Teamwork leads to synergy, that is, greater efficiency and better results as compared to having individuals work separately. However, improving collaboration within teams/departments in the office is easier said than done, especially if you take into account that it forces various personalities and minds to work and coordinate towards a common goal. Poor teamwork can result not only in poor output or missed deadlines, but it can lead to squabbles and finger-pointing between team members. As such, we’ll be taking a look at different ways you can improve collaboration and promote synergy through teamwork in your office:
Clearly-Defined Goal
What brings different people of varied backgrounds, personalities, perspectives, and temperament is a common goal. If a team knows exactly what they’re working to achieve and what’s at stake, it should be enough to have those with polarized personalities to set their differences aside and put their heads together to meet that target. As such, when you’re making a team or instructing a unit/department to work together, it’s important to clearly set the goal of their collaboration.
An Effective Leader
A good leader can unite and manage different types of people. But the keyword here is “good”. So you should be careful when choosing the person who will be leading the team as it can make or break the unit. Make sure to pick someone that everyone listens to or at least someone who can make others listen to what the leader has to say. Good communication, problem-solving, and management skills are essential in teams. If any issue would arise between members and the leader, there should be someone in charge, perhaps a supervisor or someone on a higher position that can help mitigate these issues so that the team can get back to working together.
Team Building
There’s a reason why organizations and companies spend a lot of time and money on team-building activities: it’s effective. In order for a team to be “a team”, every member should be comfortable with working with each other, and the stronger the relationship between each team member, the better they’ll be able to work and communicate together. There are many team building activities you can do, from games to actual team getaways, to even just having a daily team exercise each day or so. The bottom line is that you shouldn’t disregard how important team building activities can be.
Bring them Together (Physically)
If possible, have your teams work closely with each other, and we mean this quite literally. Have your time sit close to each other for faster communication and promote collaboration. You can do so by re-arranging seating assignments or the office layout or purchase one of those office workstations online that can seat workers together while giving each other enough space to do their individual tasks comfortably. However, if this isn’t an option, the next step would be to…
Improve Communication
Communication is key to collaboration. Clear and easy communication allows for easier assignment of tasks, faster updates, and a means to convey any issues and grievances. You can improve communication by using a software or platform specifically for team communication. Or you can at least find ways to make communication easier through the use of group chat rooms and collaborative workspaces through your office network.
Conclusion
Improving collaboration and promoting synergy through teamwork is no easy task, but with these tips, you’ll be able to build a working team from scratch that can efficiently work together to achieve their common goal.
