When the routine becomes tiresome and something goes wrong, it is not the fault of a single employee, it is time to encourage team collaboration.
All members of the organization should feel part of the same project and work as a team to enjoy its benefits together.
Summary
- Team collaboration always brings benefits to any organization. Teamwork improves collective performance for both the company and the individual employee.
- Interpersonal relationships and empathy among employees develop when there is collaboration among members of the organization. An employee who is encouraged by his/her team generates greater productivity.
- The best organizations function with teams that work collaboratively with each other. Team collaboration decreases employee turnover.
What you should know about team collaboration
Working collaboratively and efficiently is one of the purposes to be pursued. But what exactly is teamwork, and how can you promote it in your organization? Is it possible to achieve joint cooperation when each employee works remotely?
What is team collaboration?
Cooperation between employees involves forming groups of employees who work well together. It is not only important to optimize all channels of communication, but also to consider the personalities in the teams and their cross-departmental relationship.
When teamwork is implemented correctly, the results will be positive for the entire organization. Forming work teams where knowledge and know-how are exchanged makes it easier to achieve objectives.
How to promote team collaboration?
When thinking about strategies to improve or increase collaboration between work teams, there are many possibilities. You can use a SWOT analysis to identify your organization’s strengths, opportunities, weaknesses, and threats.
Lack of team collaboration is clearly a weakness and if it is not corrected in time, it can work against your organization. It can even become a threat. With the right tools and in accordance with your productive structure, cooperation between the workers themselves will start to flow naturally.
Don’t worry, just take care of it.
What types of team collaboration are there?
The types of team collaboration that exist depend exclusively on working methods. Whether the work is Remote, Hybrid or Face-to-Face, incentives can be implemented to encourage employee coordination.
4 ways to encourage team collaboration
1. Generate sources of integration and entertainment
- Welcome a new employee to the whole organization.
- Carry out integration dynamics, either within each department or interdepartmental dynamics, outside the work performance objective. The objective of these dynamics will foster empathy and relationships among employees.
- As far as possible, any recreational and relaxation event for employees. For example, Games for points, Field Day, and After Office.
2. Recognition of teamwork
Monthly performance feedback can be given at the end of the month to cooperating teams. The use of employee recognition software will provide encouragement for teamwork.
| Recognition Ex | Images | Phrases | Awards Ceremony |
|---|---|---|---|
| Features | Publish information about the team behind the project on the company’s networks. | Circulate within the company mentions of recognition to the work teams. | Give mentions and/or make highlights to collaborative performances. |
3. Leadership Training
Implement short courses for forming positive leadership that is conducive to team collaboration. Setting clear and short-term objectives will bring better results to the teams.
4. Reward for the objective achieved
Here are some suggestions for rewarding the team that has achieved a goal. A higher level of collaboration and coordination from employees contributes to the achievement of the organisational objectives.
| Types of Rewards | Bonuses | Purchase vouchers | Day off | Breakfast |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Features | Give a monetary reward to each team member. | The purchase order can be for the whole team at once (for example, a lunch together). | Always alternating the day of each team member. | Individual reward to each team member. |
The reward should be for teamwork and not for individual achievements.
Advantages of team collaboration
The reality is that the more co-operative employees are in any organisation, the better their performance will be. Some of the advantages that you can immediately see when you increase the collaboration of work teams are:
How do we improve our team collaboration skills?
1. Identify the main problems of an organization
This exercise can be overwhelming, but it is the starting point when assessing whether the cause of the problem lies in the lack of team collaboration. Once the weakness is identified, then it is time to think about the process that leads to that weakness and improve it.
Recognizing the problem is the first step to find the solution.
Let’s suppose that an online sales company has repeated complaints from its customers about the late delivery of products once the purchase has been made.
Possible problems to identify:
- Lack of collaboration between the sales team and the dispatch team
- There is no coordination for product tracking to improve the speed of delivery.
2. Collaborative leadership teams
Collaborative teaming skills must be led by example from the highest levels of management. Communication channels between department heads need to be fluid, constant, and efficient.
“Communication is a fundamental aspect within organizations, whether it occurs naturally or intentionally. Effective communication is the central element of maintaining good interpersonal relationships (1).”
Employees will be able to build the capacity to collaborate as a team, when they have incorporated it as an organizational practice.
As long as their superiors lead by example, employees will realize the importance of teamwork.
3. Celebrating the variety of human resources
Today, differences empower us. Diversity nourishes organizations with new capabilities. Highlighting such variety allows each employee to become more efficient and, in turn, to feel happier in his or her job.
Efficiency is one of the components that streamline collaboration among work teams. Recognizing differences improves performance. There are personality tests that help employees understand their own traits better and develop empathy for others.
4. Provide rewards and encouragement for team collaboration
Creating tools that reward teamwork increases the likelihood of each employee developing teamwork skills. However, the reward or encouragement should be aimed at the team and not at an individual reward, otherwise, the message will be confusing.
Seeking bonuses or rewards for meeting group objectives improves interpersonal relationships.
“One of the most valued aspects in an organization is undoubtedly the ability to work as a team. Every company requires shared work among its members, in order to achieve high-quality indexes and, of course, to meet its objectives (2).”
How to promote a collaborative environment?
Promoting a collaborative environment comes from management. Using cooperative and consulting work styles reduces the likelihood of employees working in isolation. Strategies that promote a pleasant environment should be thought of by the management sectors.
“Ander-Egg E. (2005) proposes the following concept of a work team: these are creative managerial strategies that can be seen as a resource for increasing the capacity and ability of a person and/or organisation to perform an action or activity (3)”.
Conclusion
There is no doubt that teamwork brings nothing but benefits. The organization’s coordination comes from an excellent collaboration between work teams. Smooth and agile communication channels between the different levels of an organization are essential for collaboration.
If your company fails in something, then look for the answer in your own work teams: How do they work, how do they communicate, and how do they feel about working together? The answers to these questions will inevitably lead you towards greater team collaboration. Positive results will follow.
References
1. CÓRDOVA TULCANAZA MF, URRESTA RIVAS AJ. DESIGN OF A STRATEGIC HUMAN RESOURCES PLAN TO PROMOTE TEAMWORK IN THE COMPANY “LUXUS BLUMEN S.A.” WITH APPLICATION TO SMEs [Internet]. SALESIAN POLYTECHNIC UNIVERSITY QUITO BRANCH; 2015 [2022].
Source
2. Villarreal González NM. GUIDELINES FOR PROMOTING TEAMWORK IN THE INTERCABLE COMPANY LOCATED IN THE VALERA MUNICIPALITY. Library: Trujillo Nucleus (Rafael Rangel). Universidad de Los Andes, Núcleo Universitario Rafael Rangel, Department of Economic, Administrative and Accounting Sciences; 2013. [2022]Source
3. Malpica Rosaura; Rossell Romer; Hoffmann Ingrid. High performance work teams. Observatorio Laboral Revista Venezolana. 2014. [2022].
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