Ways of working have changed considerably in the past five years, which has also meant how colleagues collaborate with each other has changed too – and this can pose problems, as Zoom’s Global Collaboration in the Workplace report lays clear. But there are solutions too.
How many traditionally office-based people work has changed markedly in the past five years. Alongside the rise of hybrid working there has been the rapid development and adoption of project management software and collaboration apps.
These changes in working practices have also altered how people collaborate with each other. Not as much is now done via in-person meetings or just talking with colleagues at desks. Often, collaboration is done virtually through apps such as Slack, Trello and WhatsApp. But while these new ways of working bring advantages, they also bring problems.
More than a third of business leaders say they lose more than an hour daily resolving problems caused by poor teamwork, according to Zoom’s Global Collaboration in the Workplace report. Zoom’s data show that poor teamwork can result in a productivity loss that could cost more than £12,000 per manager per year – something that can be ill afforded, especially for small- and medium-sized businesses.
With effective collaboration crucial to success in business, this is a problem that needs to be addressed, and there are no easy solutions. While some companies are pushing for a return to people working in the office from 9am to 5pm Monday to Friday, there is resistance, for instance with leaders and employees say in-person meetings are their least preferred method of collaboration, favouring instant messaging instead, as Zoom’s Global Collaboration in the Workplace report, conducted by research agency Morning Consult, found.
‘Bad collaboration’
In Zoom’s report, respondents referred to ‘bad collaboration’, which, in essence, is a collective term that leaders and employees used to define the challenges and barriers they encountered that made it difficult for them to collaborate. This included difficulty finding time on others’ schedules to connect, not receiving responses from colleagues in a timely manner and not having enough time between meetings or chats to get things done.
These ‘bad collaboration’ moments resulted in about one third of workforces experiencing misunderstandings in communication with teammates leaders, or a lack of alignment between or within teams or a lack of engagement or inattentiveness from colleagues. More than one-third of leaders reported spending an hour or more a day resolving four distinct issues related to bad collaboration, and those costs are absorbed by organisations unless they are addressed.
Zoom’s research found that Generation X, Millennials and Gen Z leaders prefer non-face-to-face collaboration, such as instant messaging and project management software, while Boomers still lean towards in-person meetings.
Christina Daly, head of people experience at Zoom, notes that Zoom is addressing these preferences. “This is by continuously innovating and enhancing our instant messaging and chat experience,” she says. “These tools enable quick responses and facilitate organised, efficient knowledge-sharing, both of which are essential in today’s fast-paced work environment.”
She adds that artificial intelligence (AI) plays a crucial role. “It can streamline one-on-one and team chats by suggesting relevant information, summarising conversations, and highlighting key insights,” she explains. “This makes it easier for everyone to stay aligned without the need for constant in-person interaction.
“For example, Zoom Tasks converts conversations across meetings, calls and chats into actionable to-dos. By turning information from various communication channels into tasks, teams can keep projects moving forward seamlessly, reducing the need for repetitive back-and-forth.
“At Zoom, our tools are crafted to be sophisticated enough for effective collaboration and workflow management, meaning collaboration can happen at any pace, and ensuring our in-person time is of maximum value.”
More apps = more challenges
Another finding from the report was that teams that use more than 10 apps are twice as likely to spend an hour or more resolving collaboration issues than those who use fewer than five apps.
Different apps and tools may promise greater productivity and time savings, but organisations should be cautious of app overload or introducing greater complexity into employees’ day-to day workflows. As the number of tools and apps increases, so does the likelihood of experiencing challenges with collaboration. Leaders who use more than 10 apps were up to 15% more likely than those who used fewer apps to experience consequences related to ineffective collaboration. More than one-third of leaders who use more than 10 apps reported experiencing these issues. The more tools leaders used, the more likely they were to experience collaboration issues.
“Hybrid has become the norm in the working world, and we therefore need to be more mindful of the holistic employee experience,” notes Christina. “Businesses can and should consolidate tools into a unified platform to help with managing digital overload.
“An integrated solution like Zoom Workplace combines everything from booking a physical workspace, messaging in channels or chats, document sharing, project tracking, video collaboration calls, the ability to nurture company culture and communicate through Workvivo, and allows for seamless third-party integration, minimising the need to juggle multiple apps.
“Zoom Workplace is designed to support diverse work styles and collaboration preferences, catering to dispersed hybrid teams and supporting office experience. By streamlining tools into one platform, companies can make collaboration smoother and offer parity of experience across hybrid teams.”
Alleviation solutions
Zoom’s research shows how long leaders can spend on collaboration challenges, but there are ways that this time can be reduced. One way to do this is through using AI and automation solutions more effectively.
For example, AI can save time by composing content and summarising meeting points, thereby allowing people to be more selective about which meetings require in-person attendance and assist personnel catching up on meetings they choose not to attend. Automating follow-ups with direct reports or using AI to help compose simple follow-up messages can also help leaders free up more time in their schedules.
Those who use AI are more likely than non-AI users to see the benefits of asynchronous forms of collaboration and to have their productivity criteria met when collaborating.
Zoom is harnessing the power of AI to boost collaboration in the workplace. “With the recent launch of AI Companion 2.0, Zoom takes collaboration to the next level by integrating powerful AI-driven features that empower teams to work smarter, focus on meaningful tasks and strengthen connections with colleagues,” says Christina.
“In meetings, AI Companion 2.0 provides live support, summarising discussions in real-time and offering insights to clarify topics or actions. This is particularly helpful in large meetings, where users can ask context-specific questions like, “What was decided about project deadlines?” and even receive follow-up actions directly in Zoom Tasks as well as a post-meet summary sent directly to you.
“For employees catching up on work, AI Companion 2.0’s ability to summarise unread messages and generate action items across Zoom Docs – which can be worked on during meetings – and Team Chat saves time and minimises app-switching. Now accessible through a side panel within Zoom Workplace, AI Companion 2.0 includes advanced features to enrich context and consolidate information. It can even pull data from the web, delivering precise answers to specific questions.
“Beyond meetings, AI Companion 2.0 can also kickstart content creation, generating drafts for documents and project outlines by gathering relevant information from integrated tools. These capabilities streamline collaboration, enabling employees to focus on high-value, creative work rather than getting bogged down by logistics.”
But while AI is making an impact, currently AI-based solutions are more likely to be used by managers than employees. “Leaders often adopt AI more swiftly than their teams because they have a clearer view of its potential to streamline workflows and enhance productivity across various processes and products,” explains Christina. “They tend to be more familiar with AI’s benefits and may have access to tools that are not yet available to everyone in the organisation.”
Christina adds that by fostering a growth mindset, leaders can encourage broader AI adoption among their employees. “This involves making tools accessible to all and providing learning opportunities through education and training that highlights specific, practical applications,” she adds.
“Building confidence is crucial; when employees understand how AI enhances efficiency and effectiveness for them and their time, they are more likely to embrace than fear it. By normalising AI’s role and cultivating a supportive learning environment, leaders can empower their teams to enjoy the same productivity benefits they experience. At Zoom, we integrate AI throughout our workplace suite to ensure all employees can benefit from these tools.”
The bottom line
As Zoom’s report shows, poor collaboration through wasted time and disengaged employees can cost businesses money – which can be ill-afforded in what are still largely tough market conditions for many.
But, by utilising certain tools and harnessing AI can help to address those issues and enable leaders and employees be more efficient with their time and more satisfied with the results of their teamwork – leading to better outcomes for the business and, as a result, a stronger bottom line.