Whether it's the latest electric cars or other product innovations, the automotive industry in Germany has become a role model for many manufacturers and other industries. It is therefore no wonder that Volkswagen is the largest car manufacturer in the world, with almost 11 million vehicles delivered in 2018. Digitalization and artificial intelligence (AI) are other factors that have influenced this reputation in this country. Collaborative robots work hand in hand with humans in the factory halls of many car manufacturers, contributing to the overall result - a 'factory of the future' that paves the way for innovation. Audi is another example from this sector that uses AI technologies in large parts of its smart factory. Whether lightweight robots that are easy to operate and work safely alongside workers, or mobile robots that cover long distances between the production hall and warehouse, new technologies are helping where the most support is needed. This type of collaboration is something that companies from different sectors will have to promote more and more in the future.

Promoting digital collaboration - but how?

But work is not only created on the production floor. A consistent improvement in collaboration can optimize a company and its entire value chain: the purchasing department must order the right parts or the marketing team must obtain all relevant information in order to successfully launch the corresponding product on the market. Processes like these are often laborious in many organizations. They therefore stand in astonishing contrast to what collaboration with robots already achieves in production today. What is particularly striking is that many outdated tools are still being used, which slow down internal communication and collaboration within the team and also make it more complicated.

But if robots can collaborate efficiently, then surely employees can too? This means that collaboration needs to work better across team boundaries, especially because departments have different ways of working or teams are spread across the globe. 'Collaboration hubs' represent a new generation of software tools and provide a digital collaboration space where information can be shared easily and seamlessly. They make it possible to pool knowledge in a central location and make it available in order to create transparency across the entire company.

Collaboration means relying on shared knowledge

Collaborative robots work efficiently because they do exactly the work for which they were programmed: Assembling plastics, palletizing, bolting, packaging, welding and many other applications. They are lightweight and can be reprogrammed at any time to meet the needs of a changing supply chain. This flexibility is essential and with the help of AI technologies, the potential in the industry can be unleashed even more.

Collaboration hubs also offer a certain form of flexibility: they are essential knowledge repositories and make it possible to access not only one's own know-how, but also that of colleagues. This gives new colleagues in the organization or new members of a team the opportunity to access this knowledge immediately at the click of a button. The whole thing works via a new form of communication, so-called channels. All messages, news, documents and other information that has ever been exchanged can be found here. Channels bundle all communication on a topic or project - so they can be viewed by anyone involved in a particular project. Individual members can be added to or removed from a channel at any time if necessary. This means that all team members are always up to date and can look up certain information, documents or processes at a later date if necessary. Working in a channel gives employees more independence. New colleagues can also easily search for past information - at any time.

For example, if the purchasing department needs to make important decisions regarding certain orders, the necessary figures can be called up in a corresponding channel and discussed further with the team members. In a corporate channel, for example, current product successes are communicated across the company. However, in order to avoid a flood of messages, it is possible to highlight particularly important channels so that you are only notified of information that is relevant to you. Notifications can also be set to snooze at certain times to avoid interruptions during meetings or outside of work. Another option is to use a bot to remind you of certain messages so that you can deal with them at a later, more suitable time.

Clarity is what counts

Certain tasks often need to be completed quickly and efficiently. In production, robots take over the screwing of certain spare parts, which are then further processed by the employee. This clarity regarding the distribution of roles and speed is also often required in internal communication: Who is responsible for creating the budget list? Who has more information about the last status meeting? In a collaboration hub, the time-consuming typing of a detailed response is replaced by the use of emojis. Inserting a "green tick" emoji signals that a task has been completed. However, if a "pair of eyes" emoji is used, this means "I have seen the message and am already working on the solution". Another advantage in terms of clarity is that such platforms have advanced search functions. Team members can intuitively filter their search queries according to specific files, conditions or time frames, which saves an enormous amount of time.

Switch back and forth efficiently

Collaborating robots take over monotonous tasks or mobile robots relieve their human colleagues by covering long distances. What we can learn from this for internal communication is efficiency. By switching back and forth between different apps to complete even small tasks at your workplace, you lose a lot of valuable time. Collaboration hubs not only offer a quick exchange with other team members and a knowledge archive, but also the option of integrating other apps that are already in use in the company. Examples include Google Drive, Dropbox and Trello, as well as applications such as HubSpot, Salesforce or GitHub for IT, sales and marketing. This way, you don't have to jump back and forth between the different applications and interrupt your own workflow. Once you are logged in, you can access the relevant app directly via the Collaboration Hub. This means that finance teams with a corresponding app integration can release purchase requisitions directly in the platform without having to call up a new software tool.

It is also possible for links from apps or websites to open themselves within the Collaboration Hub (so-called "unfurled links"). This eliminates the need for time-consuming switching between different apps. These links are used to generate useful, customizable previews in the hub itself and the stored information is not only visible to the user, but they can also respond to it immediately via a reply button.

Collaboration must become the starting point

We humans can learn a lot from robots. What may not seem obvious at first quickly becomes apparent in the context of collaboration hubs. Monotonous tasks are taken over so that workers can concentrate on the important things. They enable employees to perform their tasks more independently, as they have the necessary means to search for all the information they need at any time. This access to knowledge is crucial for the efficiency of internal communication, which has a direct impact on the success of a company. On the other hand, the ability to work in a team is strengthened, as joint projects require teamwork. This is made possible through the use of channels.

However, it must also be noted that both are only a foundation: neither the robot nor the Collaboration Hub can stand alone. It is up to the entire environment what you make of it. Only those who work as a team and drive collaboration along the entire value chain - from the factory floor to the internal company structure - will contribute to the success of the entire organization. With the right technology in combination with collaborative implementation, innovation is promoted, which also strengthens the competitiveness that is vital for companies.

The author

Johann Butting, Vice President of EMEA at Slack © Slack

Johann Butting is Vice President of EMEA at Slack. He has worked in the technology sector in the US and Europe for almost 20 years. Most recently, he was Head of EMEA at Dropbox, where he was responsible for building the European team across five locations and a total of 300 employees.