8 Future Collaboration Trends & Forecasts for 2024 – A Look into What’s Next

A new version of this article, featuring the latest data and statistics, is available. Check out our report on Collaboration Software Trends for 2022/2023.

As the pandemic forced organizations to choose between adopting remote work or shutting down, rushing to set up communication and collaboration tools became the order of the day. The sudden rush of new users almost brought Zoom servers down, necessitating technology upgrades. How’s work shaping up in your own organization?

To help you engage your workforce more efficiently amid the trying times, we will be discussing what changes to collaboration efforts you should expect amid and after the pandemic. From the rise of distributed teams to the increasing use of the best collaboration software, we provide here the information you need to take your team efforts to the next level. Furthermore, we have also included some data and insights that might help you make the most out of each trend for your company.

You’ve heard it time and time again: collaboration is the key to success. But what does it mean to collaborate in the modern workplace? After all, the business landscape has changed quite a lot, so companies should be collaborating differently.

For starters, we’ve seen the growing accessibility of the Internet and the advent of social media. Moreover, with Millennials at the forefront and Gen Zers entering the workforce, we have observed a huge shift in work habits and expectations.

Modern employees no longer settle for just good compensation and benefits. They want office environments where they can learn and thrive in their careers. That said, it makes sense that most employees want workplaces that promote collaboration (43%), according to the Gensler US Workplace Survey.

This was echoed by a similar study by Capital One that revealed over 3/4 of employees perform better in collaborative work environments.

However, it is also important to note that we have an increasingly distracting workplace. To cite an example, 36% of Millennial and Gen Z employees spend at least 2 hours on their smartphones during their billable time. What’s more, most meetings nowadays are disrupted by small talk (54%) and side discussions of other projects (45%).

With these data, we can safely say that it will take a lot more than daily huddles and implementing messaging platforms to get your teams to start collaborating more effectively. So, to give you ideas, we will be tackling some collaboration trends in the workplace that might help you create a positive work culture that can improve your operations and meet the needs of your employees.

1. Asynchronous Collaboration

Before remote work, and especially before the COVID-19 pandemic, businesses would pitch a new idea and leave teams to thresh out the details among themselves. This called for brainstorming sessions and meetings that could easily take the better part of the day.

Remote work amid the pandemic makes such an arrangement impossible and impractical. Video calls or phone calls lasting hours could easily test human attention span and technology. It’s also more difficult when team members hail from different time zones. This is confirmed by Buffer’s 2020 State of Remote Work report, with 10% of the respondents saying that being in a different time zone is their biggest struggle.

A more practical approach would be to post a shared whiteboard or video where team members can share their own thoughts at their own time. The app hosting the video or whiteboard would then notify team members of the latest round of updates. Once that happens, they could then post their own reactions and comments.

At the end of the new idea’s journey is a meeting that could be arranged, taking into consideration the time zones of each team member involved. The meeting would then finalize the decision based on the exchange of ideas centered on the whiteboard or video material.

As organizations look forward to moving ahead after the pandemic, asynchronous collaboration presents a viable road to those who would choose to either remain in a remote work setup or a hybrid between on-premise and remote work.

2. Huddle Rooms

Before the pandemic, huddle rooms were all the rage. The onset of the pandemic that sent workers to their homes put a damper on this development, but perhaps temporarily. After the pandemic, huddle rooms might figure heavily in a hybrid format, where companies split their workforce between on-premise and remote workers.

Companies have been replacing cubicles with open-office floor plans since the 50s to promote employee interaction. However, recent studies have proved that open offices are doing the opposite of their intended purpose. A 2019 Workplace Survey said that over 50% of employees feel open offices only invite distractions, thus putting a damper on productivity.

To resolve this, many organizations resort to using huddle rooms. These are essentially small conference areas with audio-visual equipment where teams can gather for impromptu or scheduled meetings. Research shows that these huddle rooms simplify the organization of quick meetings (76%). These also provide privacy to confidential discussions (61%) and allow for a more focused brainstorming (61%) in distracting open office spaces.

