This is especially true if the majority of your workforce are frontline employees, working across various locations, teams, and schedules. The best online collaboration tools bring your entire company together, from office workers to the front desk, to line employees.

Despite the number of team collaboration software options available, it can be hard to know which tool will fit your business needs without testing it first. 

Download our eBook to learn best practices for choosing the right mobile collaboration app.

An essential part of your workforce management strategy, collaboration software centralizes internal communication, putting employee engagement tools, and important company news directly in the hands of your employees.

The right collaboration tools (e.g. an employee app or good product management software) can deliver several business benefits such as increased employee engagement and productivity and higher retention rates. 

We’ll be taking an in-depth look at what are team collaboration tools, the benefits of implementing them, and we’ll offer a side-by-side comparison of both paid and free options.

What Are Collaboration Tools?

The term ‘collaboration tools’ is often used as a catchall term for anything that helps a group of two or more people accomplish a common goal.

When leveraged successfully, online collaboration tools can:

• Connect colleagues across locations and languages
• Secure document and file sharing
• Serve as a centralized communication channel
• Allow for real-time feedback 

While online collaboration tools have been common in the workplace for years, COVID-19 has quickly made them indispensable. Working remotely has become the norm, not just for desk-bound workers but also for frontline employees, as companies navigate new social distancing protocols.

Some tools focus on improving one particular aspect of the team collaboration process, like project management or file management. Others are all-encompassing solutions that facilitate all aspects of collaboration. Regardless of which kind of platform for collaboration you choose, it should make working together on projects and daily routines faster and easier.

Benefits of Collaboration Software

In the aftermath of COVID-19, many companies that had previously relied on traditional communication channels such as bulletin boards and memos had to quickly transition to a digital solution. 

In many cases, particularly for companies with a large percentage of frontline workers, collaboration software is critical for communicating health and safety protocols. When businesses need to communicate important safety information, team collaboration software can help managers share critical updates with their teams.

Communicating in real-time with an employee app means that your workforce has a scalable way to communicate with the entire organization. This saves valuable time, particularly when your workforce is dispersed across multiple locations or departments.

Part of choosing the right collaboration tools involves understanding what benefits they can bring to a company and its employees. 

Collaboration Technology can:

1. Reach Employees Without a Company Email Address

While many companies default to using email as one of their main team collaboration tools, it doesn’t always deliver the best results. Projects with many moving parts and people involved can become unnecessarily complex in long email exchanges.

For example, email isn’t always the best way to help frontline employees stay connected. Frontline employees rely on real-time communication and immediate response times, so a mobile-friendly collaboration tool is a better solution.

2. Keep Priorities Straight

As teams increase in size, prioritizing information and keeping track of progress gets more complex. Collaboration software helps managers and employees focus their attention on what work needs to be done and when.

More importantly, it helps to avoid miscommunication that can sidetrack projects and cost teams both time and money. By using collaboration software, workers can receive and access information on a need-to-know basis so that they can focus on their most important priorities.

3. Show Support For Your Team

Adopting new platforms for collaboration signals to employees that you are prepared to support them with the tools they need to thrive in their roles.

Many employees would be willing to embrace new technology if it’s a better fit for their roles. According to a white paper by Google,

53% of frontline workers use WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger for work-related purposes, but 68% said they would stop if given better internal communication tools. Switching to an app like Beekeeper, specifically designed for frontline workers, would demonstrate greater support and understanding of employees’ needs.

4. Encourage Employees to Give Feedback

Platforms for collaboration help create a work environment where employees feel like their input is valued, regardless of their role or where they’re located. Collaboration software encourages employees to contribute feedback on improving their roles, work conditions, or the customer experience.

This feedback is often submitted through an employee survey, or by contacting a manager or leader directly. Ultimately, collaboration software allows employees to contribute their ideas and submit feedback that makes a difference. 

5. Facilitate Faster and More Efficient Problem Solving

Lack of information and poor communication often cause delays or misunderstandings in project development. Online collaboration software can better organize and display the information employees need to make decisions. By digitizing workflows and approval processes, team members can work together more efficiently. Some workers are always on the go and benefit from having information available to them at their fingertips at all times. Having reference materials on a mobile app helps them solve more issues on the spot so that they don’t have to reach out to management as often.

Best Platforms for Collaboration

Not all platforms for collaboration are the same. Here is a list of tools that are best suited for different needs:

Best For: Project Management – monday.com 

The online collaboration platform monday.com is ideal for teams that have to juggle multiple, complex projects and keep track of every step along the way, from brainstorming to completion. The project management boards give a clear overview of each step’s goal, timeline, assignee, and status. If projects require constantly creating deadlines and defining the next steps, monday.com can keep all the moving parts organized without becoming overwhelming. monday.com is also a great all-around tool because it also has file-sharing and communication tools that would fit most industries.

Best For: Content Creation – Smartsheet

Although Smartsheet’s online collaboration platform can suit almost any team, it’s ideal for teams that have a content creation process involving iteration and approval from multiple stakeholders. Content creation could involve ongoing projects like working with clients to put together marketing campaigns or writing onboarding materials for new employees. With Smartsheet you can organize ‘proofs’ of each iteration of a piece of content. You can then send requests for review and filter out unnecessary information so that reviewers can focus on marking up proofs with their feedback.

Best For: Transitioning from Analog Collaboration – Miro

If your vision of collaboration looks like sitting in a meeting and brainstorming using a pen and whiteboard, Miro might be the most logical stepping point to transition into using digital tools. Miro is essentially an online whiteboard that lets users create mind maps, sticky notes, and shapes to brainstorm anything from workflows to customer journeys to workshops. Built-in video chat lets you collaborate in real time and team members can even vote on different topics. Miro also provides dozens of templates for common use cases so that you don’t have to start from scratch.

Best For: Frontline Workers – Beekeeper

The majority of collaboration software options available on the market today is primarily for office workers. But those who work on the front lines or are always on the go also need effective collaboration tools. Beekeeper is a mobile app that’s designed with the unique needs of frontline workers in mind. It’s an all-in-one platform for collaboration that allows managers and deskless workers to stay connected through messaging, communication streams, and surveys. Beekeeper also has integration capabilities with other tools so that frontline organizations can customize it to their preferences.

Best For: Bridging Personal and Professional – Evernote

You’ve probably heard of Evernote as a personal note-taking app, but it also has enterprise-level cloud collaboration capabilities. Their ‘Spaces’ tool acts as a virtual bulletin board and central hub for your team’s files, notes, and messages. Evernote works well in combination with Slack, as it can turn Slack messages into notes so that you can save and organize the most important information. If some team members are already using Evernote for their personal life, using the same tool in a business context would make for a smooth transition. 

Best Free Online Collaboration Apps

With dozens of collaboration tools to choose from, it can be hard to decide which one will deliver the most long-term results. Maybe paying for a collaboration tool isn’t in the company budget. Or, perhaps you only need collaboration tools for a short time while your team works remotely.

Either way, trying out free online collaboration apps can be a great way to test the waters and see which features your team needs. Then, you can make a more informed decision about what you’re looking for in a collaboration tool. 

Here are a few free options:

1. Slack

Slack could also be considered one of the best all-around platforms for collaboration. But the free version allows enough functionality for it to satisfy the collaboration needs of many teams. With Slack, you get unlimited users, messages, and channels, as well as unlimited one-on-one voice and video calls. If you need video conferencing and more than 10 apps or service integrations, you’ll need to upgrade. But, if your team primarily communicates via text, the free version of Slack might be enough.

2. Discord

Discord isn’t just for gamers. It’s a voice and text chat app that could be used as a powerful collaboration tool in various different contexts. Like Slack, it offers unlimited users, messages, and text channels. But you also get unlimited Voice channels which could be ideal if teams want to collaborate remotely by contributing through speech rather than text. There are unlimited voice conferences with screen sharing for up to 10 people. Discord would be ideal for teams that thrive on vocal communication or find that collaborating only through writing doesn’t work for them. 

3. Twist

Online collaboration platforms like Slack and Discord might become overwhelming as their constant notifications can make team members feel like they have to respond immediately. That can put many into ‘responsive’ mode and make it more difficult to get work done that requires sustained focused attention. Twist is built for asynchronous collaboration and it keeps conversations organized by topic and context, ideal for teams that prefer the slow and steady approach to collaboration. Their free plan offers access to 1 month of messages and up to 5 integrations, with the unlimited priced only at a monthly $5 per user.

