5 ways work management boosts collaboration in our work-from-anywhere world

Keeping teams connected, collaborating, and focused on the right work through a global pandemic has companies more reliant on digital communication tools than ever—tools that were designed to make remote work easier, but can actually complicate work.

Silos, a lack of structured communication, and ensuring all team members are pulling in the same direction toward the same goals, for example, are big issues in our new way of working. And having a multitude of applications for each workstream without full visibility across all of them can significantly hinder productivity and collaboration on work that’s most important to the business.

This is where work management technology comes in, enabling organizations to streamline and consolidate their systems and tools so employees can work in their favorite applications and see how their work ladders to company goals—while giving management clear visibility into work across all aspects of the business.

See why Forrester named Workfront a Leader in The Forrester Wave™: Collaborative Work Management Tools, Q4 2020

Here are five ways work management technology optimizes digital work, collaboration, and productivity in today’s work-from-anywhere world:

1. Integrates multiple tools.

Work management technology provides a single platform for all work that integrates disparate software and applications across the business. It serves as an operational system of record for work, much like a CRM serves as a system of record for customers. It enables people to continue using their preferred tools or applications, while improving visibility, collaboration, and coordination of work across teams and departments.

2. Aligns work to goals.

Work management technology connects people, data, processes, and tools, enabling companies to fully track, manage, and orchestrate work—and make data-driven decisions to optimize work across the company. It keeps everyone’s work aligned to the company’s goals, giving employees context to the work they are doing in their isolated home offices and connects it to the work of their colleagues. Clarifying the purpose and meaning behind everyone’s work gives people a greater sense of fulfillment and boosts engagement and productivity.

3. Improves management visibility.

Work management technology gives executives working from anywhere vital visibility and insights into all work going on across the organization. It gives them real-time information on the progress of every workstream, enabling them to plan, prioritize, compare what-if scenarios, and make smart, data-driven decisions quickly. Less time spent asking, “What are you working on?” and more time empowering teams to work with clarity, autonomy, and focus.

4. Makes work a strategic asset.

A global pandemic made the case for treating work as a business-critical, strategic tier one asset. Business must take a strategic approach to managing work—the same way they manage finance, customers, and human resources. Work management technology is the foundation for working strategically—it connects all facets of work, enables seamless collaboration, and ensures everyone stays focused on the right work.

5. Enhances the digital work experience.

The digital work experience matters—especially now. Today’s workforce expects modern, integrated, effective technology that makes it easy to collaborate from anywhere and do their best work. Without the right technology in place that connects people seamlessly, acts as a central nervous system for work, and enables rapid feedback, your top performers are increasingly likely to seek organizations that do. Bonus: empowering your people with the right technology improves digital experiences for employees and customers alike.

Work management technology will continue to play an increasingly important role reshaping how digital work gets done by enabling today’s virtual workforces to prioritize work that matters—and collaborate from anywhere to do it.