How to Choose a Team Collaboration Tool

The Importance of Team Collaboration in the digital era

With the rise of the digital economy and the internet, work, and workflows were fundamentally changed. Gone are the days of endless meetings in the conference rooms. Gone are the days of frequent follow-ups over the phone or in person. efficient teams manage differently today. Whether it’s remote, in-company or “on the move” teams – processes today have to be more agile, executed faster and still keep control over the whole process.

Stakeholders at every level need to maximize their collaboration through effective communication channels, notably powerful project management software. Projects are complex by their nature, requiring the collaborative input of team members across the board.

From ideation to creation, project management tools tackle multiple components of the work process, encompassing rapid transfers of information, full multimedia functionality, and checks and balances every step of the way. Viewed in perspective, the right software greases the proverbial wheels and ensures accountability, meetings timeless and ensuring quality.

The right project management tool ensures that teams can perform their duties in a logical, accurate way, and no less important, rapidly. Compared to the erstwhile methodology of drafting plans with pen and paper, or a whiteboard, today’s cutting-edge project management software ensures the most effective team collaboration. With the advent of internet technologies, real-time sharing and collaboration is made easier, more visual, and even fun.

Benefits of Project Management Software for Internal & External Stakeholders

The right project collaboration tool can give a team the competitive edge in the marketplace. why? getting everyone on the same page while closing knowledge gaps between different parties empower the entire team. visual representation of the project framework to ensure that goals are met. With enhanced internal communication channels between team members, and effective communication channels for outside stakeholders such as investors, consultants, and clients, team collaboration tools have a transformative impact on operations.

During our extensive research into the leading & popular team collaboration tools in the market, we examined 5 key criteria including the following: customization capabilities, core task-related features, updated to evolving needs, popular third-party integrations, and ease-of-use. We will now explore these in greater detail.

1. Customization capabilities

Every organization is unique in the way it manages the workflow, employee interactions, goals, and projects. Since there is no blanket strategy for all teams at all times, customization capabilities are important. Team members need to be able to customize their boards, views, tasks, duties, labels, and other inputs accordingly.

As a project manager or administrator, it’s important to be able to grant or remove access as required. Templates can be modified and project specs can be tweaked to ensure optimal performance and 100% alignment with the team’s needs. Customization capabilities include, but are not limited to integration with other popular apps, CMS, CRM, and SDK.

2. Core Task-Related Features

Core features of project management software include multi-device collaboration, complete tracking of data and communications, timeline management to ensure compliance with deadlines and synergy across multiple departments. The most important software features include full reporting, time tracking, scheduling and planning activities, team collaboration and budgeting, et al.

With many responsibilities on their shoulders, project managers need to manage their workload as effectively as possible. Project management software requires automation to cut time down effectively. With thousands of tools and features on the market, the most important tasks include prioritization of activities, team calendars with timelines, planning, leading and organizing schedules, etcetera.

3. Updated According to Evolving Needs

Technologies change all the time. That’s why it’s essential that project management software is continually updated to adjust to a fast-moving, dynamic market. Project managers require powerful software that can be amended as required, with a wide range of useful features for quick and easy referencing of data, communications, and updates. Project managers deal with real-time interactions with team members, across multiple devices. Sudden changes necessitate efficient solutions with remote teams and on-site teams.

4. Popular Third-Party Integrations

Dynamic team management software is capable of functioning in tandem with the latest apps and integrations. These include the following: Tick, Wunderlist, Smartsheet, Clockify, Microsoft Project, ClickUp, Slack, Outlook, Zendesk, Jira, Typeform, Excel, Trello, Asana, Dropbox, Bitium, AppSheet, TibcoSpotfire, Sync for Procore, Skype for Business Online, Google Mail, Google Drive, Google Calendar, Shopify, Basecamp, Clearbit, Mailchimp, GitHub Twilio, Salesforce, Todoist, JotForm, Evernote, Box, DocuSign, and hundreds of others.

It is now widely recognized that third-party integrations are a key ingredient in ensuring the attraction, satisfaction, and retention of internal and external stakeholders. The retention of customers allows for business growth without worrying about a shrinking customer base. The right apps and integrations can work to ensure lower churn and maximum customer satisfaction.

5. Ease-of-Use

Team management software is designed with one purpose in mind: management of teams. If the software is clunky and not intuitive, it fails in its core function. Team managers and team members need to be able to hit the ground running with project management software. The best project management software systems are designed for the novice or the professional – there is no discernible learning curve.

The software is intuitive and easy to follow. Powerful visual aids make it possible to track the project from inception to the end. Ease-of-use can be facilitated by way of apps and integrations designed to make it much more user-friendly for everyone. If team members don’t have to navigate out, this centralizes control, communication, and collaboration with the team management software.

Wrapping it Up – Tips for Choosing the Best Project Management Software

Only once you have evaluated each of these 5 core criteria, can you pick the right team management software for your project. Cost considerations aside, the functionality, performance, and effectiveness of project management software are worth their weight in gold. It’s important to be as detail-oriented as possible with respect to the type of software that is required for your specific project. Sometimes, projects are undertaken in-house only, with no need to include external stakeholders such as clients, collaborators, and consultants. Certain projects require the express participation of customers and external stakeholders, and project management software must be chosen accordingly.

If your team uses too many different tools, analytics reports, docs, and spreadsheets to manage their projects, it may be time to consider a project management tool. Over-analysis leads to paralysis and this translates into substantial losses for the company. That’s why ‘time-efficient’ project management software such as monday.com can have tremendous cost savings benefits for companies. Many team managers don’t have the necessary technical expertise to set up new software systems for project management. That’s why it’s important to have an all-inclusive software ready to go. A suitable tool can be tailored towards teams, business owners, and project managers at all levels. Whether it’s reactive or proactive work, the right software can provide feasible solutions for effective project management across the board.

Remember: Each of these features will play a critical role in the effectiveness of your chosen project management software:

• Ease-Of-Use
• User Interface
• User Experience
• Task Management
• Visualization Tools
• File-Sharing Options
• Real-Time Reporting
• Customization Features
• Planning and Scheduling
• Effective Resource Management
• Coordination and Communication
• Reporting and Invoicing Functions