A couple of years back who would’ve believed that an office can be wherever you sit and work? Because productivity does not necessarily require actual physical work. The culture has changed and now working remotely or from a different location than a traditional office has become increasingly common. In 2019, before the global pandemic, only 4.7% of UK employees worked from home. This number increased heavily.
Remote workspace is made possible by technological developments providing greater flexibility. However, being physically separated has its own particular difficulties for teams. Colleagues who are spread across multiple places have additional challenges in collaboration. Keep in mind that collaboration is essential for successful projects. It requires creativity to manage remote work, from building a team to ensuring smooth communication.
In order to create a successful remote workplace, this article contends that collaboration technologies are crucial for filling the gap between physical distance and productive teamwork.
Why Is Collaboration Important in Remote Work?
Unarguably, COVID-19 flipped the world upside down and businesses were left scrambling and figuring out how to run their operations while sitting at home. And once the business world recovered from the shockwave, nobody really wanted to go back to crammed-up desks and water cooler gossip. Upwork predicts that by 2025, an estimated 32.6 million Americans will be working remotely. Do you know that makes up almost 22% of the entire workforce of the USA?
But with so many people opting to enjoy working from home with their pets making an appearance on Zoom meetings, how do companies expect their teams to collaborate? Well, this is where collaboration tools can help a lot, and here are some reasons why it’s important:
Happier and More Engaged Employees:
Remote work seems like the best thing that has ever happened to the world’s workforce, but it has one negative impact too. It can bring a feeling of isolation among the workers away from a traditional office environment. There are no more lunch breaks where you can talk to other teams or catch up on office tea with your favorite work partners. This is where collaboration, even if it’s virtual, helps combat these feelings and create a sense of belonging for all employees.
Global Talent Pool at Your Fingertips:
No longer limited by location, companies can hire the best person for the job, regardless of where they live. Diversity and Inclusion are not some checkboxes that companies have to check for the sake of reputation. It’s a necessity because a diverse workforce brings boundless talent and so many different perspectives to the table.
Helps Employees in Staying Focused:
While your cat asking for pets or your kid showing you your drawings might be a little distracting, remote work eventually does allow employees to focus on completing all their tasks effectively and on time. Once the constant buzz of the office chatter mutes down, you automatically redirect your focus to being productive.
How Digital Signature is Helping in Remote Work
There are times during remote work when signing a document is essential, and it holds out the entire project. It is time to put an end to physical mail and full inboxes. They save time by allowing approvals from any location along with document security through encryption. A signature generator is emerging as the hidden hero that completes remote work and eliminates the hassle of being physically present.
Challenges of Collaboration in Remote Work
Ensuring effective collaboration between physically separated teams can be challenging.
- Team Spirit and Culture: Remote teams may find it difficult to establish connections in the absence of social encounters, but physical office spaces can promote team spirit and business culture through casual chats.
- Communication Gap: Being physically away and in different time zones can heavily impact communication. Scheduling a meeting based on everyone’s availability can be quite a task. Also, relying on text-based conversation can lead to misunderstandings and wrong interpretations.
- Project Management and Workflow: Managing difficult projects remotely requires a strong system and organizational skills. It is difficult to make sure that everyone is on the same page and updated with the latest news.
- Isolation and Disconnection: Working remotely can lead to isolation. The lack of face-to-face interactions can negatively impact morale and team spirit. This can affect their productivity as well.
The Role of Collaboration Tools
You’re sitting in one corner of the world while working from home, your manager is on the other and the rest of the team is sitting in the office and all of you have to work on one project together. How do you plan to communicate and work here? Remote work is a dream come true for many, but it’s not all sunshine when it comes to gigantic communication barriers that need to be taken care of. This is where collaboration tools can help you gather together, regardless of your location, and work efficiently.
Communication Tools
If you want to go on a quick call with Sandy from Finance for a project, you can do so using platforms like Zoom or Google Meet. These are perfect for face-to-face interaction while either of you are working remotely. And if you only want to chat with Mark from Development, then leave them a message on Slack or Microsoft Teams for real-time communication.
Content Collaboration Tools
What if your team is working on a task and you want all your members to access some common documents? This is where platforms like Dropbox and Google Drive can give you a secure option for storage that you can control. This way everyone will work on the latest version of the same document and stay on the same page, literally.
Conclusion
Let’s establish one fact here: remote work is here to stay and we can accommodate our communication according to it. From using digital signatures to using tools like Slack to make project management remotely easier, there are ways to still collaborate well without getting our heads together in a boardroom.
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