So it only makes sense why there are now 32.4 million huddle rooms globally.

Plus, in 2020, Frost & Sullivan predicted that most (70%) video conferences would have been held in huddle rooms instead of any other type of meeting place.

Another great thing about these huddle rooms is that they don’t take up much space. They are created with low-cost, low effort installation. That said, businesses both big and small can easily benefit from this collaboration trend. With this, you can make your workers feel more included and ensure higher quality discussions sans interruptions.

3. Distributed Workforce

Even as governments strive to vaccinate their populations against COVID-19, the number of global workers permanently working remotely is estimated to double in 2021, 34.4%, up from 16.4% in 2020.

The full force of the pandemic has drastically changed work arrangements, sending distributed teams on the rise.

Distributed teams offer benefits to employees and employers alike. For workers, these options allow them the flexibility to work wherever they want and at their preferred pace. In turn, employers enjoy higher quality output from their workers.

However, the downside to distributed teams is that they make it more challenging for companies to promote collaboration among employees. In fact, according to the State of Remote Work report, 21% of companies say communication and collaboration is a huge struggle for distributed teams. After all, remote workers rarely meet each other face-to-face. In some cases, remote workers don’t even need to speak with their superiors or their fellow employees daily.

To close this gap between in-house and remote employees, many organizations are resorting to different strategies. For example, some implement multimedia conferencing so employees can still see each other face-to-face without having to meet physically. Besides, there are those that schedule “in-office” days and scheduled retreats so remote workers can get to know their fellow employees on a more personal level.

The point here is before you join the bandwagon of offering freelancing and telecommuting work options, you should first come up with a solid collaboration plan. To help you out, here are some team communication strategies for online collaboration that you might want to consider.

4. Corporate Social Networking

Social media is an integral part of day-to-day life. So much that average Internet users spend 30% of their online time on social media to connect with friends and family. However, social media’s power to bring people together is not limited to personal interactions anymore. This brings us to the next item on our list of collaboration software trends—corporate social networks.

Nowadays, many companies use social collaboration tools such as Workplace by Facebook to make team efforts more engaging. By using these platforms, employees can share documents and photos, post status updates, or even set up group chats just as they would on their social media accounts. The only difference is they’ll be focusing on work-related information.

This makes collaboration feel less of a chore and more of a social activity with their peers. What’s more, because employees are already familiar with the interface of these sites, implementing it for internal communication should be easy.

The only issue here is that there is still a generational gap when it comes to social media usage. Digital natives and immigrants have a better grasp of social media and are comfortable using it at work. Baby boomers, on the other hand, don’t have the natural inclination to use these sites as they are not familiar with them.

Roughly 30% of both Millennials and Gen Xers have used instant messaging every day for office-related purposes. Meanwhile, only 12% of baby boomers have done the same. So, if you want to leverage this strategy, you should first consult how comfortable your employees will be when it comes to using this technology.

Workplace by Facebook is a popular example of an internal social media. Companies use this to make team communication more engaging and fun.

5. Cloud-Based Communication

Legacy infrastructures are fast approaching their end of life. With the demand for workplace flexibility and operational agility, more and more businesses are switching from on-premise collaboration tools to cloud-based communications software solutions.

A study by the Synergy Research Group confirmed this after they found that online tools have surpassed legacy applications in terms of market share by a ratio of 64% to 36%.

Cloud-based communication allows your workers to get in touch with each other more conveniently. Firstly, these tools can serve as databases where employees can upload and retrieve files as quickly as possible. Secondly, it allows workers to send real-time updates on their tasks. Lastly, this lets you centralize communication between in-house and remote employees via desktop and mobile devices.

This makes it highly popular for distributed teams as well as companies with employees that travel a lot. Also, this is one of the top nonprofit collaboration trends. This is because it simplifies brainstorming for volunteers who can’t always make time to meet with fellow volunteers physically.

