How Content Management Improves Collaboration in the Office
It seems as if we have been bred for collaboration since early childhood. Group projects have been featured in our curriculum since kindergarten, so it’s not as if the concept of collaboration is new to anyone. Still, some prefer independence, since the process of collaboration can be cumbersome depending on the individuals involved. If you have a great working relationship with your co-workers, then it’s probably not an issue. But if the workers at your office are more distant and independent, collaboration can be more daunting. Thankfully, with the recent implementation of content and document management software, those awkward and inefficient in-person collaborations can be decreased.
How Content Management Software Eases Collaboration
Although users can still collaborate in-person as they please with document management software, its addition to your office allows employees looking to collaborate to operate digitally (through an automated workflow interface). The team decides who handles what and then customizes the order of tasks as they see fit within the content management software. This ensures that when one person finishes their assignment on any given project, the next person is automatically pinged to pick up their end of the bargain. One of the most difficult aspects of traditional collaboration is keeping track of who does what, but with document management software that is no longer an obstacle. Users can be notified when a particular stage of the project is complete or when a new stage starts. This provides users with a clear idea of what they are assigned to do, when it needs to be completed, and what other employees are still involved in the workflow.
When participating in group projects, we must hope that most team members will make a dedicated effort to do their part. But whether it was an experience in school or the office, most of us can (easily) recall a lazy team member who expected the other team members to carry the load. We all hate that person with fervor. Unfortunately, it’s usually impossible to call them out due to a lack of evidence. With content management software, the culprit of a dragged-down project is now easily identifiable. Specified users can view elaborate descriptions of a file’s history, from its creation date to any modification modification made. Identifying potential slackers makes collaborations a whole lot more sweat-free.
And we love exposing slackers. A lot.
While some may still cringe at the idea of group projects, they’re an essential part of successful business that is made all the easier through content management software. Being able to track a project’s progress, view a file’s history, and identify the specific tasks and actions of employees makes the workflow process completely seamless.
About the Author:
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Steve Harnden is the Director of Marketing with Computhink. He’s been solely dedicated to Enterprise Content Management space for over six years, and is passionate about lean, document management software marketing. He can be reached at sharnden@computhink.com or on LinkedIn. |