Teamwork and collaboration are commonly thrown around in the business world today, but what do they mean? Collaboration is working with others with a different skill set than you to produce results. These results include completing a project, presentation, or task your superiors or clients requested.
Workplace collaboration is a set of skills acquired through formal and informal learning, including self-awareness, resource management, innovation, and goal-setting.
On the other hand, teamwork includes working well with others to achieve a common goal. But why is it important? Teamwork and collaboration boast many qualities: they work to increase productivity, innovation, and problem-solving while fostering healthy relationships and improving company culture. It allows a workplace to strive toward a common goal while embracing the diversity that comes with shared ideas and thoughts.
How can we improve teamwork and collaboration? That’s a great question! Here are our best business tips on how to improve teamwork and collaboration:
1. Team collaboration software
Team collaboration software is a relatively new phenomenon which has allowed many companies to create productive communication and increase efficient performance. Digital workspaces are among the most practical applications you could use to ensure long-term collaboration.
Collaboration software is a digital collaboration tool that allows organizations to discuss, plan, brainstorm, and work together regardless of their physical location. This improves teamwork by uniting employees digitally in real-time by taking out the additional stress of commuting, transit, and the finances associated with both.
The right software can help create a collaborative culture by facilitating transparent communication and increasing opportunities to work together on projects. So, team collaboration software? A no-brainer!
2. Find and support leaders
Company leaders set the scene. They define the atmosphere, and employees follow suit accordingly. As such, to achieve any kind of change, you must be able to find enthusiastic leaders who embody the same values you are trying to impose.
Leaders do not only have to be the big bosses. Company leaders can be the employee of the month or even shift leaders. They set the tone for collaboration and teamwork by leading by example, setting clear expectations, and providing feedback to individuals.
When they can collaborate well with others, provide and receive constructive feedback, and listen and engage with team members, you will find that others act accordingly.
3. Celebrate your team’s individuality
When people feel their opinions are valued, they are likelier to apply themselves and speak up. As such, providing strong encouragement and support shows others that they have the skills to contribute to a team, making them feel more valued as team players.
Do not be afraid to openly praise your employees on the tasks that they do well. Even when they could improve in an area, open your remarks with what they have done well, and their confidence in their work will surely improve.
4. Promote a collaborative environment
This sounds like a given: you want to promote a collaborative environment to improve teamwork and collaboration. How do we do exactly that, though? Like the point above, we want to ensure everybody feels valued. Letting your employees do their work on their terms is a great place to start.
Not everybody works best at 10 in the morning, but not everybody works well at ten at night. As such, when you allow everybody to complete their work on their schedule as much as possible, you will find that their ability to contribute to the team increases drastically.
5. Take it outside!
Although the primary goal of teamwork is to achieve the company’s objectives, this is fostered in the workplace and the relationships outside of it. No, attending corporate events as a group is not enough. We are talking about offsite team-building.
Getting out of the office allows teams to build healthy relationships, increasing their comfort levels around each other. This, in itself, is an integral component of providing honest and constructive feedback on projects. It does not even have to be entire weekend getaways. A quick coffee chat before work or a quick drink afterwards could do just fine!
6. Reinforce the company’s mission
When employees are motivated, they bring forth their best work. Every employee needs a reason to show up in the morning every day, and defining your company’s mission can be your first step toward bringing everybody together.
When everybody understands one clearly defined goal, they can work towards it with others. You can do this by reinforcing it at the beginning of every meeting, sending it out as a memo a couple of times a month, and adapting the mindset.
