The Benefits of Investing in a Collaboration Platform

If you’re still struggling through conference calls with grainy reception and the frequent sounds of participants entering and exiting the meeting, you may wonder whether it’s really worth it to transition to a comprehensive collaboration platform.

The short answer is, yes. Even if you’ve invested in some collaboration tools, if you’re like many companies, you’re using one for human resources training seminars, another one for the marketing webinars your team puts out for their target audience, and yet another for sharing workspaces. Here are a few benefits you’ll receive when you implement a single collaboration platform for your organization:

Reduced travel costs: A collaboration platform empowers virtual teams to improve productivity and communication through video conferencing and file sharing. Meetings can be scheduled without as much advanced planning for travel and employees don’t lose the work time that’s normally spent en route to the meeting.

Structured collaboration: A video conference session is preferable to multiple emails sent, with all the pitfalls of misinterpreted wording or forgotten attachments, or even preferable to live meetings, where milling around and chit chat can make meetings drag out longer than necessary. With video conferencing, participants tend to get down to business, but they also have the visual cues that improve the quality of communication.

Increased productivity: A single collaboration platform allows employees to view changes to a document in real time, make decisions more quickly, and connect with one another by viewing availability status. Problems can be resolved faster and customers receive answers more quickly, giving your company a competitive edge.

Employee retention: The tools available through a collaboration platform improve work/life balance for employees because it significantly reduces the amount of necessary travel. It also equips them to work from home and shift their working hours to accommodate family needs. Remote employees also get the benefit of close relationships with team members because they connect more effectively through video conferencing and file sharing.

Streamlining IT resources: If you’re currently using multiple collaboration tools, that’s a lot of time spent managing contracts and vendor relationships. When you invest in a comprehensive solution, you reduce training time, as well as time spent monitoring service level agreements and contacting vendors for troubleshooting.

Investing in a collaboration platform is an important step your business can take in gaining a competitive edge. From improved productivity that leads to innovation opportunity, as well as more flexibility for your team members, you’ll see measurable benefits when you invest in this technology.

For more information about the specific benefits you’ll see in your business as a result of implementing a collaboration platform, contact us at Access One. We serve businesses like yours in the Chicago area and beyond with technology solutions that fit your budget while helping you achieve your business objectives.