In recent years, workplace collaboration tools have become increasingly popular, as many businesses seek to introduce secure, modern, cost-effective ways to make working as a team easier.
A collaboration tool is a type of software which allows employees to work with one another online, making tasks like document sharing, calendar planning and managing responsibilities must simpler and carried out via one platform.
We discuss six business benefits of using such tools, including easy document collaboration, flexible working environments, security and greater productivity.
- They are secure
Data security is, understandably, one of the biggest concerns amongst business owners, particularly in organisations where large amounts of sensitive data are being handled on a daily basis. Data breaches happen far too frequently for companies to not take their online security seriously, which is why many businesses have now made the switch to secure cloud collaboration tools for carrying out everyday work.
When setting up the software, stringent controls on who may view certain documents or information can be established, by only granting access to specific employees based on their roles and responsibilities. Moreover, alerts can be created which will notify the relevant people where an unauthorised access attempt has been made.
Moreover, the best collaboration software vendors, such as Kahootz, include strict security measures within the application itself, so that the software cannot be hacked.
- Flexible working
Flexible work environments are now one of the top priorities amongst workers, particularly the younger generation, which is why forward-thinking businesses are looking to create modern, accessible workplaces that can cater to all types of employee and offers a better work-life balance.
With collaboration software, employees with access can simply log in to the tool at any time and from anywhere in the world, making it much easier to communicate with co-workers when working remotely. Not only does this create a more flexible working environment, but it also saves people both time and money in commuting to work or travelling for business meetings.
Calendar sharing, conference calling and task management are all available via the tool and allow employees to carry out meetings virtually. Follow-up actions can be immediately recorded and timely reminders sent in order to ensure all those involved can complete their work to schedule.
- One tool for everything
There are tools for almost everything these days, which is why many workplaces find themselves inundated with a long list of tools which either do not get used properly or are not really necessary.
With a collaboration software, everything you need can be found in one, neat package, giving you access to a wide range of work tools from a singular platform. There is no need to keep logging in and out of various tools throughout the day, saving time and effort.
- Document collaboration in real-time
With many people working on a project at any given time, tracking changes to documents can become difficult, particularly when carried out in the traditional sense, via email. However, with document collaboration, work can be edited easily by team members assigned to specific tasks, and changes can be tracked in real-time.
This means that more than one person can work on a document at any time, making teamwork much more efficient. Moreover, a full audit trail is able to log all interactions via the collaborative workspace, meaning you can see which team members have made a particular change and at what time, providing full transparency.
- Greater productivity
According to research, collaboration tools increase team efficiency by 20%. Information can be accessed at a greater speed, which helps reduce the time spent on admin-related tasks and searching for important documents, which the average employee spends 1.8 hours a day doing. Workers can instead focus their efforts on the most valuable work which brings the greatest profit to the business.
- Less reliance on e-mail
Email is certainly the most popular method of communication in the majority of businesses, with the average office worker checking their inbox 36 times an hour. However, despite its ease of use, having email as your main source of communication is not without its drawbacks. With many employees sharing sensitive company data over email, it is easy for a breach to take place. With cloud collaboration tools incorporating stringent security measures, this risk is greatly reduced.
Likewise, with a sea of emails being sent and received throughout the day, it’s easy for important information to get lost or simply be forgotten about. In fact, Accenture found that 59% of middle managers miss vital information each day because they cannot find or did not see it. Collaborative working tools help eliminate this problem by ensuring files and information are easy to access in one place so that people can find what they are looking for within seconds.