Best Practices for Choosing and Implementing Online Collaboration Platforms

Once you’ve chosen an online collaboration platform, keep these tips in mind to make implementing them a more seamless process:

1. Be Realistic About Your Workflow

It may be tempting to choose collaboration software that has every possible feature. But ultimately it has to integrate into your existing workflow in order to be effective. If you manage a team of frontline workers, tools like Evernote or even Slack might not be a good fit. Your team might need collaboration software that lets managers relay up-to-date safety information to frontline teams and get feedback via in-app surveys.

2. Focus on Usability

Usability simply refers to how user-friendly a mobile collaboration app is for both administrators and end-users. It’s closely related to how well the technology integrates within your workforce’s other messaging tools. Your team wants to use internal communication tools that are familiar, intuitive, and easy to learn. If a company can’t make their mobile collaboration app easy to use, adoption and sustained engagement will suffer.

3. Communicate Your ‘Why’ and Get Feedback

If team members know the reasons why you’re adopting a new collaboration tool, they might provide some valuable insight into what features they think are most important. If they’re struggling with information overload and worry about missing important deadlines, you can choose a tool like monday.com, which has a simple dashboard with deadlines clearly displayed. If your team is worried about miscommunication, you might consider adopting a tool like Smartsheet.

4. Give Your Team Clear Guidance and Direction

One of the best ways to set your team up for success is to provide examples of what a successful collaboration process would actually look like. That way, team members can understand how to put features into practice and feel more confident that they are using them to their full potential. Even when a collaboration tool is intuitive to use, employees might appreciate guidance on how their manager expects them to use it.

5. Set Expectations and Etiquette Around Collaboration

Collaboration might look like 24/7 responsiveness to one person. Another might think that a few check-ins a week are enough. Setting flexible but firm expectations about logistics like how quickly you expect team members to respond will prevent misunderstanding and frustration in the long run. Consider pairing a collaboration demo with a few “best practices” or guidelines for using a new app so that employees are on the same page from the start.

6. Get Leadership Involved From the Beginning

Managers and other leaders need to know how to navigate new tools. But they also need to actively use them. Leadership-driven roll-out sends the message that the whole company is on board in adopting these new tools. It also embeds them into the company’s entire internal communication strategy and encourages bottom-up leadership.

7. Track Engagement and Pivot Accordingly

If your chosen collaboration tool allows it, it can be helpful to analyze data on how many employees are engaging with it. That can give you more insight into whether you need to add new integrations, upgrade to a new plan, or possibly switch to a different tool entirely.

Ready to choose the best platform for collaboration? Download our comprehensive guide on frontline success below!

The post How to Choose a Frontline Success Platform for Collaboration appeared first on Beekeeper.

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Let’s take a closer look at what effective communication strategies actually mean.

Effective communication strategies in the workplace guide the exchange of information to help companies reach their goals while keeping employees engaged.

Communication strategies encompass a range of tools and forms, including verbal communication, digital tools, emails, etc. On their own, tools won’t necessarily make a communication strategy effective. How well a company can choose and implement tools that suit their needs will determine the effectiveness of your overall strategy.

Here’s what effective communication strategies look like in action:

• Management can convey business goals in a way that reaches all employees  
• Employees feel connected to and engaged in the company’s goals
• Departments and teams aren’t siloed but collaborate freely
• Employees know exactly where to find the information they need to do their jobs
• Miscommunication is kept at a minimum
• Time and location aren’t obstacles for a seamless exchange of information

Best Strategies for Effective Communication

On an individual level, we can do a lot to improve our communication skills: listen more, pay attention to body language, and understand different communication styles.

But on a more macro level, what strategies can companies implement to make communication more effective for larger workforces?

Effective communication doesn’t just happen organically. 

A study found that 69% of managers said that they weren’t comfortable communicating with employees. On the flip side, 72% of employees said they didn’t have a complete understanding of their company’s strategy.

Clearly, there is a communication gap between employees with different levels of responsibility within a company. To bridge that gap, let’s identify strategies for effective team communication and leadership. 

Strategies for Effective Team Communication

1. Allow Open, Real-time Communication 

As 2020 saw more workers transition to working remotely or working from home, companies have relied more heavily on real-time communication tools. Collaborating on projects and conducting meetings virtually became the norm for office-based workers.

But 80% of the world’s workforce is made up of frontline employees who don’t work behind a desk. For remote or frontline workers, real-time communication means they can:

• Get important health and safety information in real time
• Stay informed about changes in shift schedules and policy updates
• Contact management about risks before they become hazards

Mobile tools maintain an open line of communication between managers and employees to improve collaboration. Frequent collaboration is one way to bridge the gap between managers who don’t feel comfortable communicating and employees who don’t feel invested in company goals.

2. Gather Feedback

How do you know if team communication truly is effective? The best way to know if a communication strategy is working – and to continue improving it – is to ask team members for feedback. 

For remote workers and distributed teams, regular feedback can help managers catch any communication issues before they become serious and cause employees to become dissatisfied or leave altogether. This is especially true if managers and employees aren’t always in the same location. With regular feedback, managers can adjust the team’s communication strategy by adopting different tools or establishing guidelines to make it more effective.

Instead of asking employees if they think the team’s communication strategy is effective, managers can create surveys or polls that ask more targeted questions like:

• Do you feel comfortable communicating with your team?
• Are the team’s (or company’s) goals clear to you?
• Do you have access to the resources you need to stay informed about updates?

3. Consider the Reality of How Team Members Work

Implementing new tools into an already existing communication strategy may seem daunting. Will it slow down operations while team members get used to it? Will employees embrace it?

While teams might be more comfortable communicating using familiar tools, re-thinking a communication strategy might reveal that those tools don’t match up with reality. One of the best ways to predict whether a new tool will work for employees is to consider the context and constraints of their day-to-day communication.

For example,  email may be effective in certain contexts, it is by far the most ideal form of daily communication for most teams. It might be what team members and managers are used to, but it simply doesn’t offer the functionality needed to sustain distributed teams.

Frontline workers who often don’t have access to company email might not receive important updates and be able to contact managers to solve an urgent issue. A mobile app like Beekeeper might be more suitable, as it’s designed for frontline workers to get real-time updates about safety information and shift schedules. Beekeeper also offers survey features that allow managers to get feedback and analyze the results.

Communication Strategies for Effective Leadership

Effective leadership involves not just communicating with employees but connecting with them in a meaningful way. While those in leadership positions would definitely benefit from the strategies above, there are a few additional tips that can help leaders with company-wide communication.

1. Early Buy-in For Adopting New Tools

Changing how employees communicate on a company-wide level can be difficult. When employees are presented with a new tool they have to integrate within their workday, they might be wondering if investing their time will be worth it. 

If leadership doesn’t adopt the new tools themselves, it sends a signal to other employees that these tools aren’t a priority. Half-hearted buy-in for new communication tools and strategies isn’t just ineffective. It’s a waste of time.

By making sure leadership is informed about new tools and invested in their implementation, companies can set the integration process up for success. When leadership models using new tools and executing new strategies, employees are more likely to embrace these changes.

2. Bottom-up Communication 

Before making changes to a company communication strategy, take stock of how information flows right now. Does it flow top-down, with employees receiving information from management while management receives little feedback from employees?

If that’s the case, consider embracing a bottom-up communication approach, which focuses on making sure all employees have their voice heard. Instead of widening the gap between company interests and employee satisfaction, bottom-up communication breaks down hierarchies.  

Pro tip: Avoid platforms meant for the general public when choosing an employee communication tool. Look for enterprise-level tools with robust data security features. 

3. Build Employee Engagement 

When companies build a communication strategy based on employee engagement, they create a work environment where employees enjoy their job and seek opportunities to benefit the company. This not only leads to a more productive workforce but also improves retention rates and customer satisfaction. It’s a win-win for employees, companies, and customers.

