When it comes to team performance, each company has its own recipe for success. But some things never change: clear and effective communication, knowledge sharing and combining complementary skills are some of the ingredients to achieving greater results.

Many digital players took an interest in collaboration and how to get things running smoothly. The result is a myriad of tools that help bring coworkers together to go beyond the individualistic scope and foster good collaborative habits.

These new collaborative services are changing the way we work on a daily basis. Accountability and transparency are at the core of the way these tools are designed. Individual obligations towards each project are made clear as day, heightening notions of accountability and transparency. These tools also bring the unique social dimension too often neglected when workflow gets digitalized. Real-time problem solving and flexibility are heightened by agile communication.

Simplify communication with better user experience

Because clear and effective communication is the key to taking a project to the next level, it is important to have a good talk. We can’t talk about collaborative tools without mentioning Slack. This tool for internal company communication was a small revolution when it arrived on the market. The main objective was to reduce the number of emails that flooded inboxes every day. It is now the go-to application for team communication in the workplace. Each channel corresponds to an aspect of the company or a project. Coworkers can share files, give feedback and stay informed on the latest, from progress to the company social on Thursday night, discussed in separate channels of course.

Need face to face time but your colleagues are halfway across the country? Use online video conferencing software like GoToMeeting to schedule a call, share screens and get to the heart of the project. A much cheaper alternative to a flight!

Make multitasking less daunting with project management tools like Asana and Trello. Plan out complex projects, program task attributions, deadline assignments and delivery confirmations in just a few clicks. Let the software do the email legwork for you with its notifications to make sure everyone is on top of the latest updates.

When it comes to making organizing fun, Trello is a user-friendly and lets you create project boards with columns and cards that are dragged and dropped according to how you choose to dispatch workflow. Each customizable board is shared with team members working on the project, everyone can contribute without disturbing other team members’ workflow.

Better view and access to shared files

The cloud-based data storage and sharing service Dropbox makes file sharing easy. Files and folders can be accessed by all those who have access right and are easily downloadable. There is plenty of storage space and synchronization is immediate so all new versions are updated smoothly. Think of it as your portable file drawer, available on your smartphone and from any laptop just by logging in.

To send large files without the hassle of shared folders, use cloud-based computer file transfer service Wetransfer. You can send up to 2GB worth of files to several recipients for free by just typing in the recipient’s email address without worrying about access rights.

Keep an eye on workflow

The Google Suite is a great basis for collaborative projects. It combines presentation, word processing, and spreadsheet formats as well as the cloud storage service Drive. The Google Suite works for anyone who has a Google email address. It also features a chat, Hangouts, and a shared calendar feature to intelligently plan meetings quickly. Allowing access to files with different levels of editing rights makes this collaborative tool a lifesaver for regular inter-team collaboration. The colorful templates and intuitive interface make managing workflow a breeze. As we know, reliable time and task management support strong team performance.

Basecamp also helps manage your projects, in addition to scheduling service the collaborative platform allows you to create discussions and checklists to stay on top of things. This software doesn’t need a team leader to chase deadlines and make sure work is getting done, they are all out there for all to see. Users benefit from transparency is key and the social incentive of everyone willfully pulling their weight. Isn’t that a wonderful way to work?

These project management tools match a new way of working that encourages inter-dependence and trust. This world aims at getting everyone to play at the same level and contribute skills and knowledge towards higher performance.

Foster safer and time effective collaboration

Slack is the epitome of agile collaboration and is available on laptop and smartphone formats. Conversation flows freely like in a messaging app. Messages do not get mixed up as each topic can have its own channel with modifiable messages clearing up any quid pro quos. You can share files in each channel. A great tool for expanding teams with tentacular projects.

Impraise encourages feedback and praise in the workplace. Get and give feedback, this way everyone gets to know each other better. Ultimately this builds cohesion and contributes to better team performance in the mid to long term. For shy coworkers and introverts, Typeform helps you create surveys and forms to collect impressions and comments privately. A good balance between transparency and team complicity through digital tools builds a positive and inclusive company culture.

Secure connections & Save time

SharePlace streamlines communication to support team performance using blockchain technology to secure all shared data. The tool centralizes information shared in comments, updated documents, complete with all previous versions, and operational events so that all team members get the same information. Thanks to artificial intelligence this software even analyzes the workflow of each team member so to send notifications at the right time.

Collaborative password manager, Vaultier, helps team members safely share account logins. Let’s put an end to bright post-its, with login and password, covered desks for all eyes to see!

In this day in age, time is the ultimate luxury. Project management tools like Toggl integrate time tracking into the project manager’s dashboard. Collaboration becomes clearer when you can identify where time can be better spent and which project needs more attention from team members. It also works offline and on the company smartphone.

Freshbooks gives your accounting department a helpful hand with automatizing billing related actions. By automatically importing and categorizing expenses from company cards and accounts, expenses are directly available, saving precious time better spend on analyzing finances and making the right decisions for example.