Social collaboration tools no waste of time
Tony Egerton says social collaboration technologies can make staff more efficient, rather than less
Social collaboration tools are an effective way to encourage efficiency within small as well as large organisations. Such new tools have advantages on a variety of levels.
Increasing efficiencies by reducing the time staff spend on email, sharing information internally or externally, and reducing staff turnover are all benefits that can appeal to small businesses as well. High employee turnover is disruptive and can slow or halt company growth and momentum.
Email has become fundamental to many businesses of all sizes, but it consumes a lot of employee time. This time can be reduced if social collaborative tools are used instead – potentially increasing productivity.
Having access to all staff regardless of their location helps improve service delivery. Social collaboration tools can offer staff access to information they may not otherwise have.
Many small businesses find that certain individuals may be the only ones with access to key information at certain times. This can slow things down. The right social collaboration tools can help employees access a wider range of information, shortening the communication chain – again, with a view to improving productivity.
Small businesses can also use such tools to engage better with customers. Better engagement is key to customer retention for businesses of all sizes. Such tools can allow, for example, call centre staff to share information regarding customer problems more quickly, as well as help customer and employee share material or information, perhaps via links or chat.
Social collaboration tools can be used to get feedback and analysis from suppliers, potentially solving any problems more quickly, before they reach the customer.
Staff at all levels also want to feel as if their opinions matter. Social collaboration technologies can allow them to get their message into the right channels.
A client of ours has an office in India that suffered from staff retention problems. Employees were leaving to pursue what they presumably thought of as more exciting and dynamic careers with the likes of Google and Facebook (both of which had offices in the same building), but the rate of departures dropped dramatically after social collaboration tools were deployed.
Clearly, members of staff felt they now had a voice.
Tony Egerton is sales and marketing director at Portal
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