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by Aware
Nonprofit organizations work hard to address the problems that plague our world, whether it be local or global. However, solving complex community issues also brings with it an array of complex challenges in terms of effective communication and collaboration. These include:
Variety of Partners
On a daily basis, nonprofits deal with board members, volunteers, donors, partnering agencies and other outside contractors. Due to the large number of third-party contributors, many charitable organizations have a hard time finding the right platform to work on and create in a collective, communication based setting that fits the needs and skillsets of everyone involved.
Large Geographic Reach
As organizations grow, many aspire to scale their geographic reach. Having such a regional, national, or even global reach is excellent for progressing a cause, but it can also make it difficult for employees to communicate with one another when barriers such as time zones prevent fast and reliable communication.
Limited Resources
With as telling of a name as “nonprofit,” it’s no shock that many organizations have a limited number of resources. Many of the institutions fighting the injustices we see afflicting our communities often lack the necessary budgets, manpower and supplies to fully serve in the way they intend.
The Potential of Digital Collaboration for NonProfits
Digital collaboration is the use of technology to communicate through cloud based programs, instantly connecting members to provide a more efficient and faster conversation. Tools like Microsoft Teams, Workplace by Facebook and Yammer have launched over the past decade to fulfill this need.
Communicating through collaboration platforms with threaded conversational capabilities allow teams to interact with each other efficiently and effectively no matter where they are in the world.
Unfortunately, overflowing inboxes have become a norm. The average person spends 28% of the workweek reading and responding to email. Collaboration tools offer a solution to this antiquated system.
With the integration of collaboration tools, large enterprises are seeing huge increases in their employees’ productivity and time. 73% of employees using digital tools reported a positive impact to their productivity and 70% cited improved collaboration.
And now, thanks to Workplace by Facebook, nonprofits can implement digital collaboration without the obstacle of expense. Workplace for Good is a free version of Workplace by Facebook for nonprofit and educational institutions.
Be Intentional in Your Collaboration Tool Rollout
If your not-for-profit organization is investigating a digital workplace initiative rollout, effective change management is key. One of the best ways to manage that change, and potential human behavior risk (such as insider threats or inappropriate workplace behavior) is to pair the rollout with a monitoring solution.
Employee listening is nothing new in the workplace and when it comes to rolling out new technology, a digital collaboration platform should be no exception. That’s why our team at Wiretap created the Aware Signal Module.
Oxfam, an international confederation of 20 independent organizations focused on ending global poverty, recently partnered with both Workplace by Facebook and Wiretap to roll out their digital collaboration program.
“Workplace has been pretty epic. It’s so agnostic to where you are in the world or which IT system you come from. You come in with the same voice. And that’s very empowering for staff, to be in these spaces together as equals.” Diana Langley, Digital Workplace Manager at Oxfam
Roll Out Digital Collaboration Tools The Right Way
This might seem like a monumental task, but by ensuring that you take the right steps towards integrating the collaboration tool your company decides on, the transition to a new program should be seamless for your organization.
From engaging and educating your employees on the platform from the beginning of your rollout, to establishing leaders within your organization to help leverage the adoption with the rest of your staff, this guide can provide answers to common challenges your organization might face during the collaboration adoption process.
We’ve outlined an adoption readiness plan with a different spin.
Laying out the 6 E’s of Success for Collaboration Adoption, you’ll have all the tools you need to accomplish your collaboration goals.
