In less than a decade, enterprise collaboration has evolved from a vaguely-defined concept into a fundamental part of global business. Today, enterprise collaborative work management is an essential capability for organizations in every industry, allowing project managers to guide and engage even the largest and most geographically dispersed project teams.
While collaboration in business can take many forms, enterprise collaboration is a specific approach in which organizations create a holistic environment for employee interactions. This involves linking a wide range of communication channels, including not only email and chat applications, but also document management tools, social networks, audio and video conferencing capabilities and project management solutions.
The Benefits of Collaborative Work Management
When implemented correctly, enterprise collaboration can dramatically improve a company’s productivity and profitability. Collaboration tools allow employees to stay in closer contact than ever before, and at the same time free employees from the need to step away from their work for calls or meetings. This means that team members are able to complete their tasks more quickly, and with less rework due to miscommunication.
The informal, interactive feel of enterprise collaboration helps team members build stronger connections, breaking down barriers that could prevent the free exchange of ideas and information. These personal connections can also eliminate the need for expensive, time-consuming travel that might otherwise be needed in order to keep team members engaged over the course of lengthy projects.
Enterprise Collaboration and Project Management
The integration of project management tools is especially important for successful enterprise collaborative work management. Only a sophisticated project management solution can bring together and organize the array of simultaneous interactions that characterize a typical enterprise project. Without the right tools, employees will continue to miss important updates and spend their time on unproductive efforts to catch up.
Clarizen, already a leader in the project management space, has been ranked at the top of the industry for enterprise collaborative work management by Forrester Research. Planview AdaptiveWork was rated as having both the strongest current offering and the strongest strategy for future development. With Planview AdaptiveWork, project teams have the ability to link shared documents, email, IM conversations and other communications directly to the project tasks being discussed. These 3-D conversations ensure that all project team members can access the most up to date information about their projects in a central location.
Implementing an Enterprise Collaboration Solution
Choosing the right software is the first step in implementing enterprise collaborative work management. Don’t settle for a partial solution that leaves out important communication streams or project management functions. Once you’ve chosen your software, it’s important to get senior leadership involved in demonstrating the benefits of workplace collaboration, and to let employees know where they can get training materials and other important information.
Want to learn more about enterprise collaborative work management? Explore Clarizen’s groundbreaking solutions for project management and workplace collaboration today.