For a communication strategy to build employee engagement, it has to improve the relationship between a company and its employees. In practice that means:

• Frequent and visible recognition of how employees give value to the company
• Continual training to develop new skills and grow within a role
• Access to tools that make communication convenient and intuitive

Effective Communication Strategies in Action

While the strategies above apply to most companies, let’s take a look at what effective communication looks like in different industries.

Healthcare

Communication in healthcare can be challenging as employees travel between facilities, make home visits, and spend their days on the go as they work with patients. 

While pagers may be the norm in many healthcare facilities, they’re more suited to relaying basic information and responding in a crisis. For more sustained and meaningful conversations about how to improve conditions for patients and workers, a mobile communication app might be one of the more effective communication strategies in healthcare.

Another benefit of a mobile-first approach to communication in healthcare is that it respects the fact that work is often time-sensitive. When healthcare employees can communicate in real-time, it makes solving both urgent and long-term issues easier.

Manufacturing

Improving communication on the factory floor isn’t a priority for many manufacturing companies. When the focus is on production and efficiency, changing communication tactics can seem like it would slow down output.

But giving manufacturing workers the tools they need to communicate with co-workers and supervisors can improve efficiency and output in the long run. More frequent communication:

• Gives workers a chance to voice concerns about safety practices
• Boosts engagement to help retain skilled laborers and reduce turnover
• Gives manufacturing supervisors insight into the factory floor

Hospitality

The hospitality industry took a hit during the COVID-19 pandemic, putting pressure on companies to innovate their business practices in order to stay afloat. Part of that effort involved re-thinking communication strategies in a way that ensured the health and safety of employees and guests.

Moving forward, effective communication strategies in hospitality will involve giving workers and guests tools they need to create a safer workplace and guest experience. As communication itself is such a large part of hospitality, we’ll likely see companies innovate in the way they can deliver the same level of service while still adhering to safety protocols.

The Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group is already on that path of innovation by implementing Beekeeper as their internal communication tool. With Beekeeper, workers have access to digital documents and checklists, as well as an Innovation Stream for submitting new ideas. 

Need help navigating the frontline worker technology landscape? Download our 2022 Trends Report below. 

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Continue reading to get an in-depth look at what enterprise collaboration software can offer big companies, particularly ones that employ frontline workers. 

What Is Enterprise Collaboration Software?

At its most basic, enterprise collaboration software encompasses any platform that enables enterprise-level teams to collaborate. It answers the question: how can a large organization communicate in a way that increases productivity and employee engagement? 

Enterprise collaboration software is a broad term that can include tools like document collaboration programs, email, and instant messaging. 

With it, employees can:

• Store, share, and access information
• Keep track of tasks, both individually and as a team
• See how big-picture goals relate to day-to-day tasks

Most importantly, enterprise collaboration software is about knowledge sharing and keeping track of tasks in a way that makes collaboration easier and more streamlined. 

When a company chooses specific enterprise collaboration software, employees have all the tools they need in one place. Teams aren’t left to piece together different apps that serve different purposes. Having one enterprise collaboration platform allows employees to collaborate more efficiently.

Enterprise collaboration software platforms are usually mobile-friendly, allowing remote employees to connect with colleagues and access documents on their mobile devices.

Enterprise Collaboration System vs. Software

The terms “enterprise collaboration system” and “enterprise collaboration software” are often used interchangeably. 

When you’re talking about an enterprise collaboration system, you expect it to make use of the software. On an enterprise level, collaborating without software simply isn’t practical. Enterprise collaboration software is what brings employees together across different teams and locations, allowing everyone to easily collaborate within a unified digital workplace.

But here’s why it can be useful to distinguish the system from the software:

If you think of systems as existing independently from software, you can start with the system that suits a company’s unique needs. Factors like the number of employees, expected outcomes, and workflows all play a role in what would be the ideal system for that company.

A company that uses software that isn’t suited to its ideal system is not going to maximize its collaborative potential.

On the other hand, a company that starts by analyzing what its enterprise collaboration strategy looks like currently – and how it could improve – is in a more informed position to choose the right software.

That being said, let’s take a look at how enterprise collaboration software systems can benefit all large companies. 

7 Reasons Why Enterprise Collaboration Software Matters

It’s no surprise that in May of 2020, just after the pandemic hit, there was a 176% increase in the number of collaboration apps installed on enterprise devices. As more people transitioned to working from home, companies needed to make sure teams could collaborate remotely.

While using enterprise collaboration platforms may be considered “normal” now, it’s helpful to examine why it matters in the first place. Doing so can highlight the essential functions and outcomes any enterprise collaboration software should provide. If it doesn’t, it might be a good time to seek out alternatives.

Here are some key benefits of using enterprise collaboration platforms:

1. Increased Productivity

Enterprise collaboration software is designed to give employees more access to information and provide the opportunity to ask for assistance or feedback. With open, two-way communication channels, employees have more resources at their disposal to get their work done faster.

Forrester found that companies can drive 10% productivity improvements with collaboration platforms. 

On an enterprise level, every minute that an employee saves makes a huge difference to the company’s bottom line.

2. Better Feedback

Gathering better workforce feedback can boost employee engagement, build trust in leadership, and improve workplace culture. When employees have the opportunity to give and receive feedback, they can voice their concerns, needs, and struggles before they become operational bottlenecks.

More opportunities for feedback create more open communication, which in turn leads to happier employees.

A survey found that 85% of employees who had access to collaborative work management software were more likely to identify as being happy in the workplace.

Feedback can take many forms, including employee surveys and communication channels where workers can contact their managers in real-time. Beekeeper, a platform designed specifically for frontline industries, has both of those collaboration features. They allow frontline workers to communicate openly with both management and their peers about issues like workplace safety and job satisfaction. 

Pro Tip: Gather better workforce feedback to improve workplace culture as part of your enterprise collaboration strategy and stay attuned to your employees’ needs.

3. Faster Problem Solving

There are two main reasons why roadblocks happen in the workplace:

1. Lack of information
2. Poor communication

Those roadblocks can cause misunderstandings and delays that cost time and money to fix.

But it’s rare that people are at fault in these two scenarios. Rather, it’s the enterprise collaboration platforms they’re given that often let them down. In a recent study, 86% of employees believed that lack of collaboration and ineffective communication was the reason for workplace failures.

Digitizing workflows and approval processes can go a long way toward empowering employees to solve problems on their own. And if they can’t do it alone, they know where they can find answers.

4. Bottom-Up Communication

In a company where information flows strictly from top to bottom, from leadership to entry-level employees, opportunities for insightful and productive collaboration are often lost.

Bottom-up leadership breaks up a rigid corporate hierarchy and encourages communication to flow both ways. When you flip the traditional, top-down communication model on its head, employees are more likely to work together, building morale and a sense of community.

Enterprise-level companies need collaboration software designed to connect large groups of employees that may be spread out across different locations. Lack of management software that supports bottom-up leadership can create organizational problems (or exacerbate existing ones) like high turnover, the spread of misinformation, and overall employee dissatisfaction.

5. Messaging and Meetings

Enterprise-level organizations have a lot of different types of communication to keep track of:

• 1:1 conversations
• Team collaboration
• Newsletters and campaigns
• Company and team-wide announcements
• Critical alerts

Keeping these organized is a crucial part of an efficient enterprise collaboration strategy. For frontline or distributed workforces, enterprise collaboration tools that offer mobile, real-time messaging allow workers to stay connected no matter where they’re located.

Post-pandemic, we’re seeing more organizations embrace mobile collaboration tools. In fact, Gartner found that real-time mobile messaging tools saw an increase of 7% from 2019-2021. 

6. Project Management

According to PMI, project management is “the use of specific knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to deliver something of value to people.” Good project management tools allow organizations to carry out:

• Task management
• Long and short-term project planning
• Documentation
• Evaluation/tracking progress

Project management tools aren’t just for project managers. Choosing enterprise collaboration tools with strong project management capabilities allows teams of different sizes and goals to have more:

• Transparent communication
• Accountability 
• Awareness of a project’s timeline

7. Managing Processes 

Perhaps the best way to understand process management is to look at what happens when processes are broken:

• Projects keep getting delayed
• Work has to be re-done because of mistakes
• More money invested isn’t yielding results
• Cross-departmental conflict 
• Frustration expressed by employees

Getting to the root cause of broken processes can mean asking:

• Are goals, roles, and responsibilities clear? 
• Do employees have sufficient information?
• Do organizational structures support processes?
• Are results adequately measured and analyzed?

