Quick Ways to Collaborate Better with G-Suite

There are many ways that Google is improving on the G-Suite range of productivity tools lately to make the solution more compelling to enterprises. Over the last few months, we've seen updates to everything from grammar and spell-checking services, to new fonts on Google Docs and Sheets. 

However, despite the regular updates made to the G-Suite environment, there are still plenty of companies out there that fail to get the most out of their G-Suite experience. If you're one of the many brands that are still just sticking to Gmail and calendar for collaboration purposes, here are some of the quick and easy ways you can upgrade your collaborative experience.

1. Get the Timing Right on Gmail

Google has delivered a host of new updates to Gmail recently, including the arrival of things like intelligent spellcheck to reduce your risk of embarrassing typos. However, there are other features that can make it easier to collaborate on Gmail too. For instance, scheduled send is a feature that allows you to set a specific time and date for an email. This is great when you need to follow up on a previous communication (without looking too eager). 

You can also add context to your conversations by including a link to any relevant documents you have to send with a message too. This is particularly beneficial if you're sending a message to invite someone to a meeting that you'll schedule on Google Calendar. The message, with the calendar invite will come attached with any documents you need to cover in that conference, so you can spend less time searching for the content you need.

2. Make the Most of Google Shared Drives

For people to collaborate efficiently in the digital environment, they need access to the right information. Moving files from your server into the Google Drive is a great way to improve your chances of some quick and efficient meetings in the future. With Shared Drives, businesses can create shared folders were items belong specifically to the Shared Drive, rather than just one single person. What's more, with Google Drive File Stream, you can also install laptop and desktop folders that make it easier to access the files you need on a desktop system when cloud-based tools aren't available too. 

The great thing about sharing files and documents with Google, is that you're not limited on the kind of software you can use. There's access to real-time presence in Microsoft Office apps, so you can see when other people are using a file. Additionally, it's possible to upload the files you need to share with your team directly from a Microsoft Office document into the Google G-Suite environment. 

3. Check Out Hangouts Meet

Hangouts Meet is an excellent addition to your productivity portfolio if you're looking for a quick way to upgrade your collaboration potential in the G-Suite. For the time being, Hangouts is still one of the apps that is widely under-utilized in the G-Suite portfolio. It's failed to gain a lot of the popularity and attention given to similar apps like Slack and Microsoft Teams, even though it offers many of the same features, including screen sharing, video conferencing, and audio calls. 

The good news is that Google is working on making Hangouts even more attractive for today's companies, with the addition of tools to make the service as streamlined and simple to use as possible. For instance, you can join a Hangouts Meeting directly from a Google Document, Calendar link, or even a message in Gmail. If you haven't tried Hangouts for yourself yet, or explored the latest features, then it's definitely worth giving this a go. Handouts Meet is particularly useful for those quick conversations where you can't wait around for email correspondence.

Collaborating with G-Suite

These days, G-Suite is a more powerful productivity suite than ever before - offering increasingly valuable tools to the enterprise. As Google continues to invest more time and effort into making G-Suite as intuitive as possible, it's safe to say that we'll see more businesses adopting this fantastic new technology, not just for getting work done independently, but for collaborating with teams too. 

Don't underestimate the power of G-Suite if you're looking for a new collaboration tool. Whether you're using Google Tasks to track your To-Do List, or Google Search to find information quickly, there are plenty of exciting opportunities to explore. You can even manage your calls with Google Voice too!