In case you want to take your collaborative efforts to the cloud but don’t know where to start yet, check out our guide to using online collaboration tools. With this, you should be able to get a better idea of how you can set up your online collaboration strategy.

Most Popular Collaboration Software

1. monday.com is the 2019 Webby awards winner for best productivity app and the easiest way for your team to plan, organize, and track projects.
2. Wrike lets you prioritize your assignments, monitor updates in real-time, and give timely feedback in one intuitive interface.
3. Smartsheet is an award-winning, enterprise SaaS collaboration solution for organizations, offering an innovative approach to collaborating on any project or process.
4. Slack is a messaging app that brings all your communication together in one place. It offers real-time messaging, archiving, and search for modern teams.
5. Asana is a popular task and project management tool that allows for easier team collaboration and communication.

6. Smart Meeting Rooms

The future of collaboration just got better with smart meeting rooms. From virtual assistants and interactive whiteboards to intelligent scheduling and 360-degree video cameras, there are a plethora of new technologies that you can equip your meeting rooms with now.

By having these tools at your disposal, you can do away with transcribing meetings manually or pulling data on past projects. You can even start annotating charts as you present them by using a smart stylus if you opt to use digital whiteboards. Moreover, you may choose to use IoT to connect all these techs with the rest of your system. This way, relaying information and making sure that all of your software solutions are synchronized are done as fast as possible.

You might be thinking, “Why spend money on this new equipment when you can make do with what you already have?” Well, the simple answer to that is that it’s good for employee morale, which can, in turn, drive better collaboration.

According to a study by Clutch, 66% of workers say technology will create new opportunities.

Moreover, technology positively affects employee satisfaction. With these facts, you can rest assured that investing in smart meeting rooms is money well spent in the long run.

7. VR and AR Adoption

If you’ve seen enough sci-fi movies, then you’ve probably tried to imagine what it would be like to have their tech in real life. At some point, you might have wanted to immerse yourself in a fictional world as they did in “Ready Player One.” Perhaps you would have wanted to manipulate digital displays like Tony Stark in “Iron Man.”

While we might not have technologies advanced enough to do all of that, the good news is that modern breakthroughs are slowly making these possible. Moreover, the virtual reality and augmented reality techs that we have on the market now are advanced enough to reinforce collaboration efforts.

These are the game-changers in current collaboration market trends. These help you avoid the risk of getting lost in translation while collaborating online. Simply put, you no longer have to worry about your signals getting crossed or your ideas getting muddled.

With these at your disposal, you can facilitate more immersive online conferences with your team. What’s more, it will allow you to create virtual spaces where you and your teammates can visualize ideas more clearly. For example, interior designers can create a 3D mock-up of the space they want to design and simultaneously modify their designs. Similarly, engineers can use 3D imaging to get a more accurate sense of robotics projects.

One thing to note, however, is that there are still plenty of kinks that developers need to work out before perfecting these technologies. According to a recent survey, the biggest obstacle to VR/AR adoption is user experience. They believe the hardware for this tech is too bulky at the moment and there are still too many technical glitches. That said, you should set your expectations accordingly should you choose to purchase one.

8. AI and Machine Learning for Collaboration

Last but not least on our list of collaboration industry trends is the use of artificial intelligence and machine learning. McKinsey’s State of AI report in 2020 indicates that among respondents, 50% say that their companies have adopted AI in at least one business function.

These technologies include but are not limited to voice assistants with specialized roles, predictive filtering systems for notifications, and CoBots that can interact with humans to optimize processes. Using these, you can automate mundane tasks that come with collaborative efforts. From analyzing opportunities for collaboration to simplifying the appointment scheduling, these can help you make the most out of your productive hours. Moreover, these can help you and your team focus more on brainstorming rather than handling back-office tasks.

