The Covid-19 pandemic has brought about volatile market changes and for most businesses, it has led to increased competition.
This has made it extremely important for organisations to create a collaborative culture that encourages idea generation, innovation and creativity, and promotes healthy working relationships. Collaboration is the bedrock of every successful business venture. Different functions in the organisation cannot exist independently, they have to work together to fulfill their roles, and this is what helps the business succeed. When there is collaboration in an organisation, individuals from different teams who have different skills and perspectives, work together to accomplish common organisational objectives.
A joint study by the Institute for Corporate Productivity (i4cp) and Edward A. Madden Professor of Global Business at Babson College, Rob Cross, examined over 1,100 companies, many of which claim to have open and collaborative cultures. The result of the study found that companies that promoted collaborative working were five times as likely to be high performing. It is important to ensure that the work environment supports and promotes collaborative working from how information flows through the organisation, how decisions are made, the physical design of your workplace, and how you measure and reward employee behaviours (Source).
The need for collaboration cannot be overemphasized especially now that a lot of organisations are gradually phasing back into working from a physical location. According to a recent Gensler research report, the dramatic shift toward work from home during the pandemic has dealt a significant blow to collaboration. The startling decline in collaboration from 2019 to 2020 signals that there could be considerable downsides to working environments that are entirely virtual. However, working remotely can also refine workplace collaboration by helping teams communicate more thoughtfully, make more considered decisions, and sustain task motivation. There is a dire need for organisations to ensure that employees collaborate with members of their own team or from other departments, as well as contractors, clients, or even other organisations.
In order to successfully achieve collaboration, organisations need to:
• Have clearly defined goals and objectives so that there is a focal point that everyone is working towards
• Communicate clear goals for every individual, team, department to know what is expected of them
• Provide an environment that allows innovative and creative ideas across the organisation
• Lead by example as this builds trust and encourages collaborative behavior and culture
• Utilise technological tools and software that enable collaboration.
The application of modern technology and software tools help to enhance collaboration within the organisation by providing a platform that enables everyone understand the “how” and “why”. At Peoplesource Consulting, we believe in the importance of collaboration. By providing a variety of consulting tools and products, from Management Drives to De Bono’s 6 Thinking Hats, DISC assessments and lots more, we enable organisations, and their teams gain insights into personality dynamics, motivations and drives, and to become more aware of their abilities to work collaboratively. This enhances the effectiveness and performance of individuals, teams and organisations. To find out more about our consulting tools and how they can be used to achieve collaboration within your organisation, please email associates@peoplesourceconsulting.com