Overview Of Collaborative Tools That Optimize Telework

Teleworking… Some managers have already experienced it for a long time. Others suffered it brutally during confinement. With the second wave of Covid-19, telework is generalized whenever possible. This mode of work organization continues and will undoubtedly continue to gain ground. Under these conditions, you might as well optimize it! Many collaborative tools contribute to this, but finding your way around and making the right choices is not always easy.

Define Your Objective And The Applications To Prioritize

The collaborative tools that comprise the “digital workplace” allow team members to work together on a joint project. By reducing slide work, they generate:

• improved team productivity by stimulating their creativity and collective intelligence;
• fluidification of information and communication thanks to their centralization in a shared space and the sharing of documents;
• We are strengthening the culture of sharing and mutual aid.

That being said, faced with the plethora of tools available, to refine your choice, you must start by determining your priority objective among the most frequent use cases, which are:

1. project management and brainstorming: thanks to collaborative boards and mind maps, teams mobilize and invest collectively around a task or a project;
2. Video chat and instant messaging: if they initially appealed to the general public, these applications have now become essential in business, making it possible to reduce the volume of emails considerably and to obtain faster responses;
3. Storage and sharing of documents and files: tools present on the market, such as Google Drive, Dropbox, SharePoint, etc., offer relatively secure online storage, which makes documents accessible to everyone. In addition, the curation of this content facilitates research;
4. Collaborative writing: tools like Google Docs or Zoho Writer allow you to work together and simultaneously on the same document. Additions, note-taking and corrections are made in real-time, allowing time savings and more agility in the progress of projects;
5. The centralization of company information is the objective of corporate social networks (CSR) such as Facebook’s Workplace, Yammer or even Jamespot. We discuss, we share projects, and we collaborate effectively;
6. Knowledge sharing: collaborative platforms make it possible to bring together different skills and documentary resources in the same place and then give access to the company’s actors who are likely to use them, according to a hierarchy of rights.

What Tools And To Do What?

This list is not exhaustive, but it includes the leading tools on the market and their main features:

1. SharePoint: this is a platform intended to centralize documents. Contributors can insert and edit all types of Microsoft documents here;
2. Google Drive: it allows the storage and sharing of files in different formats: texts, slideshows, videos, images, etc. Creating documents at the level of the Google Drive interface is also possible. Huge advantage: files stored on Google Drive are accessible regardless of the type of device used (computer, tablet or smartphone) and its brand;
3. Dropbox: This intelligent workspace allows storing and sharing different types of files. Thus, classic files, “cloud” files, Dropbox Paper files, and web shortcuts can be combined on the same interface. Suggestions for personalization make it possible to classify the files according to the projects;
4. monday.com: This project management software has different features that automate multiple manual tasks. It also offers the integration of other tools, increasing productivity. With its shared space, monday.com helps to have a 360° vision of all the projects in progress;
5. Teamwork: This tool allows different teams to work together seamlessly. Each contributor has a view of the projects in progress, and everyone can communicate, intervene, and plan actions in real-time thanks to workflows;
6. Wimi Armored: ideal for sensitive projects, it ensures synchronization of teamwork and allows each person to work on the latest version of a file while guaranteeing a very high degree of security and confidentiality;
7. Microsoft Teams: it is perfect for ensuring remote collaboration. You can invite collaborators to a meeting or a simple discussion via audio or videoconference. No limit on participants! The tool also allows you to access files, share them or add modifications to them wherever you are;
8. Skype: This well-known instant messaging software has advanced features: organizing meetings, screen sharing and annotating PowerPoint presentations. Drag a file to the chat window to give access to all participants. The split view also helps classify conversations;
9. Trello: This tool allows a good hierarchy and organization of projects thanks to cards, to-do lists, boards, etc. Automation and synchronization processes offer significant efficiency gains;
10. Slack: This instant messaging app offers video or audio calls, with chat channels letting you share project progress with the entire team. Its intelligent functionality also allows you to classify the different conversations by subject, order of priority, etc. ;
11. Zoom: this video conferencing system, accompanied by messaging and a feature allowing content sharing exploded during confinement! You can share a meeting or join it on the way. Meetings with up to 1000 participants are fully secured with end-to-end encryption. Meetings can also be recorded and transcribed.

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