Collaboration tools are software that lets staff work together more effectively by communicating and sharing information and documents more easily. Rather than emailing files backwards and forwards, a team works in one shared place.
A shared workspace is one space holding a team's documents, tasks and updates, so staff do not have to hunt through inboxes or personal folders to find the latest version of something.
For example, a small video game studio planning a launch event keeps one supplier checklist in its workspace. The manager adds a price, the office apprentice adds a phone number, and both see the change straight away — nobody is left working from a copy that is out of date.
Collaboration tools are not the same as communication tools. Live chat and video conferencing carry the conversation, while collaboration tools are where the shared work itself actually lives.
Live chat and direct messaging are communication tools that let staff have quick, real-time conversations. Unlike email, they are designed for instant replies, so you can get an answer without waiting or leaving your desk.
These tools are ideal for quick discussions. Instead of sending an email and hoping for a fast response, or walking across the office to ask a question, you can send a message and see straight away whether the other person is available. For example, a mechanic at a bike repair shop can message a colleague in the parts store to check whether a replacement wheel is in stock, and get an answer in seconds.
They are communication tools, not collaboration tools, because their main purpose is talking to each other rather than working together on the same thing, such as a shared document.
Video conferencing is a communication tool that lets staff in different locations take part in the same meeting using live video and audio sent over the internet. Each person sits in front of a camera and microphone, and everyone can see and hear each other as if they were in the same room.
Imagine Riverside Tutoring, a small tutoring company whose tutors live in three different towns. Instead of everyone driving to head office for a monthly catch-up, the manager starts a video conference and all six tutors join from home. The meeting still happens, but nobody spends an hour travelling to it.
For Riverside Tutoring, a tutor who spots a mistake in a lesson plan can raise it in the weekly video conference and the whole team can agree a fix there and then.
Video conferencing is not automatically better than a phone call or a face-to-face meeting: it suits businesses whose staff are spread out and already have a reliable connection, but for a team working in one building the set-up costs may not be worth it.
Email is a communication tool that lets staff send written messages and file attachments to one or many people at once. A message travels over the internet to the recipient's mailbox, where it waits until they open it. Although email has been around a long time, it is still a modern technology used every day to manage modern teams, from a manager answering one question to a whole department being told about a new policy.
For example, the manager of Harbour Bikes emails all nine staff the new safety policy as an attachment, with every address in the BCC field so no one sees anyone else's email address.
A shared calendar is a scheduling and planning tool that lets a team see and manage the same events. Instead of each person keeping a private diary, everyone works from one calendar that updates for all members. Other scheduling and planning tools include Kanban boards, Gantt charts and project planning software, but a shared calendar is the one built around dates and times.
Scheduling tools go beyond simple to-do lists. You can use them to:
When one person adds a deadline, the shared calendar can synchronise it automatically with every team member's calendar. A change to a delivery date or meeting time then appears everywhere, without anyone sending a separate message. For example, at Northside Youth Theatre the director adds an extra rehearsal for the Saturday before the show. The calendar syncs it to the cast and backstage crew, and a reminder appears the evening before, so nobody arrives at the wrong session.
Organisation benefit: because events, appointments and meetings all sit in one place, the team can see who is busy and when. That reduces clashes and keeps everyone focused on shared deadlines.
When you create a meeting in a calendar app, such as one within a shared calendar, you can use several features to organise it so everyone knows what is happening, when and where.
The Scheduling Assistant shows when staff and rooms are free, so you can choose a time that suits everyone without asking each person individually. For example, if you need a meeting room and three colleagues, it highlights only the slots when all four are available.
Response options let you ask each invitee to reply, so you can see who is coming and plan accordingly. You choose whether a response is required or simply requested.
Show as sets the availability status others see for that time, such as busy, free or out of office, so colleagues can tell at a glance whether you are free.
You can set a Reminder to alert attendees a set time before the meeting, such as 15 minutes or 1 day, so the meeting is not forgotten.
When inviting people you can mark them as Required (they need to be there) or Optional (they can attend if they wish), which makes clear who is essential to the meeting.
Make recurring turns the meeting into a repeating event, such as every Monday at 9am, so you create it once and every occurrence appears in attendees' calendars.
Finally, the Location tells attendees where the meeting takes place, such as a room number or an online meeting link, so nobody turns up in the wrong place.