With enterprise collaboration platforms, organizations can more accurately diagnose why processes might not be working and come up with better solutions. The right tools can help define roles, supply employees with the right information, and measure progress. 

Collaboration Challenges Frontline Workers Face

The majority of innovative enterprise collaboration tools on the market were created primarily for office workers. 

But in reality, it’s the frontline workers who often need this collaboration software the most. There are 2.7 billion workers in the world that don’t work at a desk. Most are employed in frontline positions that involve physical labor, moving between locations, and customer-facing roles.

The problem with those non-desk workers adopting traditional communication tools is that those programs are designed to resemble office spaces. The enterprise collaboration strategy in an office should look completely different from the one frontline workers use.

While it’s possible for a frontline team to use these tools effectively, it’s not ideal. Frontline teams have different needs, which are not met by platforms designed for desk-bound workers.

Finding mobile-first software for online collaboration is just one collaboration challenge that non-desk workers face. 

Here are a few more:

Mobile Accessibility

If deskless workers can’t connect and collaborate via mobile, they are essentially detached from the company they work for. Not only does this signal to them that the company isn’t invested in helping them succeed, but it also isolates these workers and creates more opportunities for misunderstandings around goals, policies, and proper procedures.

At worst, employees can feel invisible. Take Elizabeth Peachy, a home health aide, who says that she isn’t given any resources other than a website to do her job. Yet she is expected to navigate the challenges of caring for high-risk patients during COVID-19. 

Collaboration software that’s accessible via mobile might not solve Elizabeth’s lack of benefits or PPE. But at least it would open up a dialogue between her and the company she works for so that they could collaborate together to find solutions for better care.

Language Barriers

Most companies that employ deskless employees have a diverse, multilingual workforce. When a company distributes content like policy updates, safety information and surveys, employees who have to translate that content on their own are less likely to engage with it. Communication between colleagues who speak different languages becomes more difficult if both parties constantly have to reach for Google Translate.

To solve the language barrier that prevents seamless collaboration in a multilingual environment, look for tools embedded with inline translation features. That way, employees can read and respond to content without having to take an extra step.

Lack of Connection

Before collaboration can even become normalized in an organization, employees have to feel that it serves a purpose in the first place. Unfortunately, that’s not always true for deskless workers.

A 2019 survey of senior managers and frontline employees found that 74% of deskless workers thought there were barriers to communication where they work. They felt that teams weren’t working together and there was no way to engage with leadership and share ideas.

True collaboration can’t happen when employees believe that there is little point in knowledge sharing. Companies first need to build trust with their employees by adopting software and tools that encourage open communication.

Industries that Benefit from Better Collaboration

You’d be hard-pressed to find an industry or company that wouldn’t benefit from increased collaboration. But several industries stand out for needing increased collaboration at this point in time. 

Manufacturing

One of the key manufacturing industry trends includes the digital enablement of frontline workers to improve employee health and safety. Manufacturing companies would benefit from enterprise collaboration tools that engage workers to help build safer environments for all employees.

Enterprise collaboration tools help connect employees on the manufacturing floor, who are closest to the action, as well as managers that can use their feedback to make higher-level decisions. By increasing real-time communication during the production process, manufacturing companies can boost efficiency and promote transparency with management.

Food Service and Delivery

In 2020, the pandemic transformed the food industry with an increased emphasis on third-party delivery, online grocery shopping, food delivery subscriptions, and delivery tracking.

As the food industry relies more on technology to execute complex delivery models and demands, enterprise collaboration tools can help workers stay connected. Team communication in the food industry is becoming more important than ever as customers have come to expect fast and efficient delivery.

Utilities 

During the 2020 pandemic, more and more utility companies had to adopt new tools to literally keep the lights on. While the digital transformation in utilities is by no means complete, companies are starting to become more open to streamlining operations through a more collaborative process.

Enterprise collaboration tools can help protect utility workers by allowing workers to offer feedback about worker safety. Managers can, in turn, use that feedback to create better safety guidelines and distribute them to workers.

Why You Should Invest in Enterprise Collaboration Software

Earlier in this article, we talked about the difference between an enterprise collaboration system and software. Many large companies already have a system in place that may have been developed over years or even decades. Updating these systems and switching to digital solutions can be daunting.

Here’s why enterprise-level organizations might want to consider adopting enterprise collaboration software that takes care of all their needs:

Centralized Internal Communication

Enterprise collaboration software gives every worker access to a single platform that serves as the central hub for all communication. They can store and reference documentation, contact managers and colleagues, and check for important updates.

By centralizing communication in this way, employees don’t have to waste time jumping between different apps and tools. They can instead spend more time on productive collaboration, like giving feedback to managers about improving the workplace.

Transparent Objectives

Without software to centralize internal communication, teams can start to operate in silos with little opportunity for cross-team collaboration. That can lead to:

• Redundancies in operations and delays in fixing them
• An uneven distribution of resources/attention
• Miscommunication that impacts customer satisfaction
• Workers who feel disengaged from company objectives

Each one of these consequences impacts a company’s revenue. For example, a report found that disengaged employees cost U.S. companies $550 billion each year. 

Enterprise collaboration software helps all employees get a better idea of how their work relates to the company’s objectives. By promoting transparent communication, a company can empower its employees to allocate their efforts to the most urgent and important tasks.

Lean Operations

The basic principle behind lean operations is doing more with less. Its purpose is to reduce wasted energy, resources and time by continuously refining operations. On an enterprise level, this requires input from employees across all teams. 

Factory managers, for example, don’t have the same perspective as workers on the floor, who may have specific insight into how to streamline operations. When those factory floor workers can connect to managers in real-time, they can help achieve lean operations at a faster rate. 

Reducing waste by focusing on lean operations can make a significant impact on a company’s bottom line. Take Holcim, a global manufacturer of building materials, who connected their 1,500 distributed employees with a digital solution for lean communication.

This allowed them to eliminate the cost of printing their newsletter and save $50,000.

Enterprise Collaboration In Practice

Still not convinced that investing in enterprise collaboration software is worth it? Here are some real-world examples of how companies have used software to simplify their operations, reduce overhead, and drive innovation.

AGCO Corp

The agricultural machinery company AGCO had to revamp its internal communications after years of growth. They had a global workforce distributed among multiple brands, each with its own system of operations.

They could have grown each of those systems separately or centralized communication on one enterprise collaboration platform. By choosing the latter, they encouraged collaboration between brands to develop and innovate new products. They were able to unify their brand voice and collectively create solutions that better responded to customer needs.  

Centralizing their internal communication simplified AGCO’s operations and reduced unnecessary expenses, like travel for meetings. This ultimately led to a cost reduction of $45,000 per month. 

Flagger Force

Flagger Force, a traffic control company, started using Beekeeper to unite their distributed frontline workforce. 78% of their employees adopted the platform, and after continued use, 90% of their employees were actively engaging with it.

Flagger Force’s team managers use Beekeeper’s Chats feature to connect with their team and create topically focused content Streams. These encourage employees to contribute ideas on how to improve workplace operations and safety. 

Their content creation system involves all employees, from managers who generate topic ideas to staff who are trained in posting guidelines. Evidence of employee engagement came through, with 33,000 posts logged in 2018.

Mandarin Oriental

As the hospitality industry took a major hit during the pandemic, the Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group had to find a way to keep their employees informed about the latest health and safety procedures.

With the help of Beekeeper, Mandarin Oriental was able to keep their furloughed and active employees informed about the shifting policies regarding the pandemic. Furloughed employees who didn’t have access to their email addresses could still find out information about returning to work. And frontline teams had mobile access to documents that helped them continue to serve guests safely.

Enterprise Collaboration: What it Takes to Succeed

Post-COVID, we’re living in a world that is much more familiar with enterprise collaboration than before. According to Gartner, nearly 80% of workers use collaboration tools for work.

But what makes enterprise collaboration effective?

As we’ve mentioned earlier, choosing the right enterprise collaboration tool is one of the best ways to make collaboration smarter and more efficient. In a nutshell, an enterprise collaboration tool takes care of the how so that employees can focus on the more important whys and hows.

