Six Ways to Build Effective Team Collaboration

Great team collaboration is likely to be one of the most important factors in the success of your business – and fortunately, it’s also an element that can be easily up-leveled! It’s not just productivity and workflow that you can expect to improve as a result: you’ll probably see staff retention levels quickly go up, too. Almost 80% of employees cite a supportive, collaborative team atmosphere as one of the key things that motivate them to stay in their posts.

Need some inspiration to help build better collaborative practices? Use the guide below for ideas on ways to get your team working smarter and happier than ever before!

Use Tech to Help

Software is your best friend when it comes to boosting your team’s collaborative processes and helping everyone feel better connected. Think first about your day-to-day systems that impact collaboration – the email and team apps you currently use in your business, for example.

Consider whether your email client offers you the best service on this score. There are options now available specifically geared toward enhancing team collaboration and improving workflow. You can also use these enhanced video conferencing solutions to help improve meeting equity, meaning your team all feel they have an equal opportunity to contribute, wherever they are located.

Project management software can also really help with building more effective collaboration. These platforms typically incorporate many tools to facilitate smoother working practices, including tools that give employees the ability to see exactly how their role fits into the bigger picture and the tasks of their colleagues.

Create a Supportive Culture

Crucial to boosting your team’s collaboration is ensuring the workplace is an inclusive, supportive one in which employees feel comfortable sharing their ideas and providing feedback. Build a positive environment by, for example, acknowledging and celebrating team members’ achievements, and making sure that the work environment is as pleasant as possible.

As well as making your employees feel valued and appreciated, offering a flexible working schedule and being aware of situations that may be going on in individuals’ home lives is important, too. 

Support Autonomous Working

One of the best ways of helping your team to work smarter and more effectively is to promote autonomous working and step back from micro-managing to allow your team to flourish. There are plenty of ways to go about this: to begin, let your staff in on your vision and exactly how their work aligns with the goals of the business and its importance.

Once you’ve set your team a task and stepped back (however hard this may be at first!), you’ll also need to make sure your employees have everything they need to complete their mission – this could be equipment, admin support, a budget, or access to training.

The Importance of Leading by Example

As the manager of a team, leading by example when it comes to great collaborative practices is very important. As well as setting the standards of behavior, a leader’s actions can inspire and motivate those around them and represent the values of the company.

If a team sees that their leader is keen to work co-operatively, and places a lot of value on great communication, then this will set the tone for the work environment. Promoting a culture of transparency is an effective way to set about doing this – have an ‘open door’ policy within your office and encourage open and honest feedback. Strive to build a sense of trust by being clear with your employees about any planned corporate changes and following through on any commitments and promises you make.

Encourage Creative Problem-Solving

Giving your team the time and space to be creative in their work is likely to pay off: as well as having a happier team, this approach will foster healthy collaborative practices and innovative new solutions or ways of working.

It’s relatively easy to do this: create a relaxed space where your team can gather to brainstorm and discuss ideas: this could even be an outdoor area that’s transformed into a gorgeous outside office, the perfect way to promote creativity!

If brainstorming sessions aren’t something that has been part of your working practices before, then bringing them into play is highly recommended. Give your team a heads-up a few days before the session, so they have time to gather their thoughts and get comfortable with the idea.

Inject Some Fun!

And it’s not all about work- getting your staff members involved in a team building day, a virtual quiz night, or a regular lunch out can do wonders for team spirit, morale, and motivation, and – hence – optimize communication and collaboration at work.

Helping your team members to develop relationships can pay dividends and create a stronger working dynamic that is more powerfully engaged.

The Benefits of Better Communication

A recent study revealed that well-collaborating teams perform five times better than their counterparts – and so prioritizing it could be the best strategy to boost your business’s bottom line this year! Use the above tips to create a comprehensive strategy to get your team to collaborate optimally and innovate great new solutions.