How to foster collaborative task management

Team success starts with collaboration. But when everyone is busier than ever with their own individual tasks, teamwork can fall by the wayside.

According to the State of Teams 2024 report, 93% of executives say teams could deliver the same outcomes in half the time if they worked together more effectively. With automation and artificial intelligence (AI) taking over routine workflows, collaborative task management can shift how your business delivers value, paving the way for a more connected, productive workforce.

In this guide, we share proven task management strategies that benefit teams of all sizes and across various industries.

Key takeaways:

• Collaborative task management enhances productivity and creativity by combining clear communication, shared accountability, and the right tools to streamline workflows
• Effective task collaboration fosters open communication and strengthens teamwork by creating a shared sense of purpose
• Box offers a secure, cloud-native platform with integrated collaboration features like file sharing, workflow automation, and AI-powered tools, enabling teams to work smarter from anywhere

What is collaborative task management?

Collaborative task management is the process of managing tasks or workflows within a group to facilitate coordination and shared accountability. It combines clear communication, collaborative workspaces (either physical or virtual), and the use of tools to help teams work toward a common goal.

To understand the definition of collaborative task management, let’s clarify what it’s not:

• It’s not a chaotic process: Task collaboration requires the right platforms and a structured process to make sure everyone is on the same page
• It’s not just assigning tasks: Real collaboration involves shared input, open discussions, and collective problem-solving to move your projects forward
• It’s not just about using task collaboration tools: While project management software and virtual brainstorming tools might help, it’s also about fostering communication and building work relationships grounded in trust and accountability

Benefits of task management for collaborative teams

Let’s say your marketing department needs to speed up the approval process for a new campaign. When the team works together — breaking the campaign into smaller tasks and co-editing documents — they can identify potential roadblocks early on, and the final product is stronger thanks to collective input.

The benefits of task management in a collaborative environment include:

• Enhanced communication: Successful collaboration on tasks can’t happen without effective communication. To manage projects, team members need to ask questions, comment on tasks, and discuss solutions. The open dialogue resulting from collaborative efforts is essential for eliminating misunderstandings and missed deadlines.
• More creative problem-solving: Online task collaboration means bringing together diverse perspectives to get work done. Whether it’s through cloud collaboration tools or virtual meetings, a remote team can brainstorm ideas and tackle problems that an individual might struggle to solve alone.
• Strengthened teamwork and morale: When every team member understands their role and contribution, task management fosters a sense of shared purpose. This practice encourages mutual support, where colleagues help each other during busy periods or when challenges arise — and everyone feels supported and valued.
• Improved productivity: By managing and prioritizing tasks collaboratively, you prevent overlapped responsibilities and improve visibility into a project’s progress. It’s easier to address potential roadblocks before they escalate, so you save time and resources.

Implement best practices to boost collaborative project planning.

Top 4 task management strategies for effective collaboration

The way your teams collaborate on tasks impacts their productivity and the quality of outcomes. For example, managing a distributed workforce requires the right task collaboration software and a culture of trust to bridge the distance.

To help you build a more collaborative workspace, here are four task management strategies.

1. Set clear goals and priorities for online task collaboration

Before diving into tasks, define success. For example, is your goal to increase sales or launch a new product? You can use a virtual whiteboarding platform to clarify your goals, priorities, and individual responsibilities.

2. Select task management software with built in collaboration features

Task management software is a solution to create tasks, set due dates, and add descriptions or attachments. As your focus is on collaboration, consider platforms that allow teams to take ownership of their tasks and easily share updates.

Zoom’s global report shows that 44% of leaders prefer project management software for collaboration. However, the same study indicates that selecting a tool is just the beginning — 34% of respondents spend one hour or more each day following up with teammates to check on the status of a project or task.

More than just using a collaborative task manager, make sure to align on processes and provide features that facilitate teamwork. Here’s a breakdown.

Check out the top enterprise-grade features of secure collaboration tools.

3. Encourage open communication

Clear communication enhances collaboration. An HP survey reveals that 43% of knowledge workers don’t feel connected to their colleagues, making it difficult to achieve common task goals.

Promote open communication among members of your team through:

• Task updates on your collaborative task management app to keep members in the loop, share constructive feedback, and track progress
• Regular meetings that foster meaningful discussions and make the most of the team’s time
• Documentation of meeting notes, decisions, and project updates

Discover the best note-taking methods to organize your thoughts and ideas.

4. Automate workflows to streamline task completion

Manual processes slow down productivity and increase the likelihood of errors. Automating task assignments or a content review process reduces time spent on these duties.

Other examples of streamlining collaborative tasks with digital workflow automation include:

• Approval workflows: Route contracts, budgets, or proposals to the right approvers in sequence without manual intervention
• Employee onboarding: Automate document collection, training assignments, and progress tracking for new hires
• E-signature: Simplify contract signing by automating the process of sending, signing, and returning agreements digitally

Learn how to get started with enterprise workflow automation.

Try Box as your collaborative task management software

Collaborative task management tools must adapt to your business needs. With Box, you get a cloud-native platform to collaborate on content from anywhere, using any device. Our Intelligent Content Management platform integrates file storage, whiteboarding, shared workspaces, and AI-powered capabilities to supercharge your workflows.

You can use Box as your project management software, enabling teams to centralize content and organize tasks in one secure location. More than a task collaboration app, Box combines secure file sharing to team up with your colleagues and automation to streamline productivity

Connect Box across 1,500+ apps, so no one needs to switch between different platforms to get tasks done. Enterprise-grade security controls, such as multi-factor authentication and data classification, give peace of mind for working securely with partners while keeping sensitive information protected.

Let’s connect and discuss collaborative task management solutions for your organization.

While we maintain our steadfast commitment to offering products and services with best-in-class privacy, security, and compliance, the information provided in this blog post is not intended to constitute legal advice. We strongly encourage prospective and current customers to perform their own due diligence when assessing compliance with applicable laws.