Collaboration (or “collab” as we call it here at Suite Spotte) is where true magic happens. People with different talents and different perspectives seek a common goal, which happens often in a coworking space. The collaborative whole is much better than each of its respective parts because each person contributes to the group like a jigsaw puzzle – each individual is incredibly integral to the sum of its parts.
When you have a team of people that works remotely, communication can often become an obstacle. As small business technology focuses on more entrepreneurial problems, it has acknowledged this and responded with tools that help break down the barriers to communication between team members and facilitate team growth.
Here are a few collaboration tools that we love:
Project Management Tools
Asana
Founded by Facebook co-founder Dustin Moskovitz and ex-engineer Justin Rosenstein, Asana enables teamwork without email. Each team gets a workspace, which contains projects, and projects contain tasks.
Tasks can include notes, comments, attachments and tags. Users can follow tasks and get project updates to their inboxes. The application is free for up to 15 people with endless amounts of tasks. Premium plans exist for larger organizations.
Trello
Trello is a free system that uses a webpage format called a “board” to create lists for your project. The lists are broken up into cards that can be dragged between lists.
The cards can have pictures, files, hyperlinks and checklists. You can color-code cards for better organization. The progress meter lets you keep real-time track of your project’s progress. It’s a really great tool for visual people with its drag-and-drop style.
Chat Tools
Slack
Slack is like a project management and chat tool all in one. Separate your chats by projects or by people. You can name rooms for various clients or functions within your company. Slack eliminates the need for email with the ability to attach documents right within the interface.
Yammer
Employees can use this platform via web, desktop or mobile to chat with their colleagues, share documents and set statuses. Because it’s now owned by Microsoft, you can even integrate it with SharePoint.
Cloud Storage Tools
Dropbox
Dropbox is a must have for every business owner. Store and share articles, videos and more from any device, from anywhere. You can share your folders with an unlimited number of people, and that folder will show up in that person’s folder list. Best of all, Dropbox is free initially, with higher storage plans starting at $9.99/month.
Google Docs
Google Docs is free, and better yet, it integrates with your Gmail and your Google Calendar. You can make changes directly onto the documents without having to download them first, and others that you have given viewing permission to can see your documents in real time.
What tools do you use to collaborate with your team? Share them below!
