Improving collaboration can be a challenge for any organization—especially with more people working remotely than ever before.
While there is no single change you can take to improve collaboration at work, there are several small improvements you can make in the workplace that can lead to dramatic results.
In this guide, we’ll take a closer look at team collaboration and why it is so important for businesses, the challenges faced, and the best ways to improve team collaboration and communication skills, from defining clear roles to making use of technology like interactive displays.
Team collaboration is simply how well people work together to ensure they meet their goals, and it is important for several reasons:
If collaboration is so positive for businesses, why do so many struggle? There are several challenges:
With these challenges in mind, let’s take a look at some of the best ways to boost team collaboration.
Improving collaboration all starts with improving communication. Your goal should be to break down silos, simplify the sharing of information, and help team members to feel comfortable and confident when communicating with each other.
Here are some tips to improve both communication and collaboration in the workplace:
Of the many effective communication techniques to encourage collaboration, one of the most important is to use the right tools.
For example, you could incorporate high-quality interactive displays and whiteboards to use in meetings. That way, both people in the office and those working remotely can benefit from clear communication with each other, without distance becoming a problem and getting in the way of communication.
Chat tools like Slack and Microsoft Teams provide a simple way to improve communication within and between teams. You can set up a chat for each team and set up different chats for projects so that everyone is on the same page and can share information quickly and effortlessly.
You can also make use of project management tools like Asana. These allow everyone to keep track of the different stages of a project so no information gets lost along the way, and they are vital for improving collaboration.
No matter what the communication and collaboration skills of your employees are, good collaboration can never happen effectively if people are unaware of their specific roles, responsibilities, and goals.
This means you need to make sure you are clear about the different roles of every team member and how they fit into the bigger picture. Everyone needs to be crystal clear on what they bring to the table to create the right collaborative environment.
They should be clear about the overall goal of their team and the role they play in reaching that, whether that’s for a specific project, events like a team meeting, or for their overall role in the organization.
However your team works, and wherever they work from, make the effort to hold regular meetings.
This is especially important if some or all of your team members work remotely. It’s too easy for them to start operating in silos or focus only on their own goals, which can hinder collaboration.
Holding regular check-ins will ensure that everyone is on the same page and aware of what is happening in other areas of the business. It can also help to increase creativity because new ideas emerge that may otherwise have stayed hidden.
You can hold meetings in the office, or hold remote meetings via interactive screens so team members can join from anywhere. These could be weekly meetings or even a daily huddle that only lasts a few minutes.
Encourage employees to give feedback, whether that’s in meetings or every day in the office. Feedback helps to generate new ideas and to avoid taking the wrong course of action.
You want your team members to be open and constructive with their feedback, and to challenge ideas respectfully. Everyone should feel comfortable to share their views and to challenge ideas in a respectful way.
If necessary, provide training on this topic and perhaps on conflict resolution, so that team members feel comfortable sharing their opinions.
Part of the process of improving collaboration involves building the best teams possible. A collaborative environment won’t work if everyone has the same roles, skills, and views.
Teams should combine people with different skill sets and who have unique perspectives. This will help to generate new ideas and enhance innovation.
Diverse teams will ensure people offer new viewpoints and different ways of working, and it encourages the sharing of new ideas and trying out new things.
As mentioned, creating a collaborative environment means making people comfortable and confident in contributing. To help with this, make sure you recognize achievements.
Celebrate milestones, reward employees for outstanding work, and give them a confidence boost. Doing this will encourage them to work their best.
Celebrating both individual and team achievements is a way of recognizing the value that people bring.
It’s often good to celebrate achievements together, perhaps in a team meeting, to increase the sense of accomplishment and pride. This is an easy and effective way to boost collaboration.
Team building has many benefits, one of which is better communication and collaboration in the workplace. It’s important that people get along with each other, and this can be improved by boosting interpersonal relationships.
Playing games during team-building activities can help to build these relationships, especially between people who don't work together directly during office hours. Social events and activities like after-work drinks can help to build rapport.
You can also encourage more communication by providing the opportunity for more impromptu meetings to take place. This could involve something as simple as opening a chat channel in Slack where people can share things that are not directly related to work.
Or it could mean redesigning the office and providing relaxing spaces where people can meet and talk informally.
You can’t force friendships, but you can help, and a team that is friendly and comfortable in each other’s presence will naturally collaborate more effectively.
Building on all the points above, in everything you do, focus on establishing trust. From team building to encouraging feedback, it only works when there is trust.
This is something longer term and it will not happen immediately, but it will develop over time if you take the steps mentioned above.
Your goal should be to create a supportive work environment where people feel comfortable. Focus on improving the work culture over time to help develop this.
When there is trust, people are more likely to collaborate by sharing their ideas and opinions.
Collaboration is such an important part of any organization, and the truth is that there are no downsides to increasing collaboration, only positives.
But better collaboration is not something that comes overnight. It involves building the right team, providing clear roles and responsibilities for each person, making use of technology like interactive whiteboards, encouraging feedback, and building relationships and trust.
Identify what your team needs, then implement effective communication techniques to encourage collaboration. By doing this, you can make positive changes to how you run your business and enjoy the many advantages that better collaboration provides.
If you need help with boosting collaboration in your business, why not see how we can help?
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