However, just keep in mind that AI and machine learning leverage data. Meaning, these could leave you vulnerable to cyber attacks or data abuse. That said, you might want to equip yourself with good IT security platforms to protect your confidential company data.

How to Foster a Collaborative Company Culture?

Creating a collaborative company culture is essential for enhancing teamwork, boosting morale, and improving overall productivity. Here are some effective strategies to foster such an environment:

• Encourage Open Communication: Promote transparency by encouraging employees to share ideas, feedback, and concerns. Utilize tools like suggestion boxes, regular meetings, and open-door policies to facilitate dialogue.
• Emphasize Team Goals: Shift the focus from individual achievements to team objectives. Clearly define team goals and celebrate collective successes to strengthen unity and purpose among team members.
• Provide Collaborative Tools: Equip teams with collaboration software and tools that streamline communication and project management. Platforms like Slack, Trello, and Microsoft Teams can enhance workflow and keep everyone connected.
• Create Collaborative Spaces: Design physical and virtual spaces that encourage teamwork. Open office layouts, breakout rooms, and online forums can facilitate spontaneous interactions and brainstorming sessions.
• Encourage Diverse Teams: Build teams with diverse backgrounds, skills, and perspectives. Diversity can lead to more innovative solutions and better decision-making, enhancing collaboration.
• Offer Training and Development: Provide training on collaboration skills, such as conflict resolution, effective communication, and team dynamics. Continuous learning fosters an environment where collaboration is valued and developed.
• Lead by Example: Leaders should model collaborative behavior by actively engaging with teams and demonstrating the value of teamwork. When leaders prioritize collaboration, it sets a tone for the entire organization.
• Recognize and Reward Collaboration: Acknowledge and reward collaborative efforts through recognition programs or incentives. Highlighting teamwork can motivate employees to work together and contribute to a collaborative culture.

Make the Most Out of Your Collaboration Efforts

As the pandemic rages on, building a collaborative environment fit for the next-gen workforce is the only way to go for organizations. As you have read in our article, improving collaboration efforts can be as simple as providing employees with a private room for brainstorming. But, it could also be as complex as using augmented reality for project visualization. But most of the time, it means using new communication platforms and technologies to unify distributed teams.

The only point here is that you will need to have a firm grasp of current collaboration trends and technology shifts. By doing so, it will be easier to pinpoint what collaboration strategies will work best for you and your team.

To sum up, we hope that you were able to determine how you can make the most out of your collaborative efforts. Moreover, we hope this was able to give you an idea of what matters most to your organization amid the pandemic.

If you’d like to learn more about how other companies are collaborating, feel free to check out our list of online collaboration statistics. This should give you in-depth data and insights on the state of collaboration today.

Key Insights

• Asynchronous Collaboration
  • Allows team members to contribute on their own time, essential for teams spread across different time zones.
  • Reduces the need for long meetings, promoting efficient use of time and resources.
  • Facilitates a more thoughtful exchange of ideas through shared whiteboards and video updates.
• Huddle Rooms
  • Provide privacy and focus in otherwise distracting open office environments.
  • Simplify the setup for quick, impromptu meetings, enhancing overall productivity.
  • Offer a cost-effective solution for both small and large businesses to improve team collaboration.
• Distributed Workforce
  • Remote work is becoming increasingly permanent, with a significant rise in remote workers post-pandemic.
  • Effective communication strategies, including multimedia conferencing and scheduled in-person interactions, are crucial for maintaining collaboration.
  • Flexibility in work locations and schedules leads to higher quality output from employees.
• Corporate Social Networking
  • Utilizes familiar social media interfaces to make workplace collaboration more engaging.
  • Bridges the gap between different generations in the workplace, with younger employees more comfortable using these platforms.
  • Encourages a more social and interactive approach to team communication and project management.
• Cloud-Based Communication
  • Enables real-time updates and easy access to shared files, enhancing coordination and efficiency.
  • Supports both in-house and remote teams, making it ideal for distributed workforces and organizations with frequent travelers.
  • Centralizes communication, making it easier to manage and retrieve important information.
• Smart Meeting Rooms
  • Incorporate advanced technologies like virtual assistants, interactive whiteboards, and intelligent scheduling.
  • Improve meeting efficiency through automated note-taking and streamlined information sharing.
  • Enhance employee morale and satisfaction by providing modern, tech-powered collaboration environments.
• VR and AR Adoption
  • Facilitate immersive online conferences and virtual collaboration spaces.
  • Allow for more accurate visualization of projects, benefiting industries like design and engineering.
  • Face current challenges with user experience and hardware limitations, but offer promising future potential.
• AI and Machine Learning for Collaboration
  • Automate routine tasks, freeing up time for more strategic and creative work.
  • Enhance productivity by optimizing collaborative processes and improving task management.
  • Require robust IT security measures to protect sensitive data from cyber threats.

