Your Business in 2017 As communication styles and technologies have changed over the years, businesses in all industries have had to adapt their collaboration efforts. The right collaborative moves can result in higher rates of engagement amongst employees, clients, and consumers alike, and can lead to improved business performance. With these tips and strategies, your business stands to reap the rewards of collaboration in 2017.Creating a Happier Team
Modern employees are looking for a job that provides more than deskwork. They want to collaborate, build within a team, and innovate through the combination of ideas. Offering improved collaboration within your office can have a positive impact on employee contentment. Happy employees make the best employees, and those that are happy with their jobs are more likely to stick around and help your business avoid costly turnover and rehiring processes.Social Media Collaboration
We all have LinkedIn accounts, Facebook profiles, and Instagram handles, but have you taken advantage of social media platforms for more than personal use? Consider enterprise social networking opportunities for your company. This can easily connect departments within your business, improve camaraderie, facilitate the planning of company events, and provide paths of communication in which employees can learn from each other. With message boards that can provide valuable information to new and seasoned employees, there’s fantastic opportunity for cross-department collaboration and education.
Combining New and Old
You likely have employees that run the gamut in age; while Millennials continue to infiltrate the workforce in large numbers, there are still decades-loyal employees that have invaluable experience and history of success in your ranks. Collaboration means parsing out the best parts of each of these types of individuals, and putting their varied methodologies to use. Take old school practices that are solid, not antiquated, and mix them with the innovative ideas of a young up-and- comer; build upon best practices and improve processes already in place.Collaborating Outside of the Office
If you’re working with freelance contractors or over sea developers, you can still use collaboration to your advantage. If you already work with ALM software, you understand how tracking systems and live updating can reinvigorate your workflow processes and help avoid costly reworks. If you haven’t yet used these technologies, this is the year to start. There are so many new collaborative tools business owners and their employees can utilize. Looking for ways to expedite the development of new software? Install technologies offer quality assurance checking, like the bug tracking software here. Want to keep up with your contractors across the country? Use video conferencing software like BlueJeans.com. With so many tools at your fingertips, you’re bound to find a bevy of quality options perfect for your business practices.
Open Lines of Communication
Improving collaboration within your business can be as easy as encouraging open communication among your ranks. Repeated research has shown that transparency can provide employees with more drive; if your employees understand the numbers and the risk and reward behind both their individual efforts and the efforts of the company as a whole, they may find more motivation to work harder and better. Discussion facilitates change; when employees are doing poorly, be open about what you’d like to see change. Conversely, when they’re doing well, offer praise where it’s due and provide rewards and benefits for a job well done. Try to avoid enforcing hierarchy rules when it comes to communication in the office; a new employee at the so-called “low end of the totem pole” may come up with innovative ideas, but if they’re unable to share their thoughts, or uncomfortable doing so, your business could lose out on a wonderful opportunity. Focusing on collaboration in your business can provide numerous benefits for both the happiness and productivity of your employees, and the overall output of your day-to- day practices. Keep these strategies in mind and make collaboration a priority in 2017.
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