We can’t get anywhere unless we move in the same direction.
This philosophy, that teamwork forms the core of achieving any goal, drives organizational success and is the reason collaboration tools exist.
In modern workplaces, where some work in the office, some from their homes in the same state, and some in a state or country thousands of miles away, communication is a challenge. Collaboration tools make it easy, fun and accessible for employees to communicate and work together wherever they are.
But legacy collaboration tools aren’t working for today’s enterprise workplace needs. We need advanced versions to boost productivity effectively in this challenging age of rapid technological change.
This article explores why advanced collaboration tools matter, their key features, and employee time tracking. With all the information you will gain in this article, you will have the confidence to decide if you need to invest in advanced tools for collaboration today.
Why Advanced Collaboration Tools Matter
There are many barriers to communicating with colleagues these days. Geographical barriers make it impossible to read body language and time differences cause scheduling issues for meetings.
And what if people use different collaboration tools in different offices? All these issues cause project delays, frustration and they are all the problems advanced collaboration tools seek to resolve.
When you integrate advanced collaboration tools that utilize real-time communication, seamless file sharing and project tracking integration, you can communicate with co-workers easily to get tasks done faster.
A few examples of advanced collaboration tools include:
— Project management platforms: Tools that help you communicate to manage projects effectively.
— Real-time communication apps: Apps that let you communicate with colleagues in real-time to get instant replies.
— File-sharing solutions: These apps let you share files easily and securely with coworkers.
Key Features of Advanced Collaboration Tools
Real-time communication and messaging
Email is a legacy technology, though it still has some uses, like cold outreach and messages for colleagues that don’t need instant replies.
But there are times when you need an immediate response, and advanced collaboration tools with real-time communication support this. It means you can ask quick questions and get quick answers throughout the day, as long as you know the times your colleagues will be online.
Seamless document sharing and editing
It’s essential in most projects to share documents that describe various plans, strategies, or other aspects of the project.
Many advanced collaboration tools allow you to send large files and documents to colleagues, and often, the recipient can edit them to add improvements or comments and send them straight back. This seamless sharing between apps makes project management streamlined, simple, and efficient.
Integrated project tracking and task management
It’s hard enough tracking the progress of a project if over a hundred people are involved and everyone works in the same office, let alone if everyone is at different corners of the globe.
Advanced collaboration tools bridge the gaps between colleagues by tracking projects and tasks. This feature lets everyone see and track their progress from a central hub and discuss how to perform more efficiently to complete projects to schedule.
Employee Time Tracking: A Crucial Productivity Measure
A significant proportion of project management involves managing time, and employee time tracking apps are perfect for this role. They work alongside advanced collaboration tools to help staff manage their time, be productive, and stay on track for goal completion.
Many advanced collaboration tools integrate time-tracking functionalities to help staff achieve these goals, so look out for this feature if you are considering investing in such a tool.
If you want an advanced collaboration tool that doesn’t feature time tracking, you can get a free shift scheduling app that helps staff schedule their tasks at zero extra cost to the project or organization.
One of the many ways to use these apps is for project managers to allocate resources efficiently by ensuring the right experts dedicate the correct amount of time on each task to complete every project by deadline.
Conclusion
We can’t understate the significance of using advanced collaboration tools in a business market where employees rarely work in the same office and are often in separate states or countries.
The benefits of these tools are that they allow you to communicate in real-time with colleagues, share large files seamlessly and if you’re a project manager you can track project progress to ensure project completion doesn’t run over schedule.
If these reasons have convinced you, it’s time to invest in advanced collaboration tool integration within your tech stack today. When you do so, you can enjoy higher team efficiency and productivity than ever before and the higher revenue that comes with it.