A Shared Common Digital Workspace  is a new concept that allows both traditional and hybrid teams to streamline their work management by connecting employees, clients and external collaborators in any location, and allowing project, task and work management to be streamlined, audited and centrally controlled.

So what are some of the challenges that a Shared Common Digital Workspace is solving?

The proliferation of apps that makes things easier to do has meant teams in many organisations are using multiple apps to do the same work. For example, it is not uncommon for a team to be using WhatsApp, Slack, Teams and other chat apps to do instant messaging. In addition, they’d also have correspondence taking pace on their email apps. They’ll also have file sharing platforms such as Dropbox, SharePoint, Google etc. What all this boils down to is their work is typically spread across multiple apps – so they are constantly flipping between apps searching for the next piece of information they need to do their work.

A Shared Common Digital Workspace helps solve the above challenges by bringing all their work onto one digital workspace, thus simplifying the way you work. The most advanced of of this type of solution would include the following components;

• Zero-Code Workflow Automation  
• Project Management
• Approval Process
• Version Control
• Knowledge Hub

So how does a typical Shared Common Digital Workspace work in practice?

In any typical business, work to be completed will comprise multiple stages, with multiple tasks performed at each stage by different people. A Shared Common Digital Workspace solution will enable you to create a Workflow with the stages defined and then the tasks assigned to individuals within the team and beyond. For example, they may require the client to check and give feedback once it has reached a certain stage and when finalised, to give approval for sign-off. 

Another example within the same scenario would be for the client to check the specifications document. They may amend the original and the team and all other stakeholders should be alerted to the amended version in real-time. This process may repeat multiple times before it is finally approved, having gone through multiple revisions. The Shared Common Digital Workspace solution should be able to show all the versions together in one place, including the audit trail in a simple easy to consume summary form.

Another feature of the Shared Common Digital Workspace solution would be to allow commentary/feedback to be attached to an Asset e.g. a graphic file/image/video, Task, Project. Each instance should have its own separate thread enabling conversations to be trackable, specific to any of these elements within a particular workflow/project.

When the work is completed, all the assets belonging to that piece of work i.e. project should be automatically tagged and added to the Knowledge Hub. This will allow the finished articles, whether they be documents, images, videos i.e. any digital asset in other words, to be made accessible to others within the organisation as well as external stakeholders such as clients, partners, agents etc. 

So what are the benefits of a Shared Common Digital Workspace?

By adopting and implementing a Shared Common Digital Workspace solution in an organisation, you should expect the following benefits.

• Improve sharing/collaboration within not just internal teams but also external stakeholders such as clients, agents, partners etc.
• Have real-time view of the status of each piece of work thus avoiding having regular catch up meetings.
• Encourages best practice in all instances and helps enforce regulatory compliance.
• Help promote inclusivity by bringing everyone together within one shared workspace.
• Help improve productivity and efficiency across the whole organisation.
• Reduce operational costs and increase performance.
• Maintain a Single Source of Truth by having all your information together in one place, a Knowledge Hub.
• Improve the speed with which you can on-board a new member of the team.

Any organisation looking to improve performance and productivity, should invest in a shared Shared Common Digital Workspace. As it will not only provide knowledge sharing and collaboration in new innovative ways, it will also provide you with the full visibility you need to run an organisation in the 21st century.