Imagine those Instagram reels where you find yourself kicking back on a sunny beach with your laptop open and managing multiple projects while collaborating with your team. Now this is not a daydream rather it’s a reality for people who are working from home. Statista says that working from home before the coronavirus was just like a blessing, especially for introverts.
It all happened as there has been a shift to a more knowledge-based economy which has allowed us the option of remote and hybrid work. Cool, isn’t it? Back in the past, we used to say that the world is changing but now the world has changed and the ability to work from home is an important factor when making employment decisions.
The benefits of remote work are many but it also creates some problems for people who are working from home, including communication types, time zones, and limited face-to-face interaction that can hinder projects from moving forward. The advent of digital tools has handled this problem effectively so moving on further let’s discuss how these Tools and Techniques for Digital Collaboration make remote work easier.
Issues With Remote Collaboration
Remote work is not as convenient as it seems to be. Let’s jump into the challenges of remote work and find out how they hinder productivity.
Communication Blocks are Real
The main challenge with remote work comes when collaborating with your fellow team members. There are a lot of factors that have to be considered, for example, time zone and location. Both of these affect the work to a significant degree. Asynchronous communication, although it might sound familiar, can lead to misunderstandings and hamper interactions. Facial features, or body language, also act as an important part of communication, but due to the absence of non-verbal cues, and facial expressions, it is challenging to have smooth communication with the employees. Building rapport among team members leads to communication blocks within teams.
Trust and Engagement Issues
The digital world has certainly made collaboration easier but the trust factor is missing. So why are remote managers having severe trust issues? Well, it’s because remote work management skills are quite different than face to face-to-face ones. This goes to the employees as well who are also not used to remote work. Some managers are used to seeing direct reports of their employees, and without it, they find it hard to trust them even if work efficiency is there.
Cultural Factors
Remote teams have people from all around the world. Although an employee’s cultural background does not define his or her achievement or skill, it still hinders a smooth collaboration. Culture is not just about your living practices but how you interact, what clues you pick, and what triggers. People with opposite cultures might find it hard to adjust as what is considered normal in some language practices might not be in others.
Distractions at home
Even as a remote worker, work is not a garden of roses because you can not take full control at your home. We all can relate to it because some people might have privacy issues or some people might get irritated even at the slightest noise. We all are different and we have different ways to handle distractions that show up throughout our day. Ironically, family members are one of the prime reasons for distraction for most people. Not everyone can handle such situations while keeping their cool. At least we get crazy over it!
Techniques for Successful Collaboration
Tools for Effective Communication
Communication is the key to dealing with misunderstandings among team members. You have to make use of proper communication channels with transparent updates. Tools like Slack, Microsoft Teams, or Zoom will help you to communicate better in real time and they tell whether every person is present or not.
Asynchronous Collaboration
Asynchronous collaboration is when there is no need for all the team members to be online so they can contribute to the project. It’s best for accommodating team members who are from different zones. Asynchronous collaboration tools include discussion forums, email project management platforms, and shared documents where updates are free from any human intervention.
E-Signature: Making Document Approval Easier
If you want to make the approval process simple then esignatures are the fit. E-signatures have changed the landscape of digital workflows. It has ensured that remote work remains convenient without missing out on the reliability of signatures.
And if you are a fan of personal touch in signatures then you should consider handwritten signature generator. These tools can mimic your signature and make it look more appealing.
The advent of signatures has made securing approval much easier.
Tools for Specific Tasks
Various tools are built for specific tasks and help to make your work easier. Each tool has its own special feature and choosing the right tools can change the dynamics of your teamwork. For example, you can use Miro when you need new ideas, Microsoft Teams for the seamless exchange of knowledge, and Mentimeter for making your not-so-lively presentations interactive.
The Future of Digital Collaboration
In reality, enterprises have many more choices than before on how and when to collaborate. New versions of communication tools are being tested and confirmed and a lot of time will be needed to reach a place where collaboration will be perfect without any barriers or any cultural hindrances. Collaboration is still a “FIGURE IT OUT YOURSELF” trend. The only problem with these tools is that they keep on updating themselves and in most cases, employees don’t want to invest time in learning these tools.
Workshops are indeed the best tools to share your experiences and solve your queries.
Certain companies offer workshops to employees but most of them cost an arm and a leg. Many businesses are adjusting to their financial parameters and policies so that they can focus on the resources that will help the employees learn new skills and update themselves. This will also help in retaining and evaluating employees based on their productivity and efficiency.
Conclusion
In this article, we have shared a snapshot of how digital collaboration will look in the future, and it’s fascinating to see how these tools can mimic the productivity and efficiency of a human being. One thing is for sure, companies will be more flexible in adopting various working models. Experimentation will be at its peak but due to the fast-changing nature of these virtual tools, a lot of change will be needed from team members to managers. Only if they can navigate these virtual tools effectively, then the future have a lot to offer when it comes to collaborating digitally.