Want to make the transition to an enterprise collaboration platform? Download our guide to selecting the best option for your business. 

Frequently Asked Questions

The post Why Your Organization Needs an Enterprise Collaboration Tool appeared first on Beekeeper.

They planned to spend a collective $26.2 billion in 2020 to help employees improve their existing skills, and around three-quarters said they were either launching or expanding workforce training efforts. The pandemic put many of those investments on hold — but it also rearranged their priorities. As we emerge into the fated “new normal,” training must reevaluate any slated reskilling and upskilling efforts.

So what’s the difference between reskilling and upskilling? Reskilling moves someone laterally between different jobs so they’re competent at multiple skills. On the other hand, upskilling moves someone vertically through a process of gaining skill and specialization around the job they have currently or the career path they’re following. It’s the difference between training an employee broadly versus deeply.

Both approaches are imperative coming out of the pandemic. But with many changes happening at once in manufacturing, upskilling, in particular, can help employees adapt so they can continue on their pathways successfully, ensure efficiency, and achieve operational excellence.

Read the full article here.

The post Why Upskilling in Manufacturing Is Key to Bridging the Skills Gap appeared first on Beekeeper.

Download our white paper on creating an effective internal communication strategy for more in-depth insights.

A team is a group of people “associated in work or activity.”

Putting the two together, team communication should be the exchange of information within a group of colleagues working towards a common goal.

Sounds pretty straightforward, right?

It is. But there’s also the potential for team communication to become miscommunication instead. Just because there’s an exchange of information doesn’t mean it’s always done effectively.

Miscommunication can: 

• Lead team members to make assumptions and expectations based on wrong information
• Create closed loops and make some team members feel left out
• Lead to conflict about how information should be perceived/interpreted

Group communication becomes a lot more complex when you have so many opportunities for it to fail. We’ll be looking at ways to improve team communication later, but first, it’s important to understand why we want to improve communication in the first place.

Why Improving Team Communication Matters

Ask any manager if they’d like to improve group communication and team productivity and they’ll likely say: of course.

Who wouldn’t want their team to stay connected and avoid misunderstandings?

After all, improving team communication can have a ripple effect across all aspects of your business. 

Good team communication has several benefits:

1. Identify and Resolve Conflicts Early On

Many internal communication problems within big corporations start as simple miscommunications or misunderstandings that become problems because they’re not dealt with early enough.

Maybe managers give vague requests and employees are afraid to speak up. Or, maybe employees simply aren’t well informed on what the company’s goals are. Tasks may get delayed or employees might feel disconnected from their roles.

Healthy communication means that both managers and employees can detect these issues early and solve them before they escalate.

2. Improve Employee Engagement

An engaged employee is one that enjoys their job and wants to offer value to the company they work for. A disengaged employee is not invested in their job and tends to do the bare minimum to keep it.

But why do employees become disengaged? Many times, it’s because of poor internal communication within the company. They may be disengaged because leadership is doing a poor job of communicating company goals. Or, they may feel like their feedback isn’t valued or noticed.

Employee engagement starts with improving team communication. If managers can encourage dialogue with their team, they can uncover why some employees may feel disengaged.

3. Encourage Bottom-Up Communication in Team Interactions

What exactly is bottom-up internal communication? It’s an approach in which employees at all levels within an organization contribute their feedback and ideas. It focuses on building communication channels that cross traditional hierarchies. That way, the information doesn’t just trickle down from leadership. It flows in both directions, and it gives frontline employees the opportunity to submit their ideas and requests.

Team communication isn’t a one-way street. When companies invest in improving team communication, they’re also opening up opportunities for bottom-up internal communication. They’re giving employees the tools to contribute their feedback and know that it will have an impact on company-wide decisions.

4. Build a Transparent Company Culture

When employees think that there is a lack of transparency and open communication in their work environment, they’re more likely to look for opportunities elsewhere (or, at the very least feel frustrated and burnt out).

Rigid hierarchies that restrict what information gets delivered to employees have no place in a transparent company culture. By improving team communication, companies can encourage open dialogue that breaks down those barriers between hierarchies.

Ultimately, transparent company culture supported by communication in team interactions creates trust between leadership and employees. Investing in the employee experience with tools that help employees stay connected and engaged is the first step in creating transparent company culture.

How Does Effective Team Communication Work?

There’s no one-size-fits-all when it comes to effective communication in a team. What counts as “good” team communication is more about managing different communication styles than following one particular strategy.

The first step to improving team communication is understanding the different ways people communicate effectively in the workplace. 

These workplace communication styles can include:

1. Analytical

Those with analytical communication styles like data and detail. They want their decision-making to be backed up by concrete facts and figures rather than emotion-based arguments. Logical reasoning sways them far more than emotional appeal.

Because they tend to take emotion out of the equation when communicating, analytical communicators can sometimes seem detached. But they thrive in a transparent work environment where they can have access to as much detail as possible and they are able to see where data comes from.

Giving feedback for analytical types works best when it’s supported by numbers and figures rather than vague value judgments.

2. Intuitive

On the opposite side of the spectrum, those with an intuitive communication style take a big-picture approach and don’t like to focus on the nitty-gritty details when getting their point across.

People with this effective communication style are most likely to contribute creative solutions and think outside the box. They might not appreciate details and numbers like an analytical type would. Instead, they want to hear the “why” behind a project and how it fits into a greater strategy.

3. Personal

Those with a personal communication style are often seen as diplomatic and good at both spotting and resolving conflicts. They approach communication through the lens of emotion and personal connection and they’re good at picking up on non-verbal communication.

Because they excel in one-on-one interactions, they might struggle with working remotely, especially as more companies embrace WFH policies due to COVID-19. Strong team communication becomes particularly important in keeping them motivated and engaged while working remotely. 

Leading with data isn’t going to sway a personal communicator as much as an emotional connection. Like the intuitive communicator, they’re more responsive when they know the “why” behind a project. In their case, it’s a more personal “why.”

4. Functional

Closer to the analytical communicator than the intuitive or personal one, the functional communicator loves a detailed, step-by-step plan. If anyone on your team goes into “what-if” mode often, they’re likely a functional communicator.

They want to know all the details about a project so they can troubleshoot anything that might go wrong. When they hear about a new idea, they want to know exactly how it’s going to be executed.

Functional communicators may seem like a killjoy to an intuitive thinker, who would be more likely to get excited about the big-picture implications. But people with this communication style are often the practical backbone of any team.

How to Improve Team Communications

Which one of the communication styles mentioned above resonates with you the most? What about the people you work with?

Understanding different team communication styles in the workplace can help us share information, collaborate more effectively, and improve team productivity. If we know that our colleague is an analytical type, we can come prepared with data. If a co-worker is more intuitive, we can focus on the big picture to get our point across.

Every team has its own unique dynamic. But what about how to improve communication on a company-wide level?

That’s where pairing a team communication tool with an internal communication strategy comes into play. 

Improving team communications starts with choosing the right tools. And as more people are working remotely, companies rely on digital tools to help their workforce stay connected. 

Here are a few tips on choosing and integrating team communication tools:

1. Rethink Your Current Communication Model

Switching to an entirely different communication tool or set of tools can seem daunting, particularly for companies with a lot of employees. How do you know if everyone will embrace the new tool? How can you be sure that the adoption process won’t slow down communication?

But even if employees are comfortable with using a certain tool, that doesn’t mean it’s ideally suited to how they work. While phone calls and email are perhaps the most basic way to communicate effectively in the workplace, some industries don’t benefit from going that route.

For frontline workers, email is not the best solution, given that they are almost always on the go and have limited opportunities to sit down and check their email. Choosing a frontline success platform like Beekeeper is a better option because it’s designed specifically for frontline workers. With Beekeeper, workers can get instant updates about shift schedules and safety information on their mobile devices without the need for an email address.

If your current team communication model doesn’t align with the reality of how employees actually work, it might be time to rethink the tools you’re using and search for a better solution.

2. Create and Distribute Communication Guidelines

Setting clear expectations for how you want employees to communicate effectively can seem awkward at first. Telling people how they should talk to each other can sound like you’re micromanaging your team.

But creating guidelines around communication skills in a team can help to prevent misunderstandings and make adopting a new tool a more seamless process. For example, specifying how often you expect team members to check into their team app can prevent them from worrying that they will miss an important update. 

