3 Useful Strategies to Create a Collaborative Workplace

Benefits of Collaboration in the Workplace

In today’s competitive business landscape, collaboration in the workplace is one of the keys to success for any business.  Among the many benefits of collaboration in the workplace are employees clearly communicating, prompt adaptation to challenges, develop confidence to undertake risks, and enjoy higher levels of productivity. Creating a thriving work environments can help improve the quality of a team's deliverables and elevate team morale. There are many different ways to strategically create a workplace of collaboration. This article explores some practical advice for small business owners to apply within their companies. 

Create a Culture of Open Communication

The responsibility of creating a culture of open communication rests on the shoulders of managers and the C-suite, according to Grove HR. These leaders are ultimately responsible for the success of their teams and play a pivotal role in making everyone feel included, heard, and valued. The benefits of fostering an open communication culture include improved collaboration, higher employee satisfaction levels, and better-than-ever work efficiency.

Practicing an open-door policy is a tried and tested method. However, in today’s digital workplaces, this can be difficult to implement. A great substitute idea is to create a Cliq Channel, Slack channel, Microsoft Teams group, or any other collaborative space where employees can openly share their ideas regarding marketing, product development, and other initiatives. This Open Door channel should be actively monitored by managers. The most effective leaders know that respecting all voices in a company is vital to culture. So this collaborative channel should highlight the good ideas and test them to ensure that employees feel heard and develop trust with the organization. 

Invest in Project Management Software

In addition to the efforts made by management, employees need to be motivated to undertake collaborative activities as well. For instance, groups of employees can be given the mantle of tackling certain time-bound projects, such as creating a social media campaign to promote an upcoming product launch.

Expecting employees to manually track the progress of tasks and communicate via email or messaging apps will set them up for success. The better option is to mandate the use of a cloud-based product management software, such as Zoho Projects. Employees can divide tasks among each other, track the progress of the project through a centralized dashboard, and make prompt adjustments to the strategy based on real-time data. Beckmann Collaborative recommends simple project management platforms for smaller teams such as Asana. 

Reward Collaborative Efforts

When employees see that their collaborative efforts are seen and rewarded, they will be more likely to continue doing so in the future. A great way to reward employees is to host periodic awards in your workplace, where employees who have gone over and above to help make the company a success are rewarded and recognized. In the case of digital teams, such an event can be held virtually, and employees can be rewarded with gift cards, PTOs, or a host of other benefits.

The process of rewarding your team can be made interactive by allowing employees to vote for winners in different categories or choose which of their colleagues should be recognized for their efforts over a specific time period. Not only will this boost the confidence of employees who are rewarded, but it will create a culture where everyone is committed to collaborating with others rather than working in silos, which is often the case in modern digital-first workplaces.

Are You Creating a Culture that Celebrates Collaboration in the Workplace?

Creating a culture of collaboration in your business includes various moving parts. The first involves practicing open communication with employees by being upfront about expectations and deadlines and being willing to help them through challenging periods. Second, using a project management tool is a must to empower employees to collaborate with team members and others across the organization. Lastly, rewarding employees reinforced their commitment to practicing collaboration, as they understand that the workspace they are in values their opinions and efforts and provide them with an environment to thrive and succeed.

Guest Blog Author

Vanessa Holwell

Owner, Hiring Squad

Vanessa Holwell and her husband, Rick, created HiringSquad.net after losing their jobs during the financial crisis in 2008. The site is designed to be a forum for people to share advice on how to get hired, provide job search resources, and give you the tools you need to get the job you want.