee or partner contribute in the area of his or her special expertise, reducing the opportunities for mistakes or oversights and leading to better overall project outcomes.
Planview AdaptiveWork offers industry-leading team collaboration tools for software developers, marketing agencies and other organizations. With a suite of project management solutions that are designed just for you, Planview AdaptiveWork can help you make the most of your team’s capabilities.
