Using a shared inbox provides organizations with multiple advantages. One of those benefits is it promotes better team collaboration.
In turn, that means your team can offer better service and become more efficient and productive.
Let us dig deeper into how a shared inbox is great for team collaboration.
What is a shared inbox?
Basically, a shared inbox is an inbox that is accessible to all members of your team. Each member of the team will send and receive emails from the same email address. The best shared-inboxes provide each team member with separate passwords for logging in.
Shared inboxes are most commonly used for communicating with customers and business partners.
While there are multiple shared inboxes available, each one has different features, so you should learn more about managing shared inbox before comparing the different options available. You can then find the right solution for your company’s needs.
Better Efficiency Leads to Better Collaboration
When operations run more smoothly and efficiently, teams will collaborate better.
One of the best things about shared inboxes is team members can assign emails for a specific person to handle without needing to cc anyone. The specified teammate can then start replying to the email that has been forwarded as soon as the person is assigned.
Furthermore, assigned team members can chat with other teammates before replying to emails if they need to, in order to ensure they have all the correct information.
Shared Inboxes Create More Transparency
If two customer service agents respond to the same customer email, it looks unprofessional, confuses customers and reduces their confidence in your organization, and slows down productivity.
When a shared inbox is used, the problems of duplication are eliminated. Each team member can always see who is assigned to handle each email.
So, when a shared inbox is used, everyone is on the same page and knows who is working on what. That improves team transparency.
Each team member will know where to turn to for information, which emails should be prioritized, and which team members are best equipped to handle specific emails.
Improving Individual Performance Leads to Improved Collaboration
The best shared-inboxes provide managers with analytics about team members’ response rates and other performance metrics.
That not only enables managers to make changes to increase productivity. It also leads to team members improving their individual performance. When everyone focuses on improving their own performance, better collaboration naturally happens.
New Team Members Can Start Collaborating Easily Straight Away
When new team members are hired, it can often take time for them to settle in and collaborate effectively with their teammates.
But due to the transparency that shared inboxes bring, new workers can instantly access all information, so they will not experience the frustration that can come with a lack of visibility.
New team members will be able to much more quickly learn how to deal with different types of emails and who to forward messages to.
Without a shared inbox, it could take much longer for new employees to get up to speed.
Final Thoughts
Using a shared group inbox fosters collaboration in various ways.
It is important that the shared inbox you choose for your organization has the specific features you need to make collaboration simple.
Communications can become seamless when you use the right shared inbox. In turn, team members will be able to collaborate better and work together to quickly come up with effective solutions to problems.
So, do not underestimate just how much of a key role the right shared inbox can play in improving team collaboration.
