There’s no doubt that business savvy managers are increasingly turning to collaboration as an untapped resource. Some start focusing on cost reduction; others go straight to growth. As is the case with most disciplines, so is collaboration coming into the fore in its own right. The mounting evidence of its benefits has caught the attention of those who are very competitive. Furthermore, an increasing body of research is now confirming what many ‘knew’ through practice and heuristics. The first article in this week’s selection focusses on a research study by Forrester Consulting called “Collaboration Frontiers: An Integrated Experience,” a report commissioned by AT&T. Among other things, the study provides a very useful insight into the attitude to collaboration by different departments (sections of various disciplines). It turns out that HR differs significantly from, say, Sales or Marketing. In any event, happy reading!

Sincere thanks to those who have suggested articles for this edition of Roadmender Recommends.

Shy but Outgoing, the Collaboration Conundrum

Current research suggests business people are using collaboration solutions to simply reflect their existing behaviors. To some extent, these behaviors also seem to be determined by function. For example, IT is leading the internal collaborators race. HR is generally more outgoing than legal, who can be shy when it comes to external collaboration…READ ON

Ambulance services choose collaboration over competition

The Greenville area is again left with one ambulance service as Elite EMS Inc. has agreed to pull its new ambulance from the borough’s firehouse and take it back to Hermitage in favor of a new countywide emergency medical services plan. “Elite EMS Inc. ambulance service is excited to announce that they have entered into a cooperative agreement with Life Force of Western PA Inc. ambulance service that will help to ensure continued quality emergency medical services for northwestern Mercer County,” said Glenn Miller, owner of Elite. “This program allows for a sort of ambulance safety net for the entire county.”..READ ON

IBM Verse sits in the grey area between email and collaboration

IBM Verse, which is to be offered on a freemium basis and hosted on SoftLayer infrastructure, fits somewhere in the grey area between an email and collaboration platform. Users can anchor communications around specific projects and tasks, and emails can be migrated in and out of group settings fairly easily…READ ON

The Global Trends That Will Shape Recruiting In 2015 [INFOGRAPHIC]

Today we released the 2015 edition of our Global Recruiting Trends Report and we are excited to share the results. The report covers 31 countries and is based on the responses of over 4000 recruiting leaders. We have been running this survey for four years now, and it’s been fascinating to see how the world of recruiting has evolved. The most noticeable changes have come across in the way recruiters are resourced, where they find quality hires, and how they promote their talent brand. Take a look at the infographic below to see the trends that will shape the way you work in 2015:..READ ON

Bingham Fellows study city, state collaboration

The Bingham Fellows program of the Leadership Louisville Center has selected “United We Stand: a New Model for How Cities Collaborate With States,” as the study topic for the 2015 Fellows class. Each year, local leaders chosen by the center for its Bingham Fellows program are asked to explore an issue of community importance and to suggest strategies for addressing related problems. The center said American cities “are serving as the economic engines and centers for innovation and social progress for their states. Those cities that are most successful build a culture of collaboration and become true partners with state and federal governments…READ ON

Why Innovation Is More Than A Buzzword — It’s A Necessity

Innovation is more than a good idea. Despite a lot of hype to the contrary, being innovative doesn’t just mean brainstorming or coming up with weird and wacky new ideas. Those ideas are crucial of course, but without a process for implementing, testing and refining them, they are useless. Innovation requires change, and successful innovation means measuring the impact of that change on productivity, sales or growth. Unfortunately many businesses struggle with both parts of this equation…READ ON

…and now for something completely different…

How Do We Find Meaning in Life?

Human beings certainly gravitate to religion and it seems we all have an tendency to believe in some sort of karma. Your mind may require meaning. Studies show it’s one of the key factors underlying happiness and motivation…READ ON