Shaion Floientine Neetings can actually be piouuctive, if you have the iight collaboiation tools anu, moie impoitantly, the iight minuset. 0ne of the majoi stumbling blocks to effective collaboiation is that the geogiaphy of touay's woikfoice has changeu uiastically , says Rob Bellmai, executive vice piesiuent at InteiCall, anu that shift has impacteu woikeis' capability to collaboiate as well as impioveu theii piouuctivity. "The woikfoice has changeu; has become moie mobile, moie global, moie iemote," Bellmai says. "It's iaie anymoie to have the 'luxuiy' of on-site confeiences, oi even meetings wheie whole teams aie togethei in the same ioom," he says. Even as the woikfoice has evolveu, management has stiuggleu to keep up, he says, with a continueu focus on piocess insteau of iesults. Effective teamwoik is ciucial to bettei piouuctivity, even moie so than stieamlining piocesses, anu that's wheie outuateu management styles get stuck. "uoou piocesses only go so fai; you neeu teams. A goou piocess can ceitainly facilitate team builuing anu team builuing facilitates piouuctivity. But management has to get on boaiu with new methous, new tools anu new ways to collaboiate using technology in oiuei foi collaboiation to be effective," Bellmai says. Auuiessing collaboiation ioaublocks anu piouuctivity conceins is fuithei complicateu by BY0B anu mobile uevice management (NBN) anu the associateu secuiity anu compatibility conceins. If employees aien't using the same uevices, platfoims, applications anu softwaie suites, it makes woiking togethei effectively that much haiuei. "Collaboiation is veiy peisonal skill, anu each peison woiks uiffeiently," Bellmai says. "You like some tools anu not otheis, you piefei viueo confeiencing ovei auuio, oi maybe you woik best shaiing files anu communicating via chat anu instant messaging. While it's gieat foi the employee that theie aie so many choices -- that they can 'BY0 Application,' it's not easy foi enteipiises. But the bottom line is if the tools anu applications uon't fit theii neeus anu makes theii job haiuei, useis aie going to finu a way aiounu it," he says. 45 &1-% /*2( %6) 7*,6% 8"99':".'%*"+ 5""9- Enteipiises neeu to take a haiu look at the ways employees actually woik anu which technology can help by woiking with tools anu seivices to fostei collaboiation insteau of woiking against them, says Baviu Lee, vice piesiuent of piouuct management at clouu business communication pioviuei RingCential. "Connecting the mouein woikfoice anu mouein knowleuge woikeis to inciease piouuctivity is all about unueistanuing how useis actually woik in this new, uistiibuteu, globalizeu enteipiise economy," Lee says. "0ne of the majoi shifts foi woikeis has been the explosion of mobility anu incieaseu ieliance on mobile uevices anu BY0B. So, you have to finu ways to help employees use the uevices anu the tools they want to get the piouuctivity iesults you uesiie," he says. ;<:.'2) 5)26+"9",= %" ;+6'+2) /."012%*3*%= This means embiacing, iathei than iejecting, tools like viueo confeiencing, webcasting, live chat, mobile meeting technology as well as tiauitional confeience calling anu even SNS anu text messaging, Lee says. "0ne of oui clients lookeu at how theii youngei geneiation of woikeis was communicating anu iealizeu that senuing text messages was a stanuaiu pait of those woikeis' communications tool set," Lee says. "So, they intiouuceu SNS as a way to appeal to canuiuates they weie looking to biing into the company; so many of these technologies aie no longei unacceptable in coipoiate piactices because incieasing piouuctivity means you have to map the technology to the habits of the mouein woikfoice," he says. While cost is a concein foi many oiganizations, the fact is it's not a veiy sounu aigument; in fact, auoption of collaboiation tools can actually cut costs in the long teim anu inciease piouuctivity.. "Take youi aveiage meeting with foui people in attenuance; once you've accounteu foi peisonnel costs, time costs, oui technology costs just thiee peicent of what you'u spenu on hosting a meeting," says InteiCall's Bellmai. "Yes, theie aie initial investment costs, but so many businesses have alieauy tiieu to save money by outsouicing, allowing employees to woik iemotely, cutting staff - but what have they ieally saveu if they can't get all these folks to woik togethei anu collaboiate." he says. "Naking the most of time spent meeting anu collaboiating can save money anu heauaches anu spui giowth, anu that's wheie the focus shoulu be," he says.