Improving the ability to work in a team is one of the skills most valued by companies on the job market today. Teamwork is the result of a collaboration between several people. Whether the collaboration is of good or bad quality depends on the involvement, motivation, and desire of these people. In this article, you will find everything you need to know to collaborate effectively with your team and make it one of your greatest successes.
Summary
- The ability to work in a team is directly related to learning how to collaborate effectively. If you understand what it means to collaborate, you will be able to improve this ability.
- There are 6 core elements to be considered when it comes to effective collaboration, including the tasks to be done and how the team communicates with each other.
- The risks and advantages of collaborating as a team and not collaborating efficiently will also be discovered later on.
What you should know about collaborating effectively
Nowadays, working in teams is the most efficient way of working. Collaboration between work groups is necessary, but it is even more important that this collaboration is adequate and that it is done correctly. Teamwork is understood as the ability to actively participate in the pursuit of a common goal.
Read more about Ways To Build Team Collaboration
How do we learn to collaborate effectively?
First, let’s start by explaining what effective collaboration means. To collaborate is to work together with others on a common task. But there are several things to consider:
- What is the common task
- What are the skills of each member of the team
- Time required to complete the task
- What is the individual task
- How the group communicates
- Proactive organization
These aspects are very important. If they are properly fulfilled, the collaboration will most likely be a success. Communication is the essence of successful teamwork. Effective communication is the path to understanding, interpretation and action. However, faulty communication/collaboration in your team can lead to misunderstandings (2).
Don’t think it is too complicated to properly organize a team for effective collaboration because it is easier than it sounds.
What does knowing how to collaborate effectively give you?
If you already have a team that works well together, knows its pros and cons, knows the capabilities of its members and communicates well, you have noticed that your work is more enjoyable and that the end result is more productive than before.
Collaborating effectively means that you don’t lose time in achieving the final goal and helps you to solve problems more easily. In addition, it also makes team members more aware, communicative and emotionally intelligent. Having a team that knows how to communicate properly with other team members helps to ensure that any issues are resolved sooner and therefore don’t lead to real problems.
The team collaborates transparently, maximizes the level of work and the level of social relationships with others. Team members understand their mistakes and recognize them, and always look for the greater good of the collaboration.
Don’t you think it provides a lot? We recommend you give it a try. If you are a team leader or the HR manager of your company, we don’t know what you are waiting for. Collaborating effectively will put your brand name at the top of the list.
Advantages of effective collaboration
Effective collaboration can give us a competitive advantage over our competitors. Competitive advantage through the links in the supply chain can be achieved on the basis of two criteria:
- Optimization: based on the fact that the better performance of one part of the company’s activity can allow cost reductions in the execution of other activities.
- Coordination: based on the mere coordination of tasks as a source of competitive advantages, since a high degree of coordination between activities means that both are carried out more efficiently (3).
Therefore, let’s look at the advantages of effective collaboration.
Reduction of working time
Working time is reduced, due to better use of time. Fewer working hours may be necessary if we know how to generate functional work collaborations.
Better final result
The end result is better. Your results may already be exceptional, but when you connect the right people at the right time, any kind of objective increases in value. The purpose of work becomes more meaningful and reaches the target audience with better energy.
Fewer conflicts
Creates fewer conflicts. This does not mean that conflicts do not occur, it means that problem-solving is easier due to the interaction of all team members. In addition, proper communication leads to more open conversations.
Check out the latest Workplace Conflict Statistics
It livens up work time
Liven up work time. Whether members are in the same physical location or not, they are more likely to connect with each other and communicate more easily.
Consolidated team
Create a consolidated team. Build a team that is calm, motivated, and eager to improve. In addition, it focuses the members to achieve the set objective in the established time, and also gives them the credit for doing it well and the pride of doing a good job.
Improving innovation
It promotes innovation because it provides a different working environment where innovative ideas and approaches are obtained. For example, when you want to launch a new product on the market, you use the brainstorming technique. Well-managed innovation helps to enhance brand image, to create favorable expectations among investors, to have more motivated employees and be a partner in collaborative projects (1).
What are the risks of an ineffective collaboration?
Not only is it necessary to collaborate, but sometimes we confuse working with a group of people with working in a team. A team coordinates all members optimally, maximising the potential of each one of them (according to their capabilities).
One of the first risks is not realizing that collaboration is not as effective as it could be. This is a major risk, as the members themselves become complacent and believe that they are maximizing the work when they could actually give 25% more than what they currently achieve.
With the above advantages, the risks are clear. The advantages outweigh the disadvantages. Collaborating effectively generates a work environment that overcomes any conflict and improves the quality of the relationship of its members.
Another risk is not taking into account the fact that the same work could be done in less time, if the prior arrangement is correct. It is preferable to dedicate time to properly organizing the available resources (both physical and human), work techniques, tools, etc. rather than to spend that time on the work itself.
How to promote collaboration?
We will now look at four techniques to promote collaboration and make it effective.
