Teamwork makes the dream work – and it’s pretty important for successful businesses too. When there’s collaboration in the workplace, it can increase productivity, job satisfaction, and make a huge difference to the innovation and culture of your business.
Collaboration doesn’t always come naturally however. Sometimes it needs a little help. We’re here to take you through how to create an environment that encourages collaboration and teamwork so you can reap the benefits.
Why should employers focus on building workplace collaboration?
There are plenty of reasons why employers should actively try to build and improve workplace collaboration. Here are just a few…
To enhance problem solving and innovation
Many hands make light work, particularly when it comes to finding solutions to new challenges. Whether it’s figuring out a customer issue or coming up with a new branding idea, it can be really helpful to bring in new perspectives. You might just be surprised at what is suggested.
To increase productivity
For a busy team, it can be easy for individuals to get bogged down in their own workloads. However, before you know it, smaller groups end up working in silos and communication goes out the window. That can be problematic – stats show that more than 50% of employees say their jobs are reliant on collaboration.
For collaboration in the workplace, it’s important that teams all talk to each other, spreading the workload and ensuring that processes are as streamlined as possible.
To improve employee engagement
Us humans are social creatures. While not everyone likes to work in a team full-time, creating an environment where people can work together, reach out for advice or just brainstorm over a coffee can make a huge difference to employee engagement.
It also supports strong workplace relationships. Statistics show that employees are 17% more satisfied with their jobs when they engage in collaboration at work.
Common barriers when trying to boost team collaboration
Creating a collaborative workplace doesn’t come easy. Here’s
to look out for in your workspace.
Communication challenges
As individuals with our own outlooks, backgrounds and communication styles, it can be difficult to get everyone on the same page.
In the case of workplace collaboration, discussions and team projects can be stunted when coworkers are struggling to communicate. There could also be a lack of communication, in a workplace where people aren’t used to reaching out to others for ideas and input. Overcoming communication challenges is a key barrier to facilitating effective collaboration and discussion.
Lack of trust
Imagine this – you’re in a meeting room, taking part in a brainstorming session. You’ve got a great idea, but you have no idea how it will be received and you worry it could affect what people think about your abilities. You can’t trust your colleagues to respect your input and in the end, you decide to just stay quiet.
That lack of trust and confidence at work is the enemy of team collaboration. It can mean that only the loudest voices in the room get a say, while the quieter ones get pushed to the side. When only a few take part in a team activity, that’s not effective collaboration.
Unclear goals and roles
Just like ships have captains, movies have directors and companies have leaders – big team efforts require specific roles to keep everything on track.
Collaborative environments are much the same. There should be clear roles for everyone involved, whether that’s steering the direction of the conversation or bringing a specific, unique perspective to the table. If there’s no set goals and roles for team collaboration, it’s really easy for discussions and projects to become derailed.
8 effective strategies for creating collaborative teams
There are plenty of practical ways in which leaders can enable collaboration. Here’s a few ideas to get you started.
1. Clearly define goals and objectives
For effective collaboration, every team member involved needs to be aware of the end goals. After all, if you end up with five ideas after a discussion, none of which truly meet what you’re trying to achieve, then that time has not been spent productively. Be clear about what this collaborative effort is for.
2. Ensure effective communication channels
Great collaboration comes from smooth communication. Make communication easy, whether that’s building specific digital channels for discussion or setting aside in-person time to discuss and brainstorm. Keep conversation flowing and ensure that everyone feels heard.
3. Establish trust and psychological safety
This is a tricky one as you can’t establish a workplace based in trust in just a day. A supportive work environment where people feel comfortable around each other comes from the company culture. Take steps to improve your work culture and ensure people feel happy around each other and respected. This will make it easier for them to collaborate openly.
4. Define roles and responsibilities
Take advantage of the skills in your team by being clear about what everyone brings to the table, and how they fit in the broader discussion. It’s helpful for everyone if they know what their role and responsibilities are in a collaborative environment, whether that’s handling a specific aspect of a project or taking on a project manager role.
5. Assemble teams with diverse skillsets and perspectives
Building on that previous point, there’s no point in having a collaborative environment where most of the people take on the same roles and responsibilities. Teams with diverse skillsets and perspectives are perfect for innovation and ideas. Make sure that you’re bringing in a variety of employees when collaborating.
6. Encourage open and constructive feedback
For many people, receiving feedback can be a daunting situation. However, it doesn’t have to be. An environment where people feel comfortable enough to challenge other ideas in a respectful manner is one where new ideas are easily generated. Feedback is also an opportunity to build on an existing concept and mould it into something better. It’s a critical facet of a successful collaborative environment.
