How can we better share and collaborate in the workplace?
Working where you want, when you want... Is this really possible when several people work together in a company? Can we really consider ourselves as working "together" when each of us creates spreadsheets, reports or presentations that concern an entire team? Freeing up internal communication is essential in your company. Here we explain the challenges of collaboration and corporate social networks (CSNs), and some effective ways of facilitating joint working and sharing between employees.
The CSR, a modern intranet
Companies like yours are choosing to set up a Corporate Social Network, aka CSN. Not to be confused with Corporate Social Responsibility, nor has it anything to do with Facebook or Twitter as you know them... The CSR is a collaborative platform offering a communication system for your company's internal collaborators as well as its external ecosystem (customers, suppliers, distributors, partners...).
In SMEs and large corporations alike, this collaborative tool par excellence is mainly used by communications and human resources departments, according to L'Observatoire de l'Intranet et de la Stratégie Numérique. This was also the case when the intranet was first introduced. Today, however, it's no longer just a matter of getting information "downstairs".
The current objective of the Enterprise Social Network is more central, as it places employees at the heart of your company. Exchanges are both vertical, to transmit information, and horizontal, to facilitate exchanges between departments. Today, we go and find information where we find it. In the same way as you would go to a forum in your private life to find out how to lay your new parquet floor properly, you adopt the same new habits at work with the CSR.
You create your own community with people from inside and outside the company. For example, you can bring together your network of partners, customers and prospects, all connected to your customer relationship management (CRM) software. You can also create a community working on a common project. You then link up all the participants and information flows easily.
These new ways of communicating within your company make everything much simpler. And the publishers of these solutions, like Jamespot, have understood this. It's no longer necessary to monopolize an IT department developer to manage your company's intranet. Everything can be tailored to your needs. All you have to do is activate them according to the context.
The Enterprise Social Network is so central today that it can be linked to other collaborative tools, such as Document Management and File Sharing. Jalios, for example, offers a SaaS platform with a wide range of features designed to enhance organizational efficiency. Everything is in one place, so you can work together.
Document sharing
When we think of a common workspace, we think of two tools: document management and file sharing. Often confused, they each have their own particularities:
- Document management: the tool handles the storage, sharing and retrieval of electronic documents. You manage the entire lifecycle of a document: search, version, comment, instant discussion... For example: Google Drive in the Google WorkSpace suite, Ftopia or Jalios...
No more sending e-mails to inform your colleagues of changes made to a document. A small change in working habits that generates real comfort and time savings. Document Management is instantaneous and automatically synchronizes all documents, especially versions. If your colleague accidentally deletes the presentation for the meeting, he or she can easily retrieve it. On the other hand, with file sharing, you always have your presentation on your computer, tablet or smartphone. So there's no need to cry wolf just yet!
Online solutions generally combine these two tools: document management and file sharing. Examples include iExtranet and Google WorkSpace with Drive. These tools are 100% collaborative. Exchanges are possible with colleagues as well as with people outside your company. What's more, regular backups ensure that your files are always available. So everyone is encouraged to share and collaborate freely and securely.
Cross-functional projects
Collaborative applications help you get organized. No more to-do lists in the corner of your desk to manage your project! The aim is to simplify teamwork, so that everyone pulls in the same direction and is autonomous when it comes to the tasks at hand.
Your data is centralized and shared with your team, customers and partners. Whether the project is internal or external, management remains the same thanks to this platform. Discuss your project in a personalized, shared environment, group together all your documents and wikis, or manage your action plan by tracking indicators.
Using these tools in project management mode will strengthen your day-to-day collaboration. These solutions will establish new habits:
- subscribe to an online office suite with Google WorkSpace or Microsoft Office 365
- set up a messaging system to group your contacts and calendars with Zimbra
- set up centralized management with a solution like Slack
- get into the habit of video-conferencing with your telecommuting colleague using Google Meet, etc.
Conclusion
These new ways of working are already common practice in start-ups. What's more, with the gradual arrival of Generation Y on the job market, collaborative working will become increasingly ingrained in corporate DNA. Not to mention, of course, that all these online solutions for working better together are multi-support and therefore accessible on the move. Here, then, are a number of solutions for sharing and working wherever you want, and almost whenever you want...
Article translated from French