Improving Collaboration within the Workforce

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Effective teamwork and collaboration have many benefits, including boosting creativity and innovation, improving morale amongst employees, and greater productivity – all of which contribute to a booming business. We discuss the several ways to improve and inspire collaboration within the workforce.

Improve communication methods

Despite being very handy, e-mails do, in fact, waste a significant amount of time, particularly where simple messages can be relayed more quickly via phone or instant message. As such, it may be worthwhile to consider switching up the communication methods used in the workplace, ensuring people are not always so reliant on e-mails.

Effective communication training, as well as the scheduling in of frequent team meetings or daily scrum sessions, are just some of the simple ways in which to improve workplace collaboration.

There is also the option now of investing in a modern collaborative working software, which is specifically designed to help teams better communicate, allowing staff, partners and clients to work together on projects at any time, from anywhere, and on any type of device. Features of such tools include; secure file sharing, managing team projects, discussion forums, joint calendars, virtual workspaces and document co-operation.

These tools are particularly popular amongst millennials employees, who often believe that collaboration and technology should go hand-in-hand. Given that, by 2020, this generation will make up half of the workforce, it’s highly advantageous for employers to appeal to and engage with them.

Office design

In order for businesses to truly thrive, cross-functional teams need to be able to effectively collaborate, which is why contemporary workspace design is vital. Creating a work environment with collaboration in mind will encourage employees to communicate with each other and work better as a team.

Employers can achieve this by having an open-plan office space, which allows for easy information sharing between workers, as opposed to the traditional closed-off, partitioned offices of yesteryear.

Of course, people do need privacy every so often, to make important phone calls or focus on projects, which is why having separate rooms and break-out areas for such purposes is also a good idea. Moreover, these can be used by teams to assemble regularly for important meetings, either with other staff members or clients.

Encourage relationship-building

The average employee spends more time with their colleagues than with their loved ones, which is why building and maintaining healthy workplace relationships are essential.

Employers can encourage co-worker bonding by arranging regular outings, socials and team-building events, giving people the chance to get to know each other outside of the office, in a more relaxed setting.

Not only does this improve communication and collaboration, but it also means happier, more productive employees.

Setting goals

The ability to effectively collaborate and work well within a team should form an integral part of each employee’s performance appraisal.

Knowing that they are being reviewed on such aspects ensures that staff can see the value placed on teamwork, therefore naturally motivating them to keep improving and setting goals for themselves which specifically include collaboration efforts.

Also read: 7 Ways To Boost Productivity And Inspiration At Workplace