If your team or business still depends on outdated operations or business communication forms, it will hinder your opportunities to scale and grow.
There is no greater time to look at innovative way you can improve your small business than right now.
With collaboration, there’s little excuse for a failure to deliver. Let’s talk about some of the reasons why you should do more collaboration virtually:
- Track your progress and get work done faster.
- Cut down the recurring cost of a physical office or physical meetings.
- Improve your work efficiency by responding spontaneously to business developments.
- Achieve more remarkable results with the best talent.
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Things to Consider Before Looking at Collaboration Tools
If you’re a startup owner or a team lead, you should consider a collaboration tool to facilitate your work objectives and track progress. This will make tracking all projects that you are working on straightforward.
One of the things that collaborative tools will do is test your leadership and communication skills.
1. Communication
Be deliberate, or your communication will falter, causing misunderstandings and impeding your workflow.
Effective communication is purposeful, carefully considering what is said, whom to say it to, how it will be perceived, and its purpose.
Lousy communication: “Hey guys, I need someone to help with the report on logistics.”
Good communication: “Hey John, can you please send the report on logistics from the last quarter?”
Your communication needs to be specific and courteous.
2. Leadership
Because of the impersonal and non-factual nature of work done via collaboration tools, it’s crucial for team leads to be more intentional with their leadership.
They need to identify currents of conflict and unproductiveness and deal with them promptly. Good leadership involves good listening and people management skills.
Ways to improve your leadership on a collaborative platform:
- Create a clear assignment of tasks, and let everyone involved know their role in the project.
- Set timelines for project completions.
- Reach out to team members whose productivity has declined.
- Clearly define the culture of the team.
- Set a good example of hard work and leadership; don’t just say what you will do; do what you say.
3. Conflict resolution
Resolving conflict is an offshoot of good leadership and speaks to your ability to resolve a dispute tactfully.
Challenges are bound to occur when you use a collaborative tool; ineffective communication, remote work setbacks, and the frustration of being unable to communicate physically will affect team members occasionally.
The leader must ensure that while these conflicts occur, they do not ruminate to affect productivity or demoralize team members.
One of the best ways to effectively resolve a dispute is to anticipate its occurrence and determine the steps to solve the problem.
4. Analytical skills
Performance management is one of the benefits of a collaborative tool; you can track your team's progress and decide what needs to change to improve efficiency.
Therefore, you should enhance your analytical skills so you’re not ignorant of operational loopholes.
How to improve your analytical skills
- Document everything, and have records that show your progress.
- Identify growth indices by measuring your KPIs. Consistently check your team’s progress, and update yourself on the statistics of your tool.
Now that we’ve discussed these critical skills let’s discuss the ten top collaboration tools to boost your productivity.
Other recommended reading:
Top 10 Collaborative Tech Tools
You should answer these questions before you choose any collaborative tool.
Some of these tools have free and paid plans, so you can use the free version before deciding.
- Have I considered all my options?
- Does it suit my organization’s communication needs?
- Are there generally good reviews for this product?
- Can my startup afford this product now?
1. Office 365: Excel and Word
Microsoft Excel provides excellent features for business analysis and bookkeeping.
These software products are great for creating, preparing, and laying out official documents and business communication in several templates.
With the Notes and Comments functions, you can discuss business reports, set formulas, import workbooks, view financial forecasts, and even protect your document from third parties.
2. Vmaker
Vmaker is an easy-to-use screen recorder available for both Mac and Windows platforms, as well as a Chrome Extension. It serves as a reliable choice for anyone in need of a powerful screen recording solution.
Whether you're a content creator, educator, gamer, or professional, Vmaker can become an essential tool.
Vmaker has a rich set of features, including high-quality screen and webcam recording options, AI-Powered virtual background for screen and webcam mode, screen annotations, collaboration, high-quality internal and external audio recordings, and more.
Additionally, you can trim, crop, rotate, or resize your recordings using the built-in video editor.
3. Google Drive
You will need to store your important files as you grow your startup. Google Drive is like the traditional file cabinet, keeping your essential files and saving them to the cloud.
With DAM Google Drive, managing, categorizing, and tracking multimedia assets becomes even more easy.
You can retrieve them even if you lose your device or grant your team access. Like Google Docs, you can edit the permissions to restrict access to view them alone.
4. Canva
If you’re a design team leader, you should consider using this tool to enhance your creative goals.
On Canva, you can create stunning videos and images and invite your team to edit or view them.
And if you’re not a design team lead, you can design your business cards, logos, real estate brochure, and letterheads, if you’re inclined.
5. Brosix
Brosix is an all-in-one instant secure messenger that’s effective for team collaboration.
Discovering the tools for startups is crucial to enhance productivity.
Implementing cross-team collaboration software can streamline communication and foster synergy among diverse departments, propelling the startup towards success.
With all the features you might need for business communication: audio, video, whiteboard, screen sharing, screenshot, chat rooms, offline messaging, file transfer, etc.
