The Working World 4.0 in the Context of Online and Social Collaboration

Online and social collaboration tools make the working world 4.0 possible: work in a mobile, location, and time independent manner. More and more employees are demanding this kind of independence, which has been shown to have positive effects. The increased employer attractivity reduces fluctuation and increases employee productivity and satisfaction. Furthermore, these tools sustainably reduce travel times and expenses. Typical uses for online and social collaboration include:

• Online meetings: Meetings can be moved simply and cheaply into virtual spaces. This forms the cornerstone for remote work, reducing travel times and speeding up decisions.
• Marketing webinars: Marketing events can be virtualised to attract new prospects and introduce existing customers to new products and solutions.
• Training webinars: Conduct internal trainings in an effective and efficient manner.

Social collaboration is a platform for working together and networking employees, partners, and customers. When social collaboration is an integral part of day-to-day work, it opens up new communication possibilities. It becomes easy to pass along and share information, no matter where people happen to be. This reduces the amount of email traffic in a company significantly, making work together more effective and efficient.

Rapid changes to technology for online and social collaboration present companies with numerous challenges. To meet these challenges, those responsible have to approach them as interdisciplinary change management projects, not merely IT projects. Plan the change process strategically and transparently to profit from the many advantages of the working world 4.0.