When it comes to getting your start-up off the ground there’s not much that’s going to replace pure hard work. You’ve identified your niche, you’ve crafted a solid business plan and you’ve assembled a team that will help drive your business towards achieving its goals.
So what now? Well, now is the time to start streamlining your operations and making sure that you are getting full functionality out of your team and from how you do business.
The only way you can see how your business is working is to watch it in action, seeing those theories turned into practice. One area which often needs finessing is the inter-communication between team members.
The Challenge of Communication
With many modern businesses, teams are not necessarily all based in a centralized location. Remote working is the norm, encouraged even as a means of saving office rental costs and helping employees enjoy a better work/life balance.
While this is commendable it can make team working a challenge. If your staff work together collaboratively on projects, you’ll know how important face-to-face meetings are to nail down roles and tasks and set everyone on the right path.
The challenge with remote working is gathering people together to achieve this level of communication and is true for so many businesses, whether you’re a team of software developers, or sell School Furniture. So what can you do to make this happen in a more constructive and useful way?
Smart Software for Team Working
Fortunately there are software solutions out there that can solve even the hardest comms problems.
There are staples such as Skype for face-to-face meetings but when you need to include more than two people on the call, try Zoom. This software will help you facilitate town hall meetings, video webinars and messaging services.
If getting your project off the ground is becoming an administrative nightmare then consider something like Asana to take the heat off. Use this software to create an online project board. Have your team leaders set goals and assign tasks. These actions are shared with the whole group, meaning everyone can see what’s being done and by whom.
Tasks are ticked off once they’re achieved and comments and questions can be addressed online and shared with the group for further clarification. No more overlapping of tasks, no more work tasks being missed, just simple online collaboration.
When you’ve got a team that’s spread far and wide or not all in the office at the same time, you want to make sure that your bases are always covered. There’s no substitute for great face-to-face communication but there are certainly plenty of tools that can help you to make that process easier when it’s not always possible.
Try out some smart software and see how you can take your team comms to the next level.