4 minutes Read by Steph Knapp.
Is there a secret to better human-to-human collaboration? Humans can work better with technology and automation. The right collaboration tech stack lets your team capture, organize, and use ideas and information efficiently, so there is less human conflict and more human productivity.
I spent some time looking into what tools people are using for collaboration, and here I will share the most common components of collaborative tech stacks, as well as some tips on choosing the right tools for your team.
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Each company has a unique collaboration tech stack. If you want to see how different tastes can be, you can search on the internet.
How do you make a collection that works for you and your team? There are four important considerations.
Does it fit into your budget? The lower your budget, the more you may want to use multi-purpose apps.
Is it helpful with team-specific tasks, like sending messages to each other and collaborating on projects?
Can it handle your team size and work volume?
Unless you find a company that handles all of your collaboration, you will need to work across apps. As your workload increases, you will need to integrate your tools through an automation platform.
It doesn't mean the stacks themselves don't have a lot in common, because the exact tools are always different. When building out your suite of collaboration apps, here are the categories to consider.
You can have collaboration without communication, and team chat apps are an almost-necessary addition to email. Real-time communication is useful for remote work and in-office collaboration. Your team can chat with one another in a chat app. You can communicate with other people on team chat apps.
Microsoft Teams and Slack are the leaders in this category, but they are not the only ones. The best team chat apps are listed here.
When it comes to internal collaboration, a shared calendar app is a must. If you can use that same tool to schedule outside, using a meeting scheduler app will fill that gap. There are some suggestions for the best calendar apps and the best meeting scheduler apps.
Having a go-to virtual meeting tool reduces last-minute scramblings of people asking for a link, and you need a place to host your meetings. Most team chat apps have some sort of meetings feature, but there are other tools that focus on video calls.
The screen sharing software in these apps allows you to show instead of tell. A screen recording tool can also be used if your team prefers asynchronous communication.
Tools can help you carry out your plans, but there is no substitute for a great project management strategy. A project management app allows you to share and assign tasks.
There are many high-quality project management apps on the market. If your budget is tight, you can either use a free project management software or create a custom project management system within a tool like Notion.
The number of files you manage increases as your team grows. You need a document management system that has the storage capacity to hold your files, but also makes it easy to access and stay secure.
Before you pick a cloud storage app, you need to learn how to evaluate and choose a cloud storage app.
Passwords are a personal matter, but there will be times when your team needs to share information. If a few people access a demo account, having a password manager will make sure nobody is locked out. Here are the picks for the best password managers.
Teams can use collaborative whiteboard, design, or diagram tools to organize their thoughts, create charts, and make designs. You can take a look at the best online whiteboards, the best wireframe tools, and the best mind mapping software.
The list doesn't stop there. Depending on your organization, you may find yourself collaborating in a customer communication app, or any number of other tools. I suggest that you spend some time on StackShare to see what other people are using and make sure you don't miss out on an important category of apps for your business.
Scheduling meetings or sharing documents can be made easier by collaborative tools. The more tools you use, the more you will have to switch between tabs to finish your work. No data falls through the cracks and you can use your time on more human activities if you connect your collaborative apps and set up automations.
There are a few ways to connect your tech stack and automate your collaboration.
The article was published in October of last year. The most recent version was published in May 2022.
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