By Protonet Team. Published 16. January 2016.
Social collaboration is the way moving forward for small to medium-sized enterprises. The typical modes of correspondence, though, are far from ideal. Personal and business emails are hack-prone, and social media is too public. Beyond that, there are other key issues that often inhibit social collaboration among small companies and joint venture groups. Know what these barriers are so you can ensure clear and secure communication across all collaborative networks.
You may have collaboration software in place, but is your staff using it? People by nature resist change. If they perceive your new system has a steep learning curve, they may stick to email or traditional forms of communication, no matter how primitive it is compared to what your collaboration software offers.What’s the solution? Lead by example. Use the collaboration system yourself when communicating with staff, even those just down the hall. What you shouldn’t do is hold a mandatory class on how and why they should use the new system. The “how’s” and “why’s” will come naturally once they use it. Your job is to gradually integrate it into the daily work culture by using it yourself on a consistent basis.
Even if you implement the latest state-of-the-art software, it won’t improve collaboration one bit if communication is nearly non-existent to begin with. Technology streamlines communication, but it can’t initiate it.
Before using any type of software, carefully assess the general office culture. Do individual departments keep to themselves? Is there a strong camaraderie among staff, or is it all business with members confining themselves within their respective cubicles? If the members aren’t already showing strong teamwork ethic, then they’re not going to begin simply because you implemented a super expensive software. Strong communication skills among members is an inside job, and it begins with the higher ups.
What are your business goals and how might improved social collaboration help you reach them? Know what the benefits are and how it relates back to the company objective. If new software is involved, does it, for example, automate some of the grunt work? If so, how much time does it save you and how can that saved time be used elsewhere?
Collaboration is the backbone of any enterprise. Even if you have assembled the best team, the results won’t represent the crew’s potential if members aren’t effectively communicating. Collaboration software is an excellent tool, but its benefits are proportional to the extent it’s taken advantage of by your users.
