The Future of Work: Technology as an Optimizer for Collaboration

It seems like every week a new gadget, system, or service is introduced that promises to make us communicate and collaborate better, faster. Effective collaboration within a team reduces re-work, increases team-wide agency in a project and creates agreement towards a clear objective.

How can we use new technologies to assist with project management, problem solving and productivity on-campus?

While collaborative technologies cannot solve all of the problems you and your team may run into, it may help make your life easier if you use them correctly and effectively. Let’s look at some key strategies and processes for streamlining collaborative project management.

Best Practices
The key to successful collaboration cannot rely solely on technology or culture but purpose. Don’t leave it to the software to communicate and lose the intimacy and rapport of working together. Initially, think beyond individual contributions and focus on whole solutions and big concepts. It is important to clearly define what can be accomplished as a group and develop a central point of purpose that everyone is aiming for before introducing new tech.

When introducing a new technology or program you may get some kickback from members of your team. “This is how we’ve always done it…” is a common phrase that I am sure that many of us have heard when trying to implement something new. It is important to have buy-in from project leads and senior level administrators who can help prevent this type of thinking and keep things moving forward. Everyone involved should understand that implementing something new often requires putting aside short-term interests to achieve long-term goals.

Complex projects require flexibility and innovation. Creating a culture of constant adaptation keeps your team aware of what is or isn’t working and willing to make adjustments. Promote open communication with your team and allow them to discuss when things are not working.

Current Collaborative Technology
Most collaborative programs out there today focus on four main collaborative processes:

·         Project management - keeping track of what you and your team is working on with immediate updates about the status of your projects.

·         Document sharing - easy sharing and organizing of documents with your team.

·         Collaborative editing - multiple people writing and editing documents together at the same time.

·         Workload management - See when the free/busy times are for the members of your team to better plan out projects and avoid overworking certain team members.

Some great programs you may or may not already be using are Google (Drive, Docs, Sites, Slides, Hangouts, etc.), Slack, Trello, Do, and Basecamp. Please keep in mind that there is no single solution that fits all situations so explore what works for your department in terms of goals, resources, and budgets.

We have created a collaborative spreadsheet with examples of programs that are out there today: goo.gl/jV1TFU 

Feel free to add comments on the sheet with what you are using or have used in the past and add any programs that we might have missed!

Author Bios:

Jordan Orfitelli is a Residence Hall Manager at the Fashion Institute of Technology. Jordan graduated from Western Connecticut State University with a degree in Anthropology/Sociology. She has a variety of interests including technology, historical preservation, graphic design and sci-fi movies. [email protected]

Alex Alorro received his M.A. in Higher and Postsecondary Education from Columbia University and currently oversees housing operations at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City. He is a cat lover who is interested in technology and student learning, in that order.

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