Virtual Collaboration

Last year Jill Jorgenson, Region II, shared with us the benefits of telecommuting . At that time, it seemed telecommuting was more conducive to individuals than to regularly collaborative groups. Now Varju Luceno, writing for The National Association of Women Business Owners, explains ways to facilitate group interaction without losing the benefits and savings of telecommuting or the connectivity between team members or supervisors.

Several services exist online that allow for a selected group of users to share a workspace and interact with each other.  For example, BlueTie.com has contact lists, a calendar, to-do list creation, and most importantly, it allows the user to upload files. An account can be created for 20 users including an administrator to manage it. This is for the same cost as buying one gallon of gas each month. But this workspace can be accessed anywhere there is an Internet connection.    Want to hold a webinar or conference with the team? Then try GoTo Meeting or FreeConference.com.   And if audio isn’t enough, then try Skype for video conferencing. Some of these services will have telephone or sign up charges, but it still may be cheaper than everyone traveling to one location.

Ms. Luceno’s closing comment, “Don’t let technology enslave you. Let it free you up to work wherever you would like.” These are some ways that a business can save money, be more environmentally conscious, but without sacrificing productivity.