Startups Need Digital Workplaces
How you organize your work matters and startups require digital workplaces as much as they require face-to-face networks. Most entrepreneurs have the digital dexterity to manage their workflow whether in-house or remotely, but managing an entire team’s workflow requires multiple tools. The next-generation of project management requires digital workplace tools that support your physical workplace.
For early-stage startups, tools that facilitate collaboration and team building are crucial to success even if the startup does not yet have a physical location. Having a digital workplace gives a team continuity from day one and allows for the transition to a physical location and workforce as the startup scales. There are various tools on the market responding to this need, but they break down into two main camps: project management and community building tools.
COMMUNITY BUILDING APPLICATIONS
Many startups choose to launch from a coworking space which can be an excellent place for networking outside your team while helping you meet like-minded people. It is important to have a designated space for your team that facilitates community building and a workplace culture that is reflective of business objectives.
Though a coworking space might put the right developer or copywriter in front of your team, the best people for the job may also not live in the same country– much less the same building. Having a digital “water cooler” or social space that’s already a normalized part of workplace culture will help onboard new employees prior to a relocation or help a remote worker integrate with the team. The most popular tool for this is Slack, and its competitors Wrike, Stride, and Mattermost, which are real-time messaging platforms that provide direct communication for groups or between individuals — find one that suits your business needs and budget. Skype can be a great tool for communication and meetings and is available for free on a wide range of platforms. When leveraged optimally, a digital common-space will help team cohesion, communication, and establish an integrated workplace culture.
PROJECT MANAGEMENT APPLICATIONS
A successful startup needs a tool that allows the team to seamlessly coordinate workflows, encouraging agile and responsive work practices. Collaborative work management applications, like Asana, help with both the implementation process and enabling team engagement– regardless of team member location or time zone.
Asana is the biggest player in this space but there’s a range of solutions to fit a startup’s needs. Inc. collected nine project management tools for instance that have been utilized by some of the most recognizable startups. The goal with project management apps is to make an actionable organizational strategy accessible to the entire team. This sets clear expectations that will help not only with implementation and accountability but also with both planning and evaluation of events and product launches. Each component of a complicated process can be broken down as an individual task to specific employees, making the responsibility transparent to everyone on the team. This increased transparency empowers the whole team to set individual priorities in the context of collective workflows.
BOTH SOLVE DISTRIBUTED WORKFORCE NEEDS
For an entrepreneur, collaboration with skilled workers builds a strong team, and increasingly this means having a distributed workforce. Regardless of whether the distributed workforce is required to be in different physical locations simultaneously or to suit freelance and remote workers’ needs– having the right tools to keep the team cohesive, and on-task makes all the difference. Building applications for digital management and communication into a startup’s DNA offer opportunities for relationship building in addition to streamlined communication.
Down the line, utilizing communication and collaboration platforms can also help with onboarding new team members once the startup is in a growth phase. Having clear and well-organized documentation will help new team members get up to speed. Good tools will sort the most relevant items first and then team members can familiarize themselves as they see fit, and understand the entire process across all growth phases.
An overview can’t replace the hands-on knowledge so trial applications and see how they respond to a specific team’s needs. Full disclosure, our team uses Asana so we might be a bit biased. However, the eLab cohort will work with mentors who have experience with a comprehensive range of project management solutions and techniques that they’ve used in their startups — speak to them about which tools will meet your needs. Let the right tools be the building blocks to your startup’s success.
By Claudia Limbach
