If you hadn’t stepped in a normal run of the mill office for 20 years, you would be taken aback by the stark difference of how colleagues communicate with each other on a daily basis. Communication software such as Microsoft Teams and Slack make liaising with colleagues quick and simple, taking away the need for hanging around a person’s desk waiting for them to be free.
Emails have, of course, long been a presence in the workplace but, as any office worker will know all too well, inboxes get messy very quickly. Messages get lost and things get missed which are not easily retrievable. Collaboration is at the heart of the introduction of technology to the workplace, which has a positive effect on the harmony and productivity within the team.
Shared Workplaces
Remember when you had to print a document off, wasting ink and paper, to place on a colleague’s desk to ask for their thoughts and annotations? Now, through shared workplaces – such as those offered by Google Docs – multiple users can edit a live version without the need for constantly printing on sheets of paper.
This capability also makes it much simpler to organise a team, where you can keep a central document online complete with each person’s responsibilities and tasks. Beforehand when you had to make any edit, no matter how big or small, it was a potentially painstaking process of handing out new physical documents – taking up much more time than it needed to. Now, through the few clicks of a button, everyone is instantly updated…and they’ll receive a notification, too!
A Different Edge to Team Building
When the manager walks in and announces an impending team building day that is mandatory for all members of staff to attend, sighs soon ring around the office or meeting room. However, technology such as the simple tablet can soon turn those moans and groans into excitable smiles shared between colleagues. Generic team building days of yesteryear are a thing of the past and now, through making events interactive, companies can actually make team bonding events fun.
For example, imagine how much an interactive treasure hunt through the streets of Belfast would be as a team building event? Combining the modern-day worker’s love of gadgets with fresh air, getting outside of the usual workplace environment, making for a day that no one will want to forget in a hurry.
Flexibility
The advancement of technology means that employers can allow for a more flexible approach to the working week, making it easier for employees with commitments such as children to maintain full-time employment. Remote workers are no longer isolated like they once were and can now communicate with their colleague as though they were sat directly next to them.
It also allows for greater communication between offices in different parts of the world, allowing for global businesses to operate seamlessly. With major companies operating across all continents, it has never been more important to ensure that there is a means of communication and collaboration between teams in order to offer the same level of customer satisfaction synonymous with the brand.