Or, if you’ve implemented a communication tool that facilitates file sharing, specify that it should be used for all client files. Otherwise, there may be confusion when employees try to send files by email instead.

3. Listen to Employee Feedback

Gathering and analyzing employee feedback can often fall lower on the priority list. But making time to get feedback is key to improving team communication.

This is especially true for remote or distributed teams. Because managers and workers are often not in the same location, managers can’t be expected to know the ins and outs of how their team communicates and any struggles they may be facing.

Feedback can come in the form of employee surveys, where you can ask questions focused on team communication:

• Do you feel like the tools you have allow you to stay informed about company updates?
• Are you comfortable communicating freely with colleagues and managers?
• Are there any expectations around communicating that you’re unsure about?   

By getting feedback from employees, companies can adjust their team communication strategies to make it more effective, whether that means getting new tools or clarifying communication guidelines.

Best Practices for Cross-Team Communication

Teams don’t work in a vacuum.

Cross-team communication involves people with different backgrounds and communication skills sets coming together to solve a problem or achieve a shared goal. Achieving company-wide goals and healthy communication will likely require the expertise of people from different departments. 

But there’s a lot that can go wrong in cross-team communication:

• People who aren’t used to team collaboration don’t know about the different communication styles of the people they’re working with.
• Deadlines might not allow enough time to develop team dynamics.
• To avoid ruffling any feathers, people can hold back some of their potentially innovative ideas and opinions.

Some best practices for improving cross-team communication:

Eliminate Siloes

The HBR study found that one of the main reasons why cross-functional teams fail was because of self-perpetuating siloes. Perceptions about how teams work together fuel how they communicate. And if those perceptions are negative, establishing team communication is an uphill battle.

“Designers and engineers don’t work well together” is a typical example. If teams go into working together with that idea, they’re already off to a bad start.

Celebrating cross-team collaboration wins on a company app is one way to break down these siloes and show that teams with different backgrounds can work together effectively.

Make Accountability Crystal Clear for Communication in a Team

One of the simplest reasons why cross-team communication fails is that people miss meetings. They prioritize their own team’s tasks over the tasks that make up a cross-team project. They just don’t show up.

That’s usually because cross-functional teams don’t have a clear accountability leader or hierarchy that oversees all aspects of a team collaboration project.

Assigning someone the responsibility to check that all members of a cross-functional team are actively involved can keep projects from getting delayed. And specifying who has the last word in making decisions can keep projects on track.

Establish Goals and Objectives Early On

Defining goals and establishing what success looks like might seem tedious or unnecessary for every project. But when adhering to specifications and staying aligned with company goals are two of the major pitfalls for cross-functional teams, it might be worth taking the time to do so.

One of the best practices of operational excellence is outlining broad goals as well as specific KPIs that will measure success. That way, team members can anticipate any conflicting priorities that would potentially prevent them from participating in a cross-functional team.

By having clearly-defined goals, objectives, deadlines, and resources before a cross-functional team begins working on a project, companies can avoid being part of the dysfunctional 75%.

Want even more info on creating an effective team communication strategy in your company? Download our white paper to learn about setting goals, conducting analyses, and identifying the right communication targets.

Most Frequently Asked Questions

The post The Complete Guide to Effective Team Communication appeared first on Beekeeper.

Download the Retail TouchPoints white paper to learn more about how to empower frontline workers with the right communication tools.

A centralized communication system helps both frontline retail workers and managers overcome these challenges. In this system, everyone in the company has access to one, secure platform that stores all documentation and allows for instant, real-time communication.

This kind of platform gives workers all the information they need to do their jobs so that they don’t have to waste time searching for it. Frontline workers spend an average of three hours each week looking for information. Those three hours could be better spent prioritizing more important tasks. With a digital workplace, retailers can give their frontline employees this valuable time back. 

Keep reading to discover why using a centralized platform benefits the company’s bottom line, increases worker well-being, and boosts customer satisfaction.

1. Increase Productivity

Frontline retail workers have a lot to keep track of shift schedules, guidelines, checklists, inventory details, and more.

The right communication platform can eliminate inefficiencies and:

• Reduce absenteeism by giving workers mobile access to their shift schedules
• Eliminate miscommunication with real-time, two-way messaging
• Give retail employees immediate access to product information to provide better customer service to shoppers

Beekeeper has been able to successfully help retail companies centralize their documentation, make daily operations more efficient, and ultimately improve their bottom line. With Beekeeper, all employees have a digital toolbox where they can see shift schedules, documents, forms, and company updates:

2. Better Adaptability 

COVID-19 has made effective retail communication more critical than ever before.

The constant changes in safety regulations and consumer behavior have taken a toll on frontline retail workers. These essential employees need the right tools in order to adapt to and overcome these challenges. 

Many retail companies are using email as one of those tools. But email for frontline employees may not be the best option in retail, since most associates are working out on the store floor or behind a register, without easy access to email.

With Beekeeper, retail companies can onboard employees and keep them informed without requiring an email address. 

One natural foods grocer was able to cut their email volume down by 90% and engage the 70% of employees that were not previously active on email – all with the help of Beekeeper.

3. Faster Feedback Loops

Frontline workers in retail have firsthand insight into customers’ needs and behaviors. These workers know what makes for a successful customer experience. By setting up communication channels that encourage feedback from employees, retail companies can capitalize on that insight.

Listening to and implementing feedback also signals that these suggestions from your workforce are valued. Employees will be more motivated to contribute ideas on how to improve the customer experience and workplace productivity.

4. Better Customer Service

Improving the customer service experience in retail starts with keeping employees well-informed, both about their own workflows and product information customers might ask for.

When employees don’t have to worry about what their task list looks like or where they’re scheduled to be, they can dedicate their full attention to helping customers. 

Having access to product information is an effective way to empower frontline staff. As their product knowledge grows, they’re better able to resolve issues. Workers can then relay information about the experience to management so that the company can better adapt to what customers want. 

5. Safer Work Environment

Regulations about safety procedures are shifting constantly during the pandemic. Retail companies have to stay on top of these changes and update their own policies accordingly.

A company app is an effective way to communicate company-wide policy changes instantly. When workers feel like they’re getting the most up-to-date information, it shows that the company is invested in their well-being and is proactive about their safety.

As certain sectors within retail are experiencing higher demand for workers, companies have to make sure their communication strategy can scale. For example, big box grocery chains have had to rapidly expand their workforces, while adhering to changing health regulations at the same time. 

For grocery retailers, a company app is critical for making sure employees get real-time updates about safety information. And because the app is mobile, the platform can scale to function effectively no matter how many new hires join the company.

The Bottom Line

Retail workers are put under more pressure than ever to deliver the same level of service while juggling new information and worrying about their own health. Companies need a scalable way to connect their people, policies, and processes to make sure the workplace is safe yet efficient.

A centralized communication platform gives retail employees the tools they need to overcome the challenges brought on during the pandemic. 

With a company app, frontline employees in retail can access key information about policies, products, and workflows to stay productive and deliver better customer service. 

Want more in-depth insight into how to digitally enable frontline workers? Download the Retail TouchPoints report now.

The post [NEW REPORT] How to Save Frontline Retail Workers 3 Hours Each Week appeared first on Beekeeper.

Learn how automation can support frontline workers in your manufacturing company. 

Throughout history, new technologies have emerged that have disrupted manufacturing only to result in greater efficiency and higher output. Today, it’s automation. Robots, AI, 3D printing, augmented reality, and smart machines are running production lines. According to the World Economic Forum, by 2025, machines will be doing more than half of the tasks in global industries. But this automation will lead to a net gain of 58 million jobs across industries. 

With predictions like that, it’s easy to understand why experts once predicted automation would be devastating for the manufacturing workforce. But in fact, just like previous advances in the industry, this evolution is creating an opportunity to boost employee productivity to new levels. 

Embrace Automation and Watch Employee Productivity Soar

Automation has been a hot topic in the manufacturing world for the past decade. But even as more companies introduce robots and smart machines into their organizations, it’s still a big transition for employees, and it can lead to fear of job displacement. 

Those fears and uncertainties can create fractured workflows. To create a smooth, seamless transition, explain to your employees why you’re automating systems, how technology will actually support their work, and the opportunity for professional growth as they move from the factory floor to other positions within the organization. 

