Every business, regardless of its size, benefits from seamless team collaboration.
Precisely because of that, sending emails is not enough to keep your employees engaged and productive.
By investing in cloud-based team communication tools, your employees will communicate in real-time, solve problems faster, and be able to work from multiple locations.
With so many employee collaboration solutions out there, we cherry-picked reliable tools your team should start using right now.
1. Slack
Slack is one of the best-known team collaboration tools. It provides essential employee communication features, including instant messaging, voice and video calls, real-time file transfers, and screen sharing.
Slack declutters your employees’ emails and makes communications transparent.
Employee conversations can be organized per team, project, or client. Team members can create new channels, as well as join or leave existing ones.
The Slack application is available on Windows, macOS, iOS, Android, Linux, as well as via the Web, letting employees communicate seamlessly.
Integrations are the most significant feature of Slack. Namely, it integrates with almost any business tool you can name, from HubSpot and Salesforce to Atlassian and Zoom.
Slack protects all team interactions. They recently introduced Enterprise Key Management , a security add-on for enterprises.
Slack’s free version allows 10k searchable messages, ten apps and integrations, and two-factor authentication. Its paid plans start at $6.67 per person monthly.
2. Workplace by Facebook
Workplace by Facebook is one of the most intuitive team collaboration tools. It uses the interface similar to the social platform, meaning that users are already familiar with it.
Instead of communicating via complicated email threads, employees can now create separate groups for each project or team. They can share data, plan projects, delegate tasks, and organize events.
Employees can also go live and add real-time captions and translations to their videos. That way, they can get real-time feedback through comments and reactions from their colleagues.
Workplace by Facebook provides integrations with multiple third-party tools for businesses, including G Suite, Office 365, Dropbox, and Salesforce. The platform is available on Windows, macOS, iOS, Android, as well as via the browser.
To use the “Essential” plan, you only need to sign up for free. Paid plans start at $4 per user/month.
3. Nextiva
According to U.S. News, Nextiva is the top-rated VoIP telephony solution for businesses . It offers a comprehensive team collaboration suite that allows you to host online meetings, schedule voice and video conferences with up to 250 participants, and share screens and files.
In other words, all team collaboration features, from IM chatting to videoconferencing, can now live happily under Nextiva’s impressively vast umbrella.
In the era of advanced cybersecurity threats, it is good to know that Nextiva’s VoIP services are safe. It protects your business data with multiple layers of security, making sure no one can intercept, open, and use it.
The “Basics” plan is free, while they charge $12.99/month for the “Professional” option. The enterprise-grade team collaboration solution starts at $99 per month.
4. Microsoft Teams
Microsoft is planning to kill off Skype for Business on July 31, 2021 .
For everyone using Skype for Business, the most logical alternative to it is Microsoft Teams.
Microsoft Teams has already won the hearts of many companies. It offers a wide array of team communication features, including instant chatting, voice and video calls, videoconferencing, screen sharing, and file sharing.
They have implemented AI to enable employees to work from anywhere, and yet, stay professional. For example, with Microsoft Teams, you can change different backgrounds, based on who you are talking to. Users can also blur their existing background, as well as decide what others can see during the video meeting.
Microsoft Teams offers integrations with a wide range of tools, from Microsoft’s productivity tools to third-party software like Trello or Wrike.
The platform is available via the internet, as well as on Windows, macOS, iOS, and Android.
To use the free plan, you only need to sign up. The annual subscription for “Business Basic” is $5 per user/month, while for “Business Standard,” it is charged $12.50 per user/month.
5. Basecamp
No matter if you are running an accounting company or providing digital marketing services, effectively managing teams and projects is essential. Keeping track of your projects, tasks, and employees via Excel Spreadsheets or email platforms is possible, but it would eat up lots of your time. Most importantly, it may confuse employees and compromise their performance.
That is why you need to invest in a reliable project management tool . And, Basecamp is one of the most popular options for you.
With Basecamp, you can split your work into projects. Each project contains everything your team needs to stay on top of their tasks. For starters, all the people involved in the project will be brought together and be able to communicate more efficiently.
Your employees will be able to create to-do lists and tasks within each project , as well as post announcements, progress updates, and project ideas on the message board. Most importantly, they can communicate and share files in real-time.
Basecamp users can also set important dates on a shared calendar to help your team stay organized. Above all, the tool offers real-time chat options for everyone to communicate faster.
Basecamp is available on Windows, Android, iOS, macOS, and its web-based platform.
Unlike Asana or Slack that charge you based on how many employees use the platform, Basecamp charges $99/per month for your entire team . No matter if your company has 10 or 100 employees, the monthly fee remains the same. That way, you will save up a lot as your business grows.
6. Chanty
Chanty is a relatively new team collaboration tool. What sets it apart from competitors is unlimited messaging history, as well as the use of artificial intelligence.
Similar to Slack, Chanty allows you to @mention colleagues to get the quick answer and share content from multiple sources in a single app.
With Chanty, you can also make audio calls and start a thread for context-based discussions.
Its Teambook brings all tasks, conversations, content, and pinned messages together in a single location. Its search functions allow you to find the desired content almost instantly.
The platform is available on Android, iOS, macOS, and Windows, as well as via the browser extension. It provides multiple integrations, including the one with Trello, Zapier, and Mailchimp.
Apart from the free plan that is available to teams with up to 10 people, Chanty also offers a business plan that starts at $3 per user/month.
7. Zoom
Since the outbreak of Coronavirus, Zoom has become one of the most popular videoconferencing tools. Only in April 2020, 300 million daily users participated in Zoom meetings .
With Zoom, you can take videoconferencing to the next level. It lets you schedule online meetings, host online conferences, share screens, and chat with your team members. You can also record calls and store them either locally or in the cloud. Moreover, with add-on features like video sharing, polls, hand raising, reactions, and filters, you will make your meetings more engaging.
You can use Zoom on multiple operating systems and devices. It also offers a browser extension. Your employees do not even need to download the app to join the meeting. All they need to do is click on the invitation link they receive via email.
Zoom’s free plan includes unlimited 1:1 meetings and 40-minute group meetings with up to 100 participants. For the “Pro” plan, you will need to pay $14.99 per host/month.
Over to You
When choosing the best collaboration tool for your team, you should not necessarily focus on its price. Instead, consider your team’s requirements, as well as your budget. The good news is that most of these team collaboration tools offer free trials. Always sign up for a free trial to test the tool and see how well it resonates with your employees.
What team communication tools do you use? Share your thoughts in comments, we are listening!
Jolene Rutherford
Jolene Rutherford is a marketing specialist – turned blogger, currently writing for technivorz.com . Interested in digital marketing and new technology trends. Love sharing content that can help and inform people.
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