Five Team Communication Tools Your Workplace Needs

By Nai Kanell
Director of Marketing
SpaceIQ

Collaboration is important in the workplace. It’s about more than booking a conference room and talking through a project. Today’s successful businesses use a slew of team communication tools to get work done. Whether it’s chatting, real-time collaboration, or delegating, there are myriad ways to get on the same page and stay there.

As the workplace has become more robust, so have communication tools. Thanks to the cloud, it’s possible to collaborate with someone halfway around the world as easily as if they were sitting next to you. It’s about more than just chatting, too. Good communication involves visuals, accessibility, and multiple sharing modes.

Looking for better team communication tools in your workplace? Check out five of the best options available today and why they’re loved by businesses big and small:

1. Slack

Slack is a powerful leader in the world of workplace communications. The platform has more than 10 million daily active users, sending billions of messages every day. Slack’s robust collaboration tools allow users to organize projects by hashtag, message users directly, and integrate thousands of other services.

Slack’s team communication software is incredibly intuitive and organized. Create project channels using a hashtag for organization, like #quarterlyfinances or #sales. Then, invite users to collaborate in channels for an on-topic discussion.

Through integrations you can do just about anything in Slack, from taking polls to automatically scheduling events. If you’re using SpaceIQ, our Slack plugin provides instant access to an employee directory and enables room booking with a single message.

2. Dropbox

Most businesses already use the cloud to share files too large to send via email. Dropbox takes it a step further by providing enhanced organization and superior collaboration. More than 300,000 businesses use Dropbox’s essential team communication apps for project collaboration and communication.

Dropbox’s features include accessibility on virtually any computing device, chat support, and robust file accessibility options. Upload project files, invite applicable team members, set permissions, and get to work. Dropbox is great for internal collaboration, as well as communication with contractors, partners, and clients. It also syncs with hundreds of thousands of connected apps to make collaboration even easier.

3. Google Docs

Nothing beats Google’s G Suite ecosystem for seamless collaboration. Google Docs and Sheets are the gold standard for real-time communication and collaboration. Few team communication platforms are as easy-to-use or as well-integrated as Google.

The best part about Google Docs is how ubiquitous it is. Gmail is the largest email platform in the world with 1.4 billion users—and each Gmail account comes equipped with G Suite apps like Google Docs and Sheets. Gmail users can collaborate in seconds.

Google Docs are perfect for mobile teams and decentralized workplaces. A person at the office can upload a document and grant access to their team. A collaborator in a coffee shop can make edits, while someone on the train can view them in real-time. With broad export capabilities and rigid sharing permissions, it’s easy to make any document a collaborative one.

4. Trello

Project planning requires a ton of communication by team members. There’s a reason there are so many iterations of project-based team communication software out there. At the top of the list for many businesses is Trello.

Trello takes the proven organization structure of a project board and digitizes it. Create cards for various tasks, add details, put them into a workflow, and move everything along as the project progresses—it’s that simple. Where Trello really shines is through its communication features. Project managers can assign employees to different tasks and chat individually about them for optimal organization. Update and roundup emails keep everyone on the same page throughout the duration of a project. And, like most modern platforms, hashtags and @tags make collaboration simple.

More than 25 million users have signed up for Trello, using it for everything from lead conversion to workflow management. For companies with lots of projects delegated across many teams, Trello is an invaluable management tool and a superb piece of communication software.

5. Zoom Conferencing

Traditional team communication tools revolve around text-based messaging. But every modern business knows that video is the way of the future. It’s why more than 65,000 organizations use Zoom Conferencing products and more than 40 million video chats have taken place since the company was founded in 2011.

Zoom takes video conferencing up a notch with an array of robust tools. Not only can employees chat one-on-one in high definition from any camera-enabled device, they can also participate in “Zoom Rooms” with dozens of other collaborators. In just minutes, your entire team can be on screen chatting, no matter where they are in the world.

Zoom also has a built-in messaging system for public and private sharing of text and pictures. The platform is also profile-oriented, so other users can see if you’re available, away, or busy.

Take team collaboration to new heights

Whether it’s via text, video, document collaboration, or project planning, the secret to seamless communication is providing the right platforms. The five options above provide a dynamic foundation for team collaboration and communication.

Keep reading: 10 mobile employee apps that increase productivity and lower stress.