7. Provide opportunity for skill development
Nothing broadens the mind like learning something new. Give your teams the gift of new outlooks and ideas by providing opportunities for learning and development. It’s not just personally and professionally beneficial for them, but leaders and employers benefit from an innovative, revitalised workforce. Consider implementing something like a learning management system for easy, self-directed development.
8. Recognise and celebrate achievements
Part of creating that collaborative environment where people feel comfortable and confident in their contributions comes from recognising their achievements. Team leaders should ensure that they’re regularly celebrating milestones and rewarding employees who are absolutely nailing their role. It’ll give them that important boost of confidence for the next project.
What about creating a collaborative workplace for remote teams?
As the post-pandemic remote work revolution has shown, team collaboration in the workplace isn’t reliant on getting everyone in the same room. There’s plenty of ways in which remote work teams can collaborate effectively, facilitated by the fantastic technology we now have at our fingertips.
Here are three key ways in which team leaders can ensure effective virtual collaboration:
1. Make the most of technology
You don’t need terrible metaverse avatars in fake meeting rooms (sorry, Mark Zuckerberg). However, a few really useful tools can make collaboration easy. Think project management software, where different team members can be given specific tasks, conferencing tools or brainstorming software where people can pop ideas on a virtual whiteboard. Invest in the best and keep communication easy.
2. Regularly check-in
It can be easy for remote workers to get stuck into their own work and operate in silos, but this can be problematic for collaboration. Team leaders should facilitate regular video check-ins so that everyone is in one place online. When everyone is aware of what is happening in the team, it also increases the chance of new ideas coming to the fore.
3. Foster interpersonal relationships
You may all be at work, but it doesn’t have to be business all the time. To create a comfortable environment of camaraderie, encourage informal communication such as dedicated chat channels for non-work-related topics. Consider setting up some virtual team-building activities or social events so teams have the chance to build a rapport.
Examples of successful collaboration in the workplace
A few companies are well-known for facilitating collaboration, both remotely and in person. Here’s a few examples.
Google is known for fostering a collaborative work environment through open office spaces, shared spaces for idea exchange, and the famous concept of “20% time” where employees can dedicate a portion of their work hours to projects of their interest.
Netflix
Netflix has a culture of freedom and responsibility, where collaboration thrives through its “Culture Memo” and the emphasis on candid feedback and open discussions. The company encourages cross-functional collaboration by forming small, agile teams that work closely together to innovate and create content.
Atlassian
As a company that develops software tools for team collaboration, Atlassian embodies collaborative practices in its own workplace. They promote transparency, autonomy, and cross-team collaboration, allowing employees to share ideas and work across departments easily using their own products like Jira, Confluence, and Trello.
Salesforce
Salesforce focuses on collaboration in the workplace through its internal social platform called Chatter, which allows employees to connect, share ideas, and collaborate across teams and departments. Their emphasis on employee engagement and collaboration contributes to a culture that encourages teamwork and innovation.
Workplace collaboration tools to help your team collaborate effectively
When it comes to collaboration, technology is your best friend. Here’s a few of our favourite workplace tools that can facilitate a collaborative environment.
Employment Hero
We’re so proud of Employment Hero’s employee engagement and workplace culture features. They’re built to facilitate an environment where everyone feels respected, heard and celebrated – all of which are key to successful collaboration in the workplace.
Our Company Feed enables everyone to shout-out fellow team members for their latest successes, while our Objectives and Key Results section makes it easy to set company or team-wide goals to work towards.
Employment Hero also facilitates feedback loops through a variety of review features, from our quick happiness surveys to full performance reviews.
Slack
We know that there are plenty of chat tools available to facilitate communication and team collaboration. However, this workplace collaboration tool, in particular, is simple and effective. Keep your team chatting and ensure no one misses an update in the business.
With Slack, you can create chat rooms organised by topic and private groups for direct messaging as a quick and immediate alternative to email. With inbuilt video conferencing capability for hosting online meetings, updating and time-tracking on projects has never been easier.
Asana
We know that collaborative projects often come with a ton of moving parts. Asana is a task and project management tool that can help you manage those endless goals and priorities. Manage projects with other remote team members, assign responsibilities and get notifications in real-time when a teammate completes a milestone.
Asana also allows you to set timeframes and deadlines for easy time tracking and have transparency across your projects so that you can see what everyone has planned for their workday and for the week ahead.
For more information on how to create a strong workplace culture, download our guide.
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