Collaborative Documents Done Right: A Guide to Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides
Collaborative Documents Done Right: A Guide to Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides
By: The One Click Enterprise Team | July 28, 2025
Remember the old way of working on a document together? You would email a Word document back and forth, leading to a folder filled with confusing file names like Report_v3_final_JohnsEdits_FINAL2.docx. It was a recipe for confusion, lost work, and wasted time.
Google Workspace—with its core apps Docs, Sheets, and Slides—was built to end this chaos. These tools are designed from the ground up for live, dynamic collaboration.
But simply using them doesn't automatically mean you're using them effectively. Great collaboration requires a few ground rules and an understanding of the powerful features at your fingertips. This guide will share five best practices to help your South African team collaborate like pros.
1. Establish a "Single Source of Truth"
For every project, there should be one—and only one—master document. This is the most important rule. No more creating separate copies "just in case" or for different people.
How to Do It: When you start a new project, create the primary Doc, Sheet, or Slide and immediately place it in a Shared Drive (not your personal "My Drive"). This ensures the file is owned by the team, not an individual. When you need feedback, share a link to this document; never send it as an attachment.
The Benefit: Everyone is always working on the most current version. All comments, suggestions, and edits are stored in one central, accessible place.
2. Master the "Three Modes of Editing"
In the top-right corner of any Google document, you'll find a dropdown menu for Editing, Suggesting, and Viewing. Using the right mode for the right task is crucial for smooth collaboration.
Editing Mode: This gives you direct control to make changes. Use this when you are the primary author or have been given explicit permission to edit freely.
Suggesting Mode (The "Track Changes" Killer): This is the perfect mode for reviewing a colleague's work. Any changes you make appear as coloured suggestions that the document owner can accept or reject with a single click. It provides clear, accountable feedback without altering the original text.
Viewing Mode: Use this when you just need to read a final version of a document without the risk of accidentally typing or deleting something.
3. Communicate Inside the Document
Stop discussing document changes in separate email or chat threads where they can get lost. Keep the conversation where the work is happening.
How to Do It: Highlight any text, cell, or object and click the "Add comment" icon that appears on the right.
The Pro-Tip: To assign a task to a colleague, use the + or @ symbol followed by their email address (e.g., +lebom@oneclickenterprise.com). This tags them, sends them an email notification, and assigns the comment to them as an action item. They can then mark it as "Done" once completed. This creates a clear, contextual to-do list right within your document.
4. Use Version History as Your Time Machine
Never fear that a change is permanent or that something important has been accidentally deleted. Google automatically saves a complete history of every change made to your document.
How to Do It: Go to File > Version history > See version history.
The Benefit: A panel will open showing a detailed log of who made what changes and when. You can preview and restore any previous version of the document with a single click. You can even "name" key versions (like "Draft Sent to Client") to make them easy to find later. This provides a complete safety net, encouraging fearless collaboration because nothing is ever truly lost.
5. Standardize Your Work with Company Templates
Stop reinventing the wheel for every new project proposal, meeting agenda, or budget spreadsheet. Create standardized templates to ensure consistency and professionalism across your entire team.
How to Do It: Create a perfectly formatted document (e.g., a project plan in Docs with your company logo and standard sections). Then, go to the Google Docs/Sheets/Slides home screen, find the "Template gallery," and submit your document as a new template for your organization.
The Benefit: This saves a massive amount of time and ensures every document your company produces has a consistent, professional look and feel.
Effective collaboration is a skill, and Google's tools are designed to support it. By following these best practices, your team can move faster, reduce confusion, and produce higher-quality work.
Is your team still stuck in the old way of doing things? As Google Workspace partners, we offer hands-on training for South African businesses to help your team unlock the full collaborative power of these tools.
Contact One Click Enterprise today to book a team productivity workshop.