Around 75% of employees rank collaboration as important in their roles, which proves that employers must embrace teamwork in the workplace.
Collaboration has many perks as it encourages problem-solving, boosts productivity, and lets your employees build healthy working relationships with one another. But it takes skill and effort to have an environment where teamwork is essential. Perhaps you’re currently struggling with this and you’re looking for inspiration.
Sounds like you? Don’t worry, you’ve come to the right place. Here’s how to promote collaboration at work.
Create a Judgement-Free Zone
A simple way to improve collaboration in the workplace is making it a judgment-free zone. If there’s a culture of fear then employees will be less willing to participate in discussions and grow as a team. To prevent this, you should avoid setting too many guidelines and remind employees that there are no bad ideas.
Offer Rewards for Great Work
Businesses that want to improve collaboration should also offer rewards for great work. Aside from praising individuals, reward teams as it will encourage future collaborations as employees benefit from working together. For instance, you could reward the winning team to lunch or treat them to promotional swag.
Implement the Right Technology
If you’re stumped on improving collaboration at work, then use technology to help you. Make sure your team can access a laptop where they can video call one another or communicate via apps like Slack. As a result, you’ll see a boost in productivity and your team will naturally collaborate more with one another.
Embrace Hot Desking
Implementing a hot desking system is a great way to boost collaboration. This is where you set out desks and let your team choose where they want to sit, ideally in a different spot each day. You should also encourage employees to sit next to people they usually wouldn’t as it will spark new ideas and conversations.
Encourage Team Members to Brainstorm
Brainstorming is an essential part of workplace collaboration. Set aside half an hour every day for your employees to tackle questions without the worry of being judged. When this becomes part of your work routine, then it will be less intimidating for employees to speak up and share their ideas whenever you have discussions.
Treat Mistakes as an Opportunity to Learn
Mistakes are an inevitable part of life, so remind employees not to take themselves too seriously when collaborating at work. If your team gets hung up on errors, then it’ll negatively affect their self-esteem and prevent them from moving forward. Instead, encourage your employees to treat mistakes as an opportunity to learn so they’re constantly progressing.
Embrace Collaboration at Work
Hopefully, after reading this article, you know how to encourage collaboration at work.
Start by creating a judgment-free zone, use technology to your advantage, and encourage team members to brainstorm. You should also treat mistakes as an opportunity to learn and offer positive reinforcement. Good luck!
Check out the rest of our blog for more workplace tips and tricks.
