Workplace collaboration is very important, and it’s even more important to get your employees to freely jump aboard it. Employee collaboration is something that any business could fully use to their advantage, but it’s also something that usually doesn’t happen. There are a list of reasons Why some employees aren’t as collaborative as they should be, it’s just important overall to create an environment where it can be welcomed. So here are some great ideas to promote and improve employee collaboration within your business!
Begin by tweaking the work culture
If you want to have a successful collaboration between your teammates then you’re going to first need to create this space. Your employees need to feel safe, they need to know that they will not be ridiculed for their ideas. Some employees truly want to be open and give out their unique ideas but there’s their fear that they can’t. You’re going to want to start by recognizing your valued teammates. This is going to let them know that they bring a lot of value to the table.
So start by promoting positivity, push towards positive feedback. This is going to be a major confidence booster that will build trust in the workplace. This is going to be one of the best ways to make your employees feel welcomed to speak out about what they think needs improvements and their ideas.
Look into physically changing the work environment
The physical workspace itself is something that can be just about as important as the work culture. You’re going to want to look into ways to add some collaborative tools to help employees out. This could be something as simple as creating your own meeting room and filling it with executive conference tables, but you could also go further than this even.
Why not add a white board so people can write out their ideas? Why not look into software that can help employees collaborate when they’re at a distance? All of this is going to make a massive difference. You want to let your employees know that there is the right space and the right tools for cross collaboration.
Encourage socializing outside of work
If your teammates are more personally comfortable with one-another, it’s going to make things a lot easier for them, especially with working together. Working with people can be a lot easier when the comfort levels are good. So why not encourage afterwork drinks?
Use an online platform for collaboration
Due to COVID-19, some businesses have stopped with their brick and mortar office and instead have opted into remote work. While some businesses do a hybrid of both, it’s important to have the right software that allows for collaboration, no matter where you are. An online collaboration platform will help your employees with things such as :
- Asking questions to each other
- Sending and receiving messages, this can include feedback
- Screen sharing
- Sharing documents
- Collaborative research
- Video calls
All of this can make a massive difference, and if you can find a space to do this under one platform, it’s going to make things a lot easier on you and your whole team.