Q&A: Rob Bamforth

Define collaboration in just three words

Mutual, beneficial, effort.

How important is effective communication to modern business success?

It has always been vital. For many organisations effective communication' means raising the level of mutual understanding.

What are the key benefits of having the right collaboration and communication strategy in place and acting upon it?

All contributors' capabilities are used as effectively as possible; everyone feels good about contributing.

What are companies currently doing well when it comes to collaboration and communication?

The organisations that are really doing well as far as collaboration and communication are concerned, are making as many options available as possible.

Conversely, what could they be doing better/more of/less of? And why?

For some companies there is insufficient integration with the communications infrastructure. There is too much focus on integrating the plumbing' and not enough on integrating the user/business process interaction.

Who in the organisation should be taking the lead when it comes to choosing the right tools and implementing them successfully?

It really needs a blend of people in different roles within the organisation. This includes people in the line of business as well as IT. There is also increasingly an HR element that needs to be involved in a successful implementation.

How do you ensure you're collaborating and communicating effectively? Do you have any words from the wise or anecdotes from other real-world experience you can share?

The key word is mutual' everyone has to feel there is a benefit, otherwise sharing and cooperation breaks down and collaboration becomes resistance, block and apathy.

Where do you see the market and adoption of communication and collaboration tools headed?

In the future there will be more focus on business process interaction, this means communication with a purpose.

What will successful corporate collaboration and communication look like five or 10 years from now?

Corporate collaboration and communication will be simple, it will be consistent and it will be ubiquitous.

Why should people attend the Collaboration and Communication 2016 event?

The best way to start on the road to a successful communication and collaboration project is to hear about good practices to adopt and bad practices to avoid. Hearing about others' experiences can reap many rewards.

Is there anything else you would like to add on this topic?

If you want to hear more, I'll be speaking at the event on 7 July at 9.05am discussing the state of the market: looking forward and looking back. I will also be part of the morning panel.

Attend our exclusive event on 7 July to hear more from Rob and others about collaboration and communication.

View the full speakers line up and agenda here.

You can take advantage of the limited early bird tickets of 106.80 inc.VAT available until 3 June thereafter tickets are 142.80 inc.VAT -visit www.collaboration2016.co.uk

We would like to thank Arkadin for sponsoring the event.