The basic mantra of today’s business is “we have to collaborate”. Collaboration in the workplace is a sign of an effective team as it harnesses the best out of two or more individuals together. Efficiency is an essential part of a team and an important aspect of the workplace. Workplace collaboration will keep everyone safe from an extra load of work as the work gets distributed evenly.
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When you have team collaboration you will always see positive results as the biggest fears of checking whether the teams are able to perform together will be eliminated. Working in teams makes employees more responsible and it also raises their motivation level.
Why should teams collaborate?
Collaboration generates a circle of knowledge and lets each team member understand their role. There are smart owners who look for encouraging their staff always to work with each other. There are several other reasons. Let’s see:
Learn from each other
Team members working in collaboration with each other will always have an opportunity to learn from each other’s successes and failures. They will have an organizational approach towards learning things. The company will not deviate from its goals whether long-term or short term as the tasks will be assigned to those who will be able to reach the set targets.
Better problem solving
Workplace collaboration means bringing varied talents together, making a pool of different skills and knowledge. When more competent and experienced people are brought together, teams will undergo a better problem-solving approach.
You will know the bigger picture
Different people working in collaboration with a team from different backgrounds will give you more chances to grasp the differences that they have. They will definitely complement each other in various areas and you can use them for your business. If the result goes against your expectations, you will still have the fruits of having a partnership that will still let you achieve a great deal.
Break down barriers
Successful companies always put their team members in collaboration. Team members of a single department are not just in collaboration but extend across all departments in an organization. As everybody will contribute towards certain goals in a company it will provide a great feedback loop that can be used for projects. Everyone in the team will be able to express their opinion to better deliver the company goals.
Online collaboration tools
The power of social media can not compete with other ways of bringing teams together. There are many cloud-based collaboration tools like ProofHub that can bring teams together. Online tools are making it easier for coworkers to connect and collaborate and remain in sync with each other.
A few other important aspects that collaboration brings to the table include:
- Brainstorming- Collaboration allows team members to come together on a common platform and a common goal by brainstorming to provide various solutions.
- Equal Partaking- Collaboration gives team members equal opportunities to participate and communicate their ideas.
Better participation
When working on projects together, each team member should show equal participation. Each team member should provide better input, brainstorm unique ideas and find solutions to the various project problems from time to time. Effective team collaboration makes all this extremely easy. Plus, it solves all the obstacles that may stand in the way of achieving the final project goal.
Faster production
“Individual commitment to a group effort–that is what makes a team work, a company work, a society work, a civilization work.” – Vince Lombardi
The point is—when an uninitiated group of individuals comes together to work on a common goal, it takes longer to start and complete. However, the whole scenario changes when a well-coordinated and collaborative group of individuals work together. The whole process speeds up and the final outcome is much better than everyone else expected from the team.
Don’t let poor team collaboration become a barrier in your success. Start using ProofHub
So, how are you connecting with your team? Is it difficult to connect with your team? It is not that challenging to bring workplace collaboration and to make sure that everyone gets the latest updates. Here are a few tips for stronger team collaboration:
Tips for improving team collaboration
Evaluate why it isn’t working
Figure out the problem first. Find out why is your current collaboration strategy failing. Is it about trust, chemistry, competitiveness or something else—just evaluate the current situation and build a strategy for the future accordingly. If you don’t have a clue about where to start, here’s what you can do: survey team members and ask them for their opinions and perceptions. After that, step back and observe the team in action as their leader, come to your own conclusion, and craft your strategy.
Aggregate and adopt
A collaborative project manager will bring ideas to the table by collecting ideas, suggestions, and goals of their teams. This helps project managers to aggregate the skill sets of the whole team. The collaboration will bring successful results by remaining adaptive and flexible.
Listen first
When working in a team different ideas needs to collaborate into workable solutions and that depends on effective collaboration. Finding the root of any new suggestion will require attentive listening to everyone before coming to an outcome. Active collaboration includes providing feedback to have a discussion in real-time. It also involves quick responses to team members who want to be heard and valued.
Use to-do apps like ProofHub
Working and solving an exercise in collaboration with others can be done in a better way with the help of project management tools like ProofHub. A team collaboration tool will provide you so many options for everyone to manage tasks their own way.
Be transparent
The most effective collaborators are not much worried about the titles and roles. They are more focused on finding the solutions regardless of who is finding them. Also, effective collaborators share information across the board which increases a sense of workplace community.
Energize
An energized, motivated team is the strongest asset of a project. An effective collaborator team will make sure that everyone works smart and hard. It will bring energy into a conversation by helping team members feel valued. The teams should be always appreciated for a job well done. Team collaboration will also talk about issues that will bring team motivation about what need’s to be done.
Team building activities
Teams can collaborate in a better way if they are involved in team-building activities. Team building activities will bring a positive impact on office culture as they will improve communication, motivate employees, increase productivity, and help employees to get to know each other better.
Give credit where needed
Another key trait of effective collaboration in the workplace is constant recognition and appreciation. And we’re not just talking about annual appraisals or weekly performance emails. As a manager or someone with authority, you can make appreciation an integral part of your team’s everyday interaction. If someone is doing a good job or if someone has delivered their assigned task before the desired due date, just recognize and appreciate them and their work via team meetings and group discussions.
Keep an open mind
Keeping an open mind is not just about encouraging everyone in the team to come up with innovative ideas. There’s something more important—listening to others’ ideas. Create a collaborative work environment where employees keep an open mind about sharing and listening to each other’s ideas, suggestions, criticisms, and concerns. This, in turn, will ensure quicker problem-solving, better teamwork, enhanced trust, and most importantly greater team productivity.
Revitalize and infuse inspiration from time to time
Most managers make the mistake of believing that their staff is working optimally. To be an effective and collaborative manager, it is important that you ensure to infuse inspiration and vigour into the workspace and your team from time to time. Also, when it comes to offering criticism, do it in a kind way—try to critique the mistakes rather than the employee. Of course, there will be issues (big and small) that will need to be addressed, but all of that can be done in a way that encourages and motivates the team, not the opposite.
Conclusion
Growing companies need to understand the value of collaboration to look for ways to encourage it within their teams. Bring a collaborative spirit amongst your teams and turn your workforce productive.
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