5 Mistakes Enterprise Organizations Make When Adopting Collaboration Technology

1. No collaborative vision from leaders.

This is one of the top reasons collaboration efforts fail, says Harvard Business Review. It’s not uncommon for talented leaders to find collaboration difficult; rugged individualism set them apart and propelled their careers. But in today’s hyper-connected world, inclusive and humble leaders are seen as the most credible and influential. Effectively collaborating is key to becoming and remaining a leader of lasting impact because, in the Enterprise, most competitive value is created and delivered where functions come together to form new innovative capabilities. Think: The crossroads of marketing, consumer analytics, and R&D and the ingenious possibilities that could arise at that juncture. Functional leaders must collaborate to deliver new value.

2. Failure to understand and compensate for remote collaboration drawbacks.

Collaboration keeps the enterprise wheels spinning. That has always been true and deserves concentrated attention, especially now when so many employees work remotely. More than just implementing cloud technology, collaboration among remote team members requires strong leadership, customer focus, and an understanding of what motivates employees. When managed correctly, collaboration can be a key contributor to long-term success for any organization. That said, be on guard for some common drawbacks.Common drawbacks of remote collaboration include security concerns, less engagement and personal contact, an extended learning curve, internet availability, and unnecessarily large teams. Even when collaboration is encouraged, duplication of effort, miscommunication, and confusion can occur. The antidote is mutual trust and respect that requires everyone to have sufficient knowledge of everyone else in the group.

3. Not emphasizing the crucial importance of communication.

Collaborative skills—learning from each other, team decision-making, establishing trust, open listening, acting respectfully, and regular and clear communication—grease the wheels of progress. No team can share ideas, process feedback, gather input, and debate approaches if its members don't communicate well. Misunderstandings and gaps in communication can put team members on different paths, resulting in conflicting goals, unclear roles, and resistance to change.The strong and collaborative leader will establish clear communication channels, align team objectives, define roles and responsibilities, and foster a culture of open communication and adaptability.

4.Putting up with poor quality data.

Bad data is your team's biggest productivity killer and costs companies time and money. Harvard Business Review shares interesting statistics on how even 10% of bad data can cost more than 90% of good data. Make sure any data you use is accurate, well maintained, and appropriately governed. Cloud technology is WAY more than having quickly accessible data. It can foster and uphold your single source of truth and more efficient collaboration and innovation through broad visibility and consistent data management including of file sharing.

5.Failing to establish a culture of collaboration that extends into processes.

The right kind of culture is central to collaboration, and cloud-based tools are central to remote collaboration. They provide easy communication across time zones and countries, which can speed up decision-making and provide more opportunities for feedback. They can also increase productivity by eliminating manual processes such as emailing and file version verification, making it easier for teams to work faster and more efficiently. Because they make it easy to share documents, ideas, and feedback—and establish an environment where information flows freely and ideas can be quickly shared—cloud tools also encourage creative problem-solving and innovation.

Avoiding or correcting these 5 issues can have a powerful, positive impact on how employees interact with each other and approach work, which can help your organization stand out from its competitors. For more information, download Three Key Requirements for Effective Real-Time Multi-Site Collaboration