Introduction to Collaborative Teamwork

Collaborative Work Guide

Teamwork and collaboration are widely recognized as critical ingredients to business success. Yet, fostering company-wide collaborative teamwork isn’t as easy as it may seem. Getting everyone on the same page can be challenging for a startup, let alone an established enterprise with hundreds of employees on the books.

What’s more, you can’t expect to introduce collaboration into the work environment without a framework for success. You must define what it means to work together and how this can lead to greater productivity and results. Otherwise, you may end up with a warped version of teamwork: the textbook model in which one person assumes all the responsibility and becomes a bottleneck, ultimately hindering progress.

This guide will provide an overview of teamwork and collaboration in the workplace, highlighting success stories backed up by real-life examples. That way, you can base your initiatives on models that yield results rather than on ideals that could backfire.

What makes for effective collaboration?

The value of collaboration may seem obvious, as it’s generally accepted that several minds working to solve a problem is a more effective approach than relying on one person’s ideas. While this may be so, there are countless examples of collaboration and teamwork getting in the way of progress.

Well-executed teamwork can skyrocket productivity and lead to incredible results, whereas poorly-executed teamwork can cause more harm than good. One of the main challenges employees face when working together is a lack of clear responsibilities and communication. In the US, 14% of people surveyed by Slack in 2019 cited unclear communication as a barrier to collaboration.

To encourage the right kind of collaboration, you must emphasize clear communication and lay out individual and collective responsibilities. Time spent on non-work-related activities is a common scourge on company productivity. In most cases, this idle time results from employees being unclear on the next steps.

Using project management software, you can create individual to-do lists to break down projects into bite-sized chunks that employees can sink their teeth into. This will also lead to harmonious collaboration, optimizing task management. In a cooperative environment, tasks will fly through the pipeline, and everyone will know what they need to contribute.

How to foster productive collaboration

The basics of teamwork have always been the same, with three principles at the core of any collaborative effort:

Communication: The moment communication breaks down, collaboration becomes virtually impossible, as teams are unable to share ideas and feedback
Shared vision: Without a shared vision to work towards, team members will feel less engaged with the work or pursue their own objectives, which may not be in the interests of the group as a whole
Project management: An inability to effectively manage projects inhibits a team’s ability to get things done in a timely fashion

If you can set up a work environment for teams with these three principles in mind, you’ll be onto a winning formula for productive collaboration. There are various tools you can use to this end, many of which rely on technology in some way:

Team-building events
Project management software
In-person or virtual meetings
Communication tools
Brainstorm sessions
Shared documents

The success of a collaborative work environment hinges upon tools such as these, so one of the best things you can do to foster teamwork is to implement those which make the most sense for your business.

Teamwork collaboration examples can help shed light on the team-based dynamic and tools a business requires to thrive. For example, software developers may rely on project management software for user test development and feedback, while a law firm might need a way of accessing shared documents.

Inspire teamwork with Wrike

The rise of remote work in the wake of the pandemic has brought new ways of working, with flexible hours and less time spent in the office. Yet, even though many have risen to the challenge, 16% of employees said their greatest struggle with remote work is collaboration and communication.

That’s where project management tools come in. Wrike is a software solution that offers a range of features designed to help companies thrive, regardless of where their employees work. One of the main benefits of Wrike is that it allows team members to visualize project progress and see what their colleagues are up to. A staggering 94% of people claim that seeing what their teammates are working on improves their productivity and overall business efficiency.

It isn’t just a tool for small businesses either; Wrike has been instrumental in streamlining operations for big businesses, too. American football giants San Francisco 49ers rely on the platform for producing media and video assets.

Try your free two-week trial for Wrike today, and see how your company can create a collaborative work culture that leads to results.

Rachael Kealy

Rachael is a Content Marketing Manager at Wrike. She has more than a decade of experience writing about every industry, from energy to entrepreneurship. She spent many years as a food writer and still loves nothing more than exploring new culinary experiences. Her passions are wide-ranging, including the themes of collaborative working, artificial intelligence, and the future of work.

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Introduction to Collaborative Teamwork