The world has changed significantly since the first technology boom, and the business world has changed with it. Any way you slice it, businesses have gone global, either through production or consumer sales, and their reach stretches far and wide in today’s world. Unsurprisingly, as businesses are creatively bridging great distances to meet consumer needs, the next step logically falls to ensuring employees are connecting with staff, vendors, partners, and clients in timely, productive, and - by extension - profitable ways.

Collaboration tools have quickly grown to become essential in the workplace, and the reason why is obvious. Collaboration tools fill a growing need to streamline collaborative work with astonishing efficiency in any industry. Here are just a few ways that collaboration tools can positively impact your bottom line.





1) Instant Communication

In today’s technological world, communication is instant- whether you’re texting or video chatting, conversations happen in real-time, regardless of how much physical distance is involved. Why should work be any different?

It is not always possible, or logical, to bring your team together in one physical place to discuss developments, strategize, or set new goals. But, team members need to be able to communicate with each other frequently and efficiently in order to eliminate misinterpretations, mistakes, and delays that seriously impact productivity. If you can spend more time completing tasks efficiently, instead of fixing errors, why would you choose anything else?

Collaboration tools, such as online spreadsheets, are a medium that allows for frequent communication that can keep all team members up to date with each other, interdepartmentally, or even with external points of contact. Instantly.

2) Better Time Management

Collaboration software provides a forum where multiple team members can continuously update a stream of information that is relevant and need to know for other team members. There is no need to wait in order to complete the next task - not when tasks are deliberated, assigned, and checked off on a shared platform viewable by everyone involved. In this way, time and productivity are much more efficiently managed, in a very cost-effective way.

3) Decision Making 2.0

Consider the complexity of decision making when multiple people are involved in the process. Then throw in the fact that decisions often need to be made quickly and having limitations, like trying to set up a time and place that works for everyone to come together, on an infrequent basis, is counterproductive. Moreover, a collaboration tool ensures that everyone has the most up-to-date information possible and decision-makers can confidently take the next step when they have all the facts.

4) Increased Engagement

With the use of a team collaboration tool in the workplace, roles are more clearly defined and employees have a clear understanding not only of what is expected of them but also how they’re contributing to the big picture. Team members will be able to observe and measure their function and consequently their value as part of a team, which will, in turn, motivate them to increase individual productivity. When team members are invested in what they are doing, well, that’s when businesses begin to see real results.

5) Customer Satisfaction

Let’s consider for a minute a business that has implemented the use of an efficient collaboration tool. Their employees now have access to constant, accurate, relevant and current information, their team leaders have all of the data and resources necessary to make the right calls, and each team member feels connected and that they are an essential part of the team. Enhanced performance like this inevitably leads to satisfied customers, which leads to high-yielding returns.