Automation is exciting. It’s an opportunity to restructure your operation, grow your business, and be more productive. Get employees on board from the start and they’ll work hard knowing they’re part of the team.

Provide Digital Tools for Maximum Productivity

Your employees need their own digital strategy to ramp up their productivity to match the momentum automation will bring to your operation. As you automate your production, give employees real-time digital tools that streamline communication and workflows to allow employees to work just as fast and efficiently as their digital counterparts. 

While production line work was often a solitary, siloed profession, the next generation of manufacturing jobs requires an operational communication system that enables connectivity and alignment to do their jobs. 

For example, digital managers need to send and receive communication to smart machines. Designers and engineers will need to collaborate to expand and diversify product lines. Equip them with the tools to perform their jobs that enable them to be as productive as possible.

Pro tip: As you automate production, upgrade your workforce tech, too. Give frontline workers their own cloud-based mobile communication tool. 

Mobile workforce management software establishes a deep connectivity between an entire enterprise for a 360-degree view of manufacturing operations. It creates a channel for peer-to-peer communication and collaboration for a more innovative workplace. It enables bottom-up and top-down communication. Digital tools also allow leaders to track and analyze workforce metrics, like engagement and productivity.

Invest in Your Employees with Growth Opportunities

There is a preconceived notion that automation will force people out of jobs. There’s no question that machines can work faster and more efficiently than humans when it comes to rapid, repetitive production work. But there are things computers can’t do that manufacturing organizations need to survive, thrive, and grow. Automation isn’t pushing people out but it is changing the nature of manufacturing jobs.

With machines on cruise control, your human workforce needs a new purpose. In fact, according to McKinsey Global Institute estimates that by 2030, 375 million people in the world’s workforce will need to shift career gears and enhance their skills due to automation. 

Pro tip: Find the skills gap in your operation and train your employees for new positions.

Train your employees for jobs computers can’t do but that your organization needs to be competitive. Humans are capable of critical thinking, negotiating, strategizing, collaborating, creating, designing, and problem solving. Reorganize your business structure to create jobs that will reinvigorate your workforce and create opportunities for team efficiency, collaboration, and innovation to promote business expansion. 

Those include:

• Software engineers and Programmers
• Customer service
• R&D, product development
• Data analysts
• Sales and marketing
• Customer service

Not only will your workforce have skills that can support productivity and growth, simply investing in your employees with educational opportunities will let them know they are a valued part of your organization which will result in a hard-working team.

To reskill employees, business leaders can utilize a mobile workforce management platform to support in-house training programs. Using a digital solution allows employees to manage when and where they conduct their online training so it fits within their lives. Autonomy is a big-ticket item when it comes to building an engaged, productive workforce. 

Employees can better serve your company in jobs that aren’t as tedious. When you transition employees from lower-skilled work to high-impact careers with cerebral tasks—imagining, innovating, creating, coding—they’ll have a new sense of purpose in their work that they find more exciting and engaging. They’ll recognize opportunities for growth in their personal lives and within your organization and will work hard to achieve personal goals.

Another factor to consider as you retrain your workforce in the face of automation is workplace safety. In positions that are less physically-demanding, employees have a reduced risk of on-the-job injuries. This lowers workforce stress levels, improves mental well-being, and increases employee life cycles. 

Automate Administrative Functions

As your production line hums along to the rhythm of robots and machines and your workforce is busy in their new roles, it’s essential to automate the rest of your organization to keep every element of the operation running smoothly.

In other words, if you automate your production while your admin teams still use overstuffed filing cabinets, you’ll hinder the progress of your organization. A mobile-first digital workplace creates an employee portal to streamline all communication within a company to maximize employee productivity and team efficiency. 

• Automate HR functions, like payroll. 
• Choose a platform that enables shift scheduling so every worker has access to their own hours and the ability to swap shifts and connect with peers directly for work coverage. 
• Have all safety manuals and documents accessible online so workers can access them immediately in case of an emergency. 
• Bring your onboarding online so new employees work straight from the platform.

The age of automation is an exciting time for manufacturing. Once you embrace this new way of operating, leverage technology to maximize workforce productivity. You’ll see greater output and a better employee experience.

Learn how automating your manufacturing operations can lead to a boost in employee productivity. Download our Manufacturing Industry Trends for 2020 white paper.

The post How to Boost Employee Productivity in the Age of Automation appeared first on Beekeeper.

A team app is simply a mobile application that facilitates conversations between employees, their managers, company leadership, and coworkers and can be accessed via a mobile device like a smartphone or tablet.

Nearly 13 million U.S citizens hold manufacturing jobs and 75 million Americans work at a cash register, kitchen, factory, or job site. Most of these frontline workers are not issued company email addresses.

1. Best Ways to Communicate with Employees: Send Real-Time Updates No Matter Where They Are

80% of the world’s workforce does NOT work behind a desk. They’re out in the field, on the shop floor, behind a cash register, and everywhere else you can think of. 

These mobile workers need more than an old school email address and an outdated intranet. They need a team app that is easy to use and allows them to send and receive information in real-time. Stopping every five minutes to make a phone call? Not anymore. With a team app, deskless employees can send chat messages, access SOP documents, and receive important push notifications all from their very own mobile phones. 

2. How to Communicate with Employees: Digital Signage for Internal Communications

Digital signage is the new break room bulletin board. By investing in a team app with digital signage capabilities, you’ll be able to reinforce the messaging you’re sending to your team on their smartphones.

Position your digital signage in high-traffic areas to display company announcements, policy changes, or employee shout out. Messages that would otherwise be sent via email can now be broadcasted throughout the workplace for all to see.

3. How to Communicate Changes to Employees: Mobile Team Chat Apps for Workforce Management

For the millions of frontline employees who don’t have work emails, many companies are using a team app to manage their internal communications. 

While a corporate email address may not be common for frontline workers, access to a smartphone is. A team app allows companies to communicate with employees on their own personal mobile devices, which is both convenient for the workers and cost-effective for the company. It’s a win/win. 

With targeted, timely mobile messaging, your internal communication can be dramatically more effective than a typical work email. For hourly employees, they can get push notifications for important messages during work hours, and then simply pause notification once they’re off the clock. A team app allows managers to communicate vital information to their employees, while still respecting their free-time once they leave the worksite. 

For mobile employees who don’t have a company email, it’s critical to make sure they feel included in all internal communications. Team chat apps allow organizations to stay in touch with their entire workforce and send real-time updates from anywhere, to anyone.

Download our white paper on how to choose the best team collaboration software to reach your employees without email!

The post 3 Ways a Team App Helps You Reach Employees Who Don’t Have Email appeared first on Beekeeper.

First, you need to understand what employee experience is. Employee experience is the collection of all the experiences your team members go through while working for your company. The elements that create employee experience include good managers, transparent and inclusive communication, a comfortable and safe workplace, supportive leadership, inclusive culture, diversity, and technology. 

Now, you need to understand how employee experience impacts productivity. When the employee experience is good—when employees enjoy their job, their managers, their colleagues, and the company—your team will be engaged and invested in their jobs and work harder. 

A poor employee experience leads to high absenteeism and low retention. Today, about 3.5 million Americans quit their jobs every month. Modern workers realize that they have choices. If they don’t enjoy their current role, they can find another. Employee experience directly impacts your employee turnover rates.

Here are five key takeaways from our latest ebook, How the Employee Experience Affects Team Productivity (And What to Do About It). Read the entire white paper to learn how to create an exceptional employee journey. 

1. So—What’s Your Employee Experience Like?

If you’re looking to build a more productive team, start by analyzing your employee journey. Do your employees enjoy working for your company? What are your physical and digital environments like and what do they offer your workforce? From the moment an employee is hired to the moment that person leaves, discover the milestones that matter to them, then map and monitor those experiences closely so you can determine which steps in the employee journey need improvement and which are succeeding as is.

2. A Digital Workplace Is Your Ticket to Better Communication

The majority of today’s workforce is either mobile or works off-site for at least part of the time. To elevate your employee experience, adopt mobile-friendly, digital tools that include every employee in communication to help employees maximize productivity in their individual roles. Invest in the right software tools that will improve the employee experience and allow your staff to get more done in less time.

