One of the joys of working in a large organisation is the fact that you have so many colleagues to talk to. Then again, there are so many colleagues that you don’t.
I have found that as marketing professionals, it is almost inevitable that we work with different teams. These could be different departments, different people and even different companies. It is hell trying to get everyone on the same page. I think we spend more time in update meetings than in actually doing things that further the project along. With technology becoming more prevalent and affordable, collaboration software has also become more common-place.
If you can harness the power of technology to help you, there can be large gains in productivity. Everyone can now see each other’s schedules, share the latest versions of the same files and so on. The only danger of such a scenario is the exact opposite of the old situation – information overload. Sometimes, even stuff that are none of your concern becomes irresistible reading as you get caught up by the work being done by other members of the team. Counter-productive. In this case, user management capabilities of your collaboration software becomes important. Setting user permissions and allowing/disallowing access to certain parts become an important part of the overall planning for the team leaders.
One of the ways to get access to good groupware is to outsource it. Many companies like Concentric Total Solutions provide what is known as a “hosted” solution for your collaboration software needs. Consider that as it will save you time and money in setting up.
I have worked in both small and large outfits, with and without the benefits of such tools. Overall, I would say, the tools help. But more importantly, is the planning that goes into the formation of the teams that will determine maximum effectiveness. Collaboration software is a tool. Use it wisely and it will be a boon. Otherwise, beware the information sink.
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[tags]collaboration software, team work, groupware[/tags]
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