The technological landscape of the office environment has evolved significantly over the past year. This is especially true in terms of technology that fosters inter-office collaboration, which is a vital aspect of successful company collaboration. What could only be accomplished by sitting down together in the same room can now be done remotely. This is possible through the use of video conferencing or VoIP technologies.
It’s a true golden age of business technology achievement. If your business isn’t fully leveraging your collaboration technology, and you aim to improve company collaboration, you’ll quickly fall behind.
Don’t Fear New Collaboration Technology
There’s a certain convenience in being able to communicate with the click of a button. While email and conference calling have been office staples for the collaboration environment for some time, several new technologies make this process vastly easier.
For instance, consider the profound effect that comprehensive solutions like video conferencing and instant messaging have brought to the office. People can communicate in previously unprecedented ways, enhancing company collaboration significantly. For example, using a Microsoft Teams instant message for urgent requests rather than sending an email for delayed reactions. Or having face-to-face conversations from halfway across the world.
Another great example is SharePoint! SharePoint is a cloud-based file sharing platform that is hosted by Microsoft. It allows anyone and everyone in your organization to set up their own folders by department. They can share, exchange files, and work in real time, facilitating seamless company collaboration.
In other words, your business shouldn’t be concerned about adopting new solutions. If anything, your company should embrace the power of the latest technology while using the basics to augment your communications strategy. Email is still necessary, and telephone lines are still helpful under certain circumstances. Even while some of these solutions might feel unimportant compared to the latest communications strategies, they are vital assets.
You Don’t Have to Be an Expert
Even though it helps to have a little technical know-how, it doesn’t take a brain surgeon to operate the latest company collaboration technology solutions. Many modern technology solutions are very similar to everyday services provided by consumer products. For example, an inter-office IM solution with Microsoft Teams utilizes a similar interface to other instant messaging applications like Facebook Messenger or Google Hangouts. Video conferencing tools are similar to Skype video calls. This means that users will likely be familiar with the general user interface of video chat solutions.
Be Sure to Enforce Boundaries and Usage Protocol
Even if some solutions are easy to use, others will still require a fair amount of training. This is particularly true in terms of ensuring your team handles your new technology solutions in ways that benefit your organization. Basically, you want to make sure your team isn’t using your new technology solutions to distract others around them. Furthermore, ensure that your employees logically use the solutions to enhance company collaboration.
For example, why would you want to use video conferencing technology when there’s a perfectly fine conference room for that express purpose? Another problem is your employees using the in-house communications solutions, like email and instant messaging, for their personal purposes, which is both unprofessional and potentially problematic, should they choose to leave the company or engage in illicit activities.
Your business’s technology solutions should be designed to get the most productivity and efficiency for your buck. For more information, give Vision Computer Solutions a call at 248-349-6115.
Charles Lobert, has been in the Detroit Metro Area’s IT industry for over two decades & with VCS since ’04. Throughout the years, Lobert has held nearly every position at VCS & is responsible for several major organizational shifts within VCS.