Team Collaboration Challenges And How To Overcome Them

By Grace Kang

Are these problems standing in the way of your company’s team collaboration?

Remote Workforce-

Each year, a growing number of workers telecommute from home. The majority is comprised of outsourced employees or outside consultants, while the rest are telecommuters. Studies show that telecommuting is gaining widespread acceptance as more and more companies strive to reduce long commutes, simplify work schedules and downsize office overhead costs. While this endeavor is both eco friendly and cost friendly, it can hinder team collaboration simply because workers aren’t sitting in side to side cubicles and therefore have less inclination to communicate.

The solution:

Compensate for the physical separation between members with tools that will keep your employees talking, collaborating and consulting with one another as often as possible. Online web meeting solutions, online file sharing tools, shared online calendars and office intranets are only a few online solutions for remote workers to stay on the same page.

Lack of Communication In the Office –

Lack of communication between departments, even those sitting right next to each other, is one of the biggest problems in the workplace. Sales, marketing, engineering, support and executive teams aren’t always collaborating the way they should be. Each department is closely interrelated, can share valuable company intelligence and insight – but not if they’re not communicating.

The solution:

Set up a company Intranet. Intranets are a growing staple of the corporate environment, because companies are realizing that realistically, department members do not walk over to other departments regularly and start sharing information. Intranets are like a private company Internet, where team members can contribute ideas, store company policies and contact info. It keeps all the company members united, informed and on the same page.

Overhead costs of meeting in person –

To hold in person meetings, workers need to spend time and money travelling. In meetings, there are also handouts and agendas distributed, which make up a large chunk of the thousands of dollars companies spend each year on paper costs. Studies show that almost 50% of all the paper printed in the office is thrown out on the very same day it was printed. Those are your dollars going straight into the trash.

The Solution:

Get an online content management system that allows your team members to store their files online. These notes and documents can be pulled up at anytime, before, after and during the meeting, without wasting paper and money. By having your meeting, and meeting files, online, remote teams can participate in meetings without having to drive or fly anywhere.

Email Overload –

Too many offices are still stuck relying on email as their primary mode of communication. Working via Email on important projects results in lost memos, miscommunication and misunderstanding. Important ideas that could be making you money are instead getting lost in your inbox.

The Solution:

Get an online collaboration platform that centralizes all of your communication and documents in one place so that you can create a logical, organized system of information. Store your project files by department, or by project, and create a space designated specifically for a single purpose. Rather than thinking in long email threads, collaboration platforms allow a multi dimensional system of management.

About the Author: Grace Kang is a SEO and marketing copywriter for Central Desktop, a

Team Collaboration

and

Intranet Software

solution for business teams.

Source:

isnare.com

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