More companies are turning to digital solutions to tackle contemporary challenges — and they need a workstream collaboration tool that can address all of their needs.
In today’s fast-paced work environment, there’s no shortage of challenges that businesses face when trying to get the job done. Successful project delivery requires seamless collaboration and optimal efficiency. But as your organization grows, facilitating collaboration becomes more difficult, and your tools can’t always keep up. In fact, 86% of business owners and staff attribute workplace problems to inadequate or poor communication tools.
For large enterprises and small businesses alike, collaboration software is becoming an increasingly popular way to increase productivity and improve communication.83% of employees depend on technology for collaboration, and according to McKinsey, online collaboration tools and digital workplaces have the potential to increase productivity by 20 to 30%.
Here are five common workplace challenges that workstream collaboration
1. The Absence of Centralized Internal Communication
According to a recent study, while 99% of surveyed employeespreferred to work in a place that discusses issues truthfully and effectively, less than half thought their companies measured up. A lot of these collaboration and communication mishaps are caused by teams relying on multiple disparate platforms such as email, Slack, and Google Hangouts for communication. But when access to important information spans different platforms, it is easy for messages to get lost and for employees to miss key updates.
Employees cannot perform to the best of their ability if they rely on disjointed, incomplete communications and are forced to piece together the big picture themselves. Companies need a centralized solution that logs important conversations and organizes communications in one accessible place for future reference. Collaboration tools that enable seamless, transparent communication and easy-to-use search functions can improve internal communication and employee satisfaction — not to mention compliance.
2. Operating without Full Visibility
It’s possible for engaged team members to achieve success simply by working toward a shared objective — but when different teams are operating in silos, operations can be hindered by redundancies and delays. Employees may find themselves working on duplicative or outdated work. Some areas may receive more attention or resources than they need, while others remain neglected. Depending on your industry, this can lead to missed deadlines, dissatisfied clients, and potentially disastrous revenue consequences.
Regardless of your industry or the size of your company, collaboration software can help you develop and maintain a common operational picture (COP). With a shared picture of the current environment, whether that’s a production floor or a rescue operation, different teams can work toward common deadlines and stay updated on the latest information. A COP can eliminate disruption due to lags in communication, enabling teams to stay flexible and agile. And beyond eliminating redundancies, employees will appreciate the transparency that allows them to allocate their time to what is urgent and important.
3. The Need to Improve Efficiency
All businesses would like to be more efficient. But sometimes, efficiency can be impeded by something as simple as how an organization stores information. Employees often rely on different storage channels to obtain information. In many cases, they will need to switch between several different tools, including legacy technology, to access relevant information over the course of a project. Because the information is disjointed and piecemeal, team members waste precious time attempting to organize and consolidate information instead of moving the project forward.
Employees need a collaboration tool capable of consolidating different resources into a unified workspace. By implementing one single source for all employee needs, organizations avoid losing hours spent searching for relevant documents and information, speeding up work and making collaborations easier. Centralized digital workspaces can also host reference and onboarding guides, which saves time when updating up new members on protocol.
4. Ineffective Alerts and Notifications
Most organizations have some form of alert or notification system built into their tools. But sending alerts alone is not enough to keep employees updated. Employees and teams rely on alerts to keep them updated on new key information, but they can also become easily overwhelmed. Too many alerts can cause alert fatigue and perpetuate inaction, which can be life-threatening in certain industries.
Alerts are intended to encourage the problem-solving process, not to create stress or become a distraction. Workstream collaboration tools enable alerts that are targeted and essential, with actionable directives that help move the process forward.
5. Coordinating with Distributed Teams
In operational industries, organizations often struggle with effective communication among team members in the field or in remote areas. This distribution of employees may make it hard for businesses to sustain consistent processes and organize collaboration in a streamlined manner. But teams that are distributed in this way need effective communication more than anyone.
Whether you are a small business with many employees working remotely or a national supply chain distributor with drivers making deliveries around the country, working with distributed teams calls for effective collaboration tools. Modern companies need a collaboration software that runs on the cloud and can be accessed from a warehouse just as easily as a control center.
Overall, the transformative potential of workstream collaboration is endless. When looking for a technology solution, consider whether the tool you choose really meets your operational needs and can be customized to your organization. Consider features unique to your team that you would like your software to accommodate, such as real-time information delivery, geospatial services, and flexible communication channels that can be organized around tasks and events.
While popular tools like Slack or Dropbox may tackle one or two of the above challenges, Coolfire offers the only workstream collaboration tool designed to tackle all of the challenges contemporary businesses face in one consolidated workspace, from communication and storage to team coordination. Coolfire’s workstream collaboration tool builds on existing systems to create a clear, common operational picture that enables teams to share workflows, data, and communications. By increasing visibility throughout your organization, Coolfire makes it easy to facilitate real-time responses and improve efficiency across the board.
