Despite widespread agreement on the importance of workplace collaboration tools, some organizations have been slow to take steps that would facilitate greater collaboration across their project teams. The most effective way to increase collaboration, of course, is introducing a cloud-based collaboration solution like Planview AdaptiveWork. While adding an online collaboration tools might involve some initial changes to a company’s existing business processes, the changes will begin to pay off almost immediately in a wide variety of areas.
Here’s a look at five ways an online collaboration solution can help your organization’s project teams work more efficiently and effectively.
Better Communication
One of the most significant risks to any project team is that team members might miss out on critical information during the project. At the enterprise level, where teams are typically large, complex and geographically distributed, it’s very easy for someone to miss an email or forget to include a remote team member on a meeting invitation. Collaboration tools help team members stay in closer contact throughout a project, reducing the chances that someone could miss out on an important update.
Reduced Downtime
Online collaboration tools eliminate unnecessary delays that can arise when team members have to wait for someone to update, send or move a document before work can continue. Planview AdaptiveWork provides a centralized location for all project documentation, allowing team members to see the most up-to-date project plans, requirements documents and other key information in real time.
Increased Engagement
People work harder when they feel good about what they’re doing. Employee engagement—the degree to which employees give extra effort in their work—typically increases after an organization implements an online collaboration solution. Collaboration tools improve workplace morale by bringing people closer together and eliminating factors than can alienate team members, like wasted effort and breakdowns in communication.
Improved Decision-Making
No one can make a good decision based on incomplete information. Unfortunately, project managers and team members are often asked to do exactly that, especially at critical moments when decisions need to be made quickly. Collaboration software allows project managers to base their decisions and recommendations on the most current information, and to gather input from team members who might otherwise have been unable to participate in the discussion.
Higher Quality Deliverables
The ultimate measure of a project team’s performance is the quality of its final deliverables. By facilitating better communication, more efficient work and more informed decisions, collaboration tools can dramatically increase the chances that a project team will achieve its objectives on time and on budget. Higher quality deliverables make for happier customers, more referrals and increased revenue, allowing an organization to see the return on its collaboration investment directly on its bottom line.