FAQ

1. What is asynchronous collaboration, and why is it important? Asynchronous collaboration allows team members to work on their tasks at their own pace and time, rather than having to work simultaneously. This approach is particularly beneficial for remote teams spread across different time zones, as it reduces the need for long, synchronous meetings and promotes a more thoughtful exchange of ideas.
2. How do huddle rooms improve workplace collaboration? Huddle rooms provide small, private spaces equipped with audio-visual tools where teams can hold quick, focused meetings. These rooms help reduce the distractions of open office environments, facilitate impromptu discussions, and are cost-effective to set up, making them a valuable asset for improving team collaboration and productivity.
3. What challenges do distributed workforces face, and how can they be addressed? Distributed workforces often struggle with communication and collaboration due to the lack of face-to-face interaction. To address these challenges, companies can implement multimedia conferencing tools, schedule regular virtual and in-person meetings, and create robust communication strategies that ensure all team members stay connected and engaged.
4. How does corporate social networking enhance team collaboration? Corporate social networking uses familiar social media interfaces to make workplace communication more engaging and interactive. These platforms allow employees to share updates, documents, and group chats, creating a more social and less formal approach to collaboration. This can bridge generational gaps and make internal communication more efficient and enjoyable.
5. What are the benefits of cloud-based communication for remote teams? Cloud-based communication tools offer several benefits for remote teams, including real-time updates, easy file sharing, and centralized communication accessible from any device. These tools enhance coordination and efficiency, making it easier for distributed teams to stay connected and manage tasks effectively, regardless of their physical location.
6. Why should companies invest in smart meeting rooms? Smart meeting rooms equipped with advanced technologies like virtual assistants, interactive whiteboards, and intelligent scheduling tools can significantly enhance meeting efficiency and employee morale. These technologies streamline the meeting process, automate routine tasks, and provide a modern, tech-savvy environment that fosters better collaboration and productivity.
7. What are the current limitations of VR and AR in workplace collaboration? While VR and AR technologies offer immersive collaboration experiences, they currently face limitations such as bulky hardware, technical glitches, and user experience challenges. Despite these obstacles, these technologies have great potential to enhance remote collaboration and project visualization as they continue to evolve and improve.
8. How can AI and machine learning optimize collaboration efforts? AI and machine learning can optimize collaboration by automating repetitive tasks, analyzing collaboration opportunities, and streamlining processes like appointment scheduling. These technologies free up time for more strategic activities, enhance productivity, and ensure that collaborative efforts are as efficient and effective as possible. However, robust IT security measures are necessary to protect sensitive data from cyber threats.

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By Stephanie Seymour

Stephanie Seymour is a senior business analyst and one of the crucial members of the FinancesOnline research team. She is a leading expert in the field of business intelligence and data science. She specializes in visual data discovery, cloud-based BI solutions, and big data analytics. She’s fascinated by how companies dealing with big data are increasingly embracing cloud business intelligence. In her software reviews, she always focuses on the aspects that let users share analytics and enhance findings with context.