Individual work provides meaningful variables and results entirely under your control, but collaborating with a team can yield more developed and innovative results with higher productivity. On a larger scale, collaborative work can be more advantageous—however, it can be risky in terms of file sharing. 

File sharing is a crucial aspect of information and collaboration with numerous organizational applications. Through passing documents from one worker to another, they can fill each other’s gaps and create a solid end product. However, it can potentially result in the opposite with one wrong action. 

Creating a Positive File Sharing Experience 

Team collaboration is long-term work that can affect your organization’s future. Therefore, it’s better to establish a positive file-sharing system in your business as early as possible, regardless of the nature of your work. To make your file sharing experience seamless and organized, take note of the following tips:

1. Use the Right File Sharing Platform

Choosing an appropriate platform where all of your business’ file-sharing occurs is the most essential part in creating a positive file sharing experience. If we were still operating on the analog, you wouldn’t want to store your physical documents in an unprotected storage box, right? 

To find a competitive file sharing platform, assess the needs and preferences of your team first. Preferably, choose between top, guaranteed file-sharing platforms like Digital Pigeon that offer the following essential features:

• Privacy and security
• Large data storage capacity
• Offline availability
• Device compatibility
• Data recovery 
• User support
• Third-party app and software integrations

2. Establish Organized File Structure and Format

After choosing your file-sharing platform, it’s time for some actual file-sharing action. Since users have different purposes and needs in using the platform, it’s up to your team to set up an effective system. 

To make browsing and storing easier for everyone, organize your files’ structure by categorizing them and putting all relevant files only into their assigned folder. The use of consistent naming conventions helps identify content without opening the document, thus saving time and avoiding hassle. 

3. Test the Waters

Once the file organization system is set, it’s important to test out your file-sharing platforms and system before conducting a full migration. A great customer experience of using the file-sharing platform can provide helpful insights into using it, but it isn’t always guaranteed to work in your case. Hence, test the waters first with a few team members.

Before committing to the paid business version of your chosen file-sharing platform, take advantage of its free features first to see if it’s the right one for your business—after all, that’s what free trials are for.

When testing the platform and system, don’t share and store any important files yet. You can make sample documents on different file formats, evaluate upload and download speeds, utilize all present features, and assess the overall experience. 

4. Educate and Train Your Fellow Users

Your company’s file-sharing platform and solution won’t work if its users don’t have enough literacy and competency in using it. After testing the waters and deciding that you’ll stay on the platform, the next step is to implement awareness and training for your team members. 

Security risks increase as more users navigate in one platform, so prioritize educating your members about cybersecurity. It would be better to create individual accounts for each user and assign unique names to identify them quickly. In this way, it’ll be easier to detect unusual activity. 

You can also resume testing your waters in this step and see if all users can adapt to the system appropriately. While the established file-sharing system personally works for you, factors such as the device used and internet speed vary among employees. 

Take-Home Message Creating a positive file sharing experience is crucial to your team’s operations. As ideas and content have transformed from paper to screen, individuals and groups have to develop new ways to share, access, and save their documents. By doing so, users can achieve efficient collaboration, protect digital assets, cut down on operational costs, and save time.