You can improve your team’s work efficiency, control user permissions, comply with industry-standard security measures (such as HIPAA and SAS-70), and boost your productivity.
The great thing about Brosix is the emphasis on security. It means you can collaborate safely without fear of data compromise or sabotage.
Communication on Brosix protects peer-to-peer connections, data compression, and encryption.
6. Chanty
Chanty is another collaborative tool that aids team communication.
On Chanty, you can import users from Slack, Stride, Flock, and HipChat, guaranteeing an uninterrupted workflow.
You can share large blocks of code with your team, activate the dark theme (for users concerned about protecting their eyes), and pin information you want to read later.
With Chanty, you won’t miss a thing, not even information on other apps—the app is integrated with other apps like Google Drive and Mailchimp, making it easy to get rid of distractions.
7. Slack
Slack is an email alternative allowing users to directly tag other users who need to be part of conversations.
There are no open or click rates with Slack; your team members can see what needs addressing in one place and attend to it without worrying about sifting through a list of unopened emails.
Also, no matter the file's data size, you can share them via Slack with your teammates.
8. Product Hunt
ProductHunt is an excellent product listing tool for marketing your tech products. But it’s much more than a yellow page for products; with the discussion section, users can review your product and upvote it.
This way, you can get a community of people talking about your products and sharing them with others. It’s also a great place to post your job openings and create events to discover a great talent for collaboration.
9. ScreenRec
Need to record what’s on your screen and share it with others? ScreenRec is a free screen-capturing software that can capture videos and audio to reshare or keep.
This tool will particularly aid onboarding; you can resolve team members’ work problems from the comfort of your location without even picking up the phone.
They can forward their captured screens to you, and you can provide the solution by doing the same!
10. Zoom
Zoom is a great collaboration tool for meetings and small teams who are in the business of events or events management.
On Zoom, you can record meetings, host webinars, hold board meetings, integrate with board meeting software to share important data and ensure everyone is up to speed on business developments, and even hire talents from across the globe.
Bonus Collaboration Tech Tools
1. Apploye
Apploye's Employee Check-In Templates serve as an outstanding tool for monitoring both individual employee work hours and overall company productivity.
Particularly advantageous for startups, this solution offers a range of time-tracking features to enhance productivity and optimize workflow within your workplace.
Apploye offers remote track features such as screenshots, URL tracking, and app usage to help managers monitor their remote workforce.
Its GPS track addon helps track the real-time location of mobile employees.
Furthermore, managing several projects, tracking time against numerous tasks, and a performance-based intuitive dashboard can help your startup reach new heights.
2. Taggg
This nifty little tool is here to revolutionize how we schedule group meetings.
No more endless back-and-forth emails trying to figure out the best time to meet because Taggg's got you covered with its calendar overlays.
Not only can you quickly see everyone's availability and select meeting participants, but you can also book meetings instantly without any overlap or scheduling conflicts.
And it doesn't matter if you're a Google or Microsoft calendar user; Taggg works with both!
But that's not all, folks. With Taggg, you can even share your calendars with people inside and outside your organization, so everyone can find a mutual time to meet.
Plus, with flexible options for your Group Bookable Link, including Shared Availability, Round Robin, or booking with the First Available person, Taggg makes scheduling a breeze.
3. Visme
Visme online whiteboard is an easy-to-use brainstorming, planning, and designing tool.
Teams can create flows, plans, sketches, wireframes, and more. Visme’s whiteboarding software is perfect for beginners and non-designers.
With this tool, you can create, store, and collaborate while maintaining brand consistency across your team.
It has a collection of native integrations, so you can connect Visme to other tools you already use.
4. Hubstuff
Hubstaff, a premier workforce management solution, is redefining the work experience for individuals and businesses alike.
With a user-friendly setup and plans starting at $7 per user per month, Hubstaff has garnered recognition, including the Forbes Best of 2023 award and accolades for Ease of Use, Best Value, and Functionality from Capterra and GetApp.
Distinguished by its versatility, Hubstaff serves over 95,000 global organizations, offering a range of features that adapt to diverse industries and company sizes.
From intuitive time tracking that promotes immediate work-hour monitoring to automated team management that streamlines tasks and prevents burnout, Hubstaff stands as a comprehensive solution.
Identify profitable projects and optimize resources with Hubstaff's standout Project Cost Management feature, providing detailed reports for informed decision-making.
Scalable and secure, Hubstaff is enterprise-ready, offering custom roles, GDPR compliance, and advanced reporting.
The software seamlessly integrates with over 30 apps, enhancing workflow efficiency.
Choose from various pricing tiers, starting with a 14-day free trial. Experience Hubstaff's transformative impact—sign up for a demo and unlock the full potential of your business.
5. WebWork Time Tracker
WebWork is a time-tracking and productivity-monitoring platform for remote, hybrid, and office-based teams. It aims to improve productivity, especially in remote work, when there is a high chance of distractions and procrastination.
With features like automated time tracking, productivity and activity level tracking, and app and website usage monitoring, WebWork measures how productive you or your team members are and generates reports.