Establish standards for communications
Stop for a moment and think: how do you communicate with your colleagues? Whether speaking in person, by e-mail, by videoconference, etc., you need to establish a communication plan. Know what kind of information is communicated to the colleague and by what means. You need to know what should be communicated by email, what kind of messages should be sent by direct messages and whether, for example, there is a preferred day or time for meetings.
The same applies to establishing break times that should be left to other colleagues. In other words, those moments of time off from communication are also necessary (5).
Dedicate time for team building
You should organize activities for team members to get to know each other, share experiences about their lives, tell jokes, broaden their horizons, expose their fears and their values, etc. These are ways of increasing the social level of relationships and thus becoming more than just colleagues.
Team building activities are not only a way to relieve tension, but they are also an excellent opportunity to get to know each other better outside the work environment. What are your co-worker’s goals in life? Where is your boss from, and how does his/her background affect him/her? What did your new teammate do before he/she took up the current position? Teams that are able to relate to each other inside and outside work get to know each other better (5).
Offer mentoring opportunities
Fostering team collaboration is a social skill. In fact, it is a combination of interpersonal and communication skills. Each individual team member can work to improve these skills, but sometimes an outside perspective can be very helpful (5).
When any member has a problem that they are unable to solve on their own, or simply need to consult a professional about team communication, control of activities or behavior of a colleague, it helps the person and also strengthens the team.
Use shared tools
The best and easiest way for your team to work together is through collaboration with a single shared tool. When you have a single source of information, all your team’s work will be produced in the same place. Any new updates, shared files or extra content will be found easily (5). This makes it much simpler for all information to come in through the same channel and for everyone to participate in it.
When communicating through different channels, some colleagues may forget about it, stop receiving that information and therefore miss some meetings, or important events that influence the overall performance of the team.
What resources can be used to improve collaboration?
To summarise, we are going to make a short list of what we believe are the best resources to use to improve collaboration.
Trello
Trello is a visual tool that allows teams to manage any type of project and workflow, as well as monitor tasks. It allows all members to modify the same board and therefore be up-to-date on each of the tasks to be performed and how other colleagues are doing.
See other best Project Management Software
Slack
Slack is more complete than the previous one because it allows direct communication by chat and video call. It is a team communication tool. It allows you to create workspaces to chat with a large number of members. It allows you to send images, videos, links, thread messages, and an infinite number of messages.
See other best Team Communication Software
Google Drive and Google Meet
Google Drive and Google Meet are both Google tools. They are very useful for video calls with many people simultaneously and for sharing information (working at the same time from different places, you only need an internet connection).
See other best Cloud Content Collaboration Software
WhatsApp is not contemplated within the professional sphere, although the business version is also available, but it is very useful for mobile devices. Most companies have a WhatsApp group to talk, meet and communicate the necessary information.
Tips for effective collaboration
We believe that everything explained above is more than enough to improve collaboration. But if you are willing to learn a little more and be the best leader for your work team, apply these tips. Let’s get to it.
Focus on your mission
The first tip is to focus on your mission. This may seem strange, but do you know what your mission is within the work team? Well, once you have it clear, take it to the highest level and try to improve. But you also need to know what the overall mission of the group is.
The company’s mission is even more crucial, as it gives meaning to the whole organization. In the event that everyone is working remotely and away from their teammates, it is important to reinforce and reiterate the company mission to all employees. Make sure everyone in the company knows the mission and long-term goals, not just team leaders or managers. Effective team collaboration needs a purpose.
When all employees are invested in the same goals, they will strive to collaborate on their own. They will be motivated to find the best ways to get the job done. In the absence of a compelling cause, employees will undoubtedly find reasons to avoid working together (6).
Encourage creativity and reward good performance
The second and third tips are addressed to team leaders and managers. It is very important to encourage creativity and reward good performance for collaborative work.
You can encourage creativity by going on small excursions such as visiting a monument in the city, having breakfast in a restaurant, or going on an activity such as hiking or watching a short film. You can also establish a more flexible work schedule so that employees have time to combine work and family life.
These types of activities will reduce employee stress, increase their level of positivity, and help them approach their tasks from a different perspective. On the other hand, as a reward for good performance, you can give small gifts or thank-you letters to comfort the good feelings. It is not enough to ask for better cooperation from your employees. You also need ways to actively encourage that behavior and reward it when teams demonstrate the desired results (6).
Conclusion
Now, do you think that your company can improve and encourage the level of work by collaborating effectively? We believe you can, as studies have shown that productivity levels increase when teams collaborate well.
Strengthening through coaching techniques, and using tools, can help improve the skills of all team members. In addition, collaborating effectively means you don’t lose time in achieving the end goal and helps you solve problems much easier. The right organization and collaboration will make your team one of the leaders in the market.
References
1. Benjamin R. Collaboration is key to innovation [Internet]. Monograph Article. 2009 [2022].
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2. Chang R. Teamwork for success [Internet]. Book; 1994 [2022].
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3. Soret Los Santos I. Model of Knowledge Measurement and generation of sustainable competitive advantages in the scope of the EFFICIENT CONSUMER RESPONSE (ECR) initiative [Internet]. Doctoral dissertation. 2007 [2022].
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