With a mobile-first communication platform, companies can:

• Connect their frontline teams to the tools they need
• Resolve issues faster with real-time, traceable communications 
• Communicate efficiently with voice or text
• Provide instant access to essential training documents
• Automate or personalize employee recognition and onboarding

Pro tip: Spend a day working alongside different teams within your organization to see the employee experience from their perspective.

3. Employee Experience Begins with the Hiring Process

Employee experience begins even before an employee’s first day on the job. It starts during the interview process. Set expectations when you sit down with candidates in their interview. Give details about the company and the role so they know what to expect. 

According to Jobvite, almost 30% of jobseekers have left a new job within the first 90 days of starting. 43% of these folks claim the reason was because their day-to-day role wasn’t what they expected it to be.

4. Communication is Key, Especially for Frontline Employees

Communication is a big component of employee experience. It’s the exchange of information, both top-down and bottom-up, that enables a workforce to be productive. Communication is especially important with frontline teams who are often left out of internal dialogue. What kind of communication are they looking for at work?

• 81% believe that improved training will help them feel more engaged and happy.
• 90% want the ability to access information anytime and anywhere as part of their work.
• 79% believe more frequent learning opportunities would help them feel more engaged at work.

Use an employee app to include every employee and maximize productivity by using it for:

• Recognition: Announce kudos for personal and professional milestones and for exceptional job performance.
• Regular feedback: Instead of relying on annual performance reviews, connect with individual team members on a routine basis to give feedback on their work. This is especially true for younger frontline workers who crave real-time feedback from their managers and want to be nurtured and grow within their roles. 
• Training opportunities: Create a virtual classroom through your employee communications app to provide opportunities for professional development.

5. Leverage Data to Improve the Employee Experience

All roads, and numbers, lead back to employee experience. Look at data, like turnover, profits, and output. They’ll reveal what you need to know about your employee experience.

You can’t improve the employee experience until you understand how your current strategies are received by your team. Armed with this information, you can make educated decisions regarding the employee journey and implement new tactics geared at boosting productivity.

You can find out this information from your HR department, by talking with current employees, or reviewing exit interview feedback. You need to know what employees think in order to create strategies to help them do their best. The data you glean will allow you to build a better employee experience for a thriving, productive workforce. 

Learn how employee experience can maximize productivity by downloading our ebook How the Employee Experience Affects Team Productivity.

The post How the Employee Experience Affects Your Team Productivity appeared first on Beekeeper.

Here’s a little hint: Put away the spreadsheets.

Companies that are outperforming their competition prioritize diversity.

Employees are more engaged and more productive when they work with people who are different from themselves.

Companies can encourage diversity with team communication software. It builds the operational framework necessary for cross-cultural communication and collaboration for a bigger market share and a thriving workforce.

Statistics Prove Why Diversity Needs to Be a Business Strategy

On a human level, diversity is good for us. Working with a group of people from different backgrounds and with different life experiences fosters collaboration through empathy and understanding. It also makes people smarter, more productive, and more creative in the workplace.

From a business standpoint, these emotional benefits translate directly into business outcomes.

Diversity can increase a company’s competitive advantage by 33%.

That’s just the tip of the iceberg:

• Diverse workforces are more innovative. Different perspectives, experiences, and backgrounds broaden the range of ideas employees bring to the group.
• Companies with a diverse workforce produce, on average, two products more a year than competitors.
• Diversity strengthens a company allowing them to weather financial storms (like the economic slump of 2008).
• Diversity helps with overall recruitment and retention. People want to work for companies that have a diverse environment.

Working for an innovative, forward-thinking, diverse company is what employees want.

Team communication software helps you get there.

Beekeeper’s company chat software was designed for today’s multicultural workforce.

Here are five ways the platform helps every employee connect and communicate and gives leaders the tools they need to include and support them.

Learn how one hospitality company uses visual messaging to communicate with their team.

1) Universal Communication with Inline Translation

Companies in the United States are making a big recruitment push for multilingual teams to increase their competitive advantage. Beekeeper’s company chat software enables every employee to communicate in their own language with inline translation.

Here’s why that’s important:

• Legally, employees have a right to speak their native language in the workplace.
• Many frontline workers—like restaurant staff, construction workers, healthcare employees—speak more than one language. In many of these industries, safety is a priority and an app that can translate can ensure the well-being of every employee.
• Nine out of ten companies say they rely on employees who speak a language other than English.
• Cross-cultural collaboration can open new channels of communication, and innovation.
• A company experiences complete transparency when everyone can comprehend internal messaging.

Let’s take a deeper look at the manufacturing workforce as an example. It’s an industry that has always relied on the work of immigrants, and that fact hasn’t changed much in the 21st century.

23 million immigrants currently work in manufacturing. That’s 12% of the industry.

There are currently half a million jobs that need to be filled, and in the next decade, there will be 4.6 million. Many of those positions will be filled by people who represent a global workforce and speak different languages.

Forward-thinking companies need employee communication software that will be ready for them.

Pro Tip: Encourage every employee to participate and contribute with Beekeeper’s translation feature.

2) Visual Messaging for Clear, Inclusive Communication

Another innovative Beekeeper feature designed for diversity and inclusion is the capability to share photos and videos through direct messaging, file sharing, and chats.

Despite any communication barriers, companies can employ visual messaging when they need to ensure every employee understands.

Different ways clients have used visual messaging include:

• Hotel restaurants share photos of seasonal specials so all hotel staff are aware of menu updates and relay the correct product information to the guests.
• Sending emergency notifications about safety hazards on a construction site.
• Companies share visual training materials to support professional growth.

Beekeeper’s photo sharing feature was highlighted (and called “innovative”) in the Gartner Market Guide for Employee Communications Applications, 2019.

3) Promote From Within to Build a Diverse Leadership Team

Hiring a diverse frontline workforce is important. But you need to create diversity at every level of your organization to be successful as a company. Team communication software can be a medium for professional growth.

Offer training over the team app to create opportunities for advancement. Your employees, who know your company well, can be your next management team.

A diverse leadership team will increase retention—employees are inspired when they see a company with leaders they can relate to and see there is growth potential within the company.

Leadership that represents a variety of backgrounds, cultures, genders, ages, and ethnicities also work better together to benefit the entire organization.

2018 McKinsey report, Delivering Through Diversity, found that the composition of a company’s leadership directly affects financial outcomes. In other words, the more diverse the management, the better the financial returns.

It goes back to how different perspectives are better at creative problem solving and collaboration than a more homogenous view.

Pro Tip: Create a diverse workforce at every level of your company. Use communication software for business to upskill employees and promote from within.

4) Diversity Attracts New Talent and Increases Retention

Millennials make up the largest demographic of today’s workforce. As a whole, they are more diverse than previous generations and they want the same in the companies they work for. In fact, they’ll make a job decision based on the diversity (or lack thereof) of a potential employer.

Millennials also have a strong opinion about workplace tech, too.

Millennials are 450% more likely to switch jobs if a company doesn’t have progressive technology.

Employee retention software aligns these workforce priorities, creating an environment and experience employees want in a job.

5) Empower Leaders and Managers to Be Inclusive

Building a diverse workforce is a great start. You also need to have a culture of inclusion and that starts at the top.

A Harvard Business Review study found that the most inclusive leaders do these three things:

1. Communicate with employees and asks for their input and feedback
2. Take the time to get to know the cultural differences of their employees
3. Individual recognition of employees

Beekeeper’s team communication software creates a channel for leaders to take these actions. The platform offers real-time, two-way communication, allowing companies are becoming more transparent and more inclusive.

Leaders are directly connecting with employees to get feedback through messaging and surveys.

They are recognizing employees for hard work over the company-wide messaging. They are offering cross cultural training for leaders and employees to build understanding and empathy to break down barriers and unify their workforce.

From greater collaboration and innovation to a more worldly workforce, diversity is a growth strategy that has benefits for the entire organization and every employee. Create one unified team that celebrates and unifies employees with team communication software.

Download our eBook to discover how to leverage team communication software to build a diverse, collaborative workforce!

The post The Surprising Way that Team Communication Software Can Boost Your Company’s Competitive Advantage by 33% appeared first on Beekeeper.