It calculates productivity levels based on the number of mouse clicks, keystrokes, scrolls, and the usage of productive and non-productive platforms.
Whenever WebWork detects non-productive activity, such as visiting a social media platform, it opens a pop-up reminder to notify you.
Moreover, you can set up customizable reminders so that the tracker notifies you to, for example, drink more water, spend more time with family, or just get up from the desk and move.
WebWork is a task management and communication platform, so you do not have to juggle several tools. This way, you are more likely to focus on work as it all happens in one place.
6. Fyle
Fyle is a leading expense report software that makes expense management a breeze.
Fyle simplifies reporting, tracking, verifying, and approving business expenses, corporate card expenses, mileage, per diems, cash advances, and more.
Fyle also makes accounting easy as it integrates with top accounting software like Sage Intacct, NetSuite, Quickbooks, and Xero, to name a few.
It is also the first in the industry to provide real-time card feeds on any VISA and Mastercards businesses use for company expenses.
This ensures seamless credit card reconciliations without waiting on banks for feeds or switching cards.
7. TimeCamp
TimeCamp is a time tracking software that helps individuals and teams effectively manage their time and increase productivity.
With its user-friendly interface, extensive features, and real-time insights, TimeCamp enables users to track time, analyze data, and streamline their workflows for improved efficiency and project management.
And what’s more - if you manage an on-site team, and want to keep an eye on your employees' attendance without paper cards, you can let them clock in and out easily with unique PIN codes thanks to the time clock kiosk feature.
8. ProofHub
ProofHub is an excellent choice for startups seeking online collaboration tools to boost productivity. With ProofHub, you can centralize all your projects, tasks, and communication in one place.
It eliminates the need for multiple tools and reduces confusion, allowing your team to stay organized and focused.
Seamless collaboration is a crucial feature of ProofHub. Its collaborative workspace enables real-time communication through chat, whether in groups or one-on-one, along with @comments, discussions, and file sharing.
You can assign tasks, track progress, and manage deadlines effortlessly. Each team member knows their responsibilities, reducing bottlenecks and ensuring timely project completion.
ProofHub also streamlines feedback and proofing processes. Its proofing tool allows you to review and provide feedback directly on the platform, eliminating the need for lengthy email exchanges.
9. Draftable
Draftable is an indispensable collaboration tool for startups, particularly when precision and accuracy are crucial, such as in attorney document comparison tasks.
This platform excels in simplifying the review process of legal documents where tracking changes is critical.
By providing an effortless way to conduct side-by-side comparisons of contracts, drafts, and legal documents, Draftable makes it easier to pinpoint differences between document versions.
This functionality is not only helpful for attorneys but also for any startup that manages multiple iterations of legal or official paperwork.
It can manage a variety of file types, including PDFs, Word documents, PowerPoint presentations, and Excel spreadsheets, accommodating the multifaceted document needs of a startup.
Draftable’s user-centric design enables startups to quickly identify textual changes or any modifications, thus expediting the review process and enabling team members to focus on substantive work rather than the manual and often tedious task of comparing documents.
With the facility to share comparison links, teams can work cohesively, maintaining transparency and consistency across all document-related operations.
Furthermore, Draftable is geared towards protecting sensitive information, offering startups the confidence to compare confidential documents with the assurance of security.
10. CurrentWare
CurrentWare is a cybersecurity and productivity tracking tool for monitoring employees in the workplace.
It keeps track of a variety of computer activities such as web browsing, bandwidth consumption, removable storage device use, active vs idle time, login times, and software usage.
To assist managers in tracking productivity trends, websites and applications are rated as productive, unproductive, or neutral.
The productivity metrics captured by CurrentWare allow managers and business leaders to compare productivity trends between in-office, remote, and hybrid employees.
This data provides the insights needed to measure how location flexibility affects employee productivity.
11. Teamhood
Teamhood is a visual project and task management tool that allows you to move away from spreadsheets and plan your work more conveniently.
Equipped with a flexible Kanban board, this solution will let you structure your workflow and adapt to your needs.
Visualize your process with statuses and sub-statuses to track the progress of your tasks, or switch to the Gantt view for long-term planning and perspectives.
You will also find time tracking, automated reports, and a global workload view to understand your team’s capacity across multiple projects.
Make collaboration easy by tracking all your processes and working in a single system.
Conclusion
Collaboration tools can help you to streamline your workflow, improve communication, and track progress, all of which can lead to increased productivity.
These tools can help you to plan, track, and manage projects. They can also aid in communications with your team members, no matter their location. You can even share files and collaborate on documents.
The best collaboration tech tools for your small business will depend on your specific needs and budget. However, any of the tools listed above can help your small business grow.
Author Bio
Radina Skorcheva is a Digital Marketing Specialist at Inbound Blogging, specializing in Content marketing and SEO. Besides her passion for digital marketing, she likes traveling and spending time with her family. You can connect with her on LinkedIn.
