One of the hallmarks of consistently great organizations is the ability of employees to collaborate across the organizational hierarchy. Collaborative work goes beyond the ability to communicate.
The need for collaboration has never been so much as in the past twelve months.
Most business managers and professionals mistake collaboration for the use of software tools, the growth of which has been extraordinary – thanks to COVID-induced work-from-home.
When professionals talk about collaborative work management, they focus mostly on collaboration ‘enabling’ tools. Various studies have indicated an exponential rise in the adoption of collaboration tools such as Zoom, Microsoft Teams, WebEx, Google Meet, etc. With these tools, organizations expect enhanced collaboration – nothing can be farther from the truth!
Professionals forget about the foundation of collaboration – respect, transparency, and trust, that are ‘human’ value; and unless professionals have any of these, the chances of team collaboration are zilch.
How does a collaborative work environment look?
Business leaders must ensure that their teams integrate ‘work’ into their collaboration. For this to happen, enterprises must implement solutions that couple ‘work’ and ‘collaboration.’
When people work on programs and projects, software solutions focus much on the program/project management dimensions and offer lip-service to collaboration. Collaboration must intertwine with every aspect of the project life cycle – collaboration from proposal-making stage to contract sign; from project initiation to planning; from planning to execution and, finally, closure.
Software tools must be capable of being configured to convert every ‘touchpoint’ in the project life cycle to a potential opportunity for collaboration – with options for sharing, documenting, reviewing, commenting, applauding, approving, escalating, reporting, and much more. When these happen, business leaders could expect their teams to begin the process of collaboration!
The final dimension is ‘environment.’
Organizations must foster an environment where people are willing to collaborate – including norms, ground rules of behaviour, code of conduct, and redressal mechanisms. Ultimately, the senior management should walk the path of collaboration before they expect the organization to follow suit.
About ProductDossier
Started in 2006, ProductDossier is a leading project portfolio management solutions company. Its flagship product, TouchBase, is:
- Out-of-the-box, yet configurable to industry and company-specific needs
- A comprehensive solution that addresses scheduling, resources, costs, engineering, proposals, business cases, new product development, procurement, risks, issues, meetings, quality, documentation, dossiers (Pharma), and social collaboration.
- Integrates with SAP, Oracle, Salesforce, Microsoft Dynamics, AutoCAD, QuickBooks, Tally, Microsoft Office, and Others.
- Modular and scalable.
- Hosted On-Premises and On-Cloud
- Deployed by 50+ clients across 20+ countries.
TouchBase is designed to build a project management culture for your enterprise.
