A collective can be a great way to run a company, for some cases. I lived with a girl who worked at a cafe that was run as a collective - it meant that people had a fair say in decisions that affected them. They could vote on their own wages, working conditions, and no one was barking out orders bossing them around. The owner was an old-school left-winger who was doing this out of pure idealism. He was still the one with the financial risk, he dealt with banks, ensured taxes were dealt with, and all the other tasks involved in running a business such as that.

You don't need full communism, just make sure companies are owned by the workers

"Companies owned by the workers" is communism. That's literally what is meant by "shared ownership of the means of production".

The "means of production" is all the shit that companies own, such as the land, machines, buildings, raw materials, etc...