Collaboration is essential to a business's success because it helps team members work together towards achieving common goals. A successful business will have team members who are dedicated to working well together and helping each other out. But collaboration isn’t always the easiest thing to foster — let’s take a look at how you can get everyone on the same page.

How do you create a collaborative culture in your business?

Use cloud-based software for file sharing and project management

Cloud-based collaborative work tools allow employees to share files and ideas in real time. These tools allow you to see what your colleagues are working on, see their changes and communicate with them directly. This is a great way to get more done as a team and get feedback on projects as early as possible.

We've covered our top picks for best team management software here.

Invite employees to share ideas

Great ideas often come from unexpected sources. You might be surprised at how much information you can glean from employees who aren't part of the management team or don't have direct knowledge about your company's goals and objectives. Encourage employees at all levels to share their thoughts with you, whether it's through one-on-one meetings, group meetings or online discussions such as brainstorming sessions or town hall events.

Provide team-building activities

When people don't know each other well, it's hard for them to work together effectively. Team-building activities help create a sense of trust and comfort among coworkers so they're more likely to share ideas and collaborate effectively later on. Try holding an icebreaker activity or having everyone share something about themselves at the start of each meeting.

Every few months, take it further by hosting an in-person or remote team activity. Cooking classes, paintballing, hackathons (where teams have to solve a problem), dinners, barbeques or parties are all great ideas. People really come out of their shell and get to know each other when they're taken out of the work environment and set a fun challenge to accomplish together. Or eat and drink together 😉

Use group calendars

A calendar that is shared by all members of your team can help keep everyone on schedule and aware of upcoming deadlines or events that may affect their work. You can also use it as a way to track tasks and responsibilities so that everyone knows what they are responsible for working on at any given time.

Emphasize the big picture

Allowing employees to understand the overall goals of the business will help them see how their work fits into the overall picture. If your company has multiple departments or divisions, make sure that everyone understands how their role fits into the broader picture of their company's goals and objectives. This will encourage them to collaborate more readily with others on projects that may not directly affect their own jobs but will contribute to organizational goals.

Set clear goals and expectations

Every project needs a clear goal and set of expectations that everyone on your team understands. It's important for everyone to know what's expected of them so they can work together effectively toward a common goal. If you don't set these guidelines for your employees' roles in the project, you may find yourself with multiple people doing similar work or working on tasks that aren't necessary for success.

Share feedback often

A culture of continuous improvement is one where there's an open environment for feedback and learning. When you're working on a project, gather your team together at regular intervals to discuss how things are going, what has been accomplished and what needs to be done next.

When someone needs help or guidance, they shouldn't have to wait until they're in a meeting or on the phone with you before they get it. Instead, share feedback as often as possible so that people can continue working toward their goals while you help them along the way. You don't need to wait until someone asks for feedback either — just let them know when something looks good or needs work so they can make adjustments accordingly.

Swap roles frequently

Make sure everyone gets to try out different roles and responsibilities in your business. If you're in a leadership position, take the time to learn what your employees do on a day-to-day basis. If you're an employee, get hands-on experience leading projects or teams.

This helps people understand what other people do, which makes it easier for them to work together effectively. It also helps people build up their expertise so they can take on more responsibility in the future.

Celebrate diversity and inclusivity

If you want to build an effective team, you have to embrace diversity. Hire people who are different from you — not just in terms of race or gender but also personality type, skill set and experience level — so that you can create a wider range of ideas and perspectives. This will help you see things from different perspectives and find new solutions for challenges that arise.

Try to create an inclusive culture where everyone feels like they belong by showing that everyone has a voice at work — no matter what their background is or what level they are at in the company hierarchy. By doing so, you'll create a more collaborative workplace where people feel valued and listened to.

Get rid of silos

A siloed organization is one where people specialize in one area or function and don't communicate with each other about anything else — which means there are no opportunities for cross-pollination or sharing best practices between departments. Silos can prevent effective collaboration because they make it harder for employees to work together. To avoid silos, encourage your team to share their knowledge and expertise with each other. For example, if you have a sales manager who's also responsible for marketing, make sure he or she knows what's going on in both departments so they can collaborate effectively.

Encourage employees to communicate face-to-face

For non-remote teams, the best way to collaborate effectively is by getting people talking face-to-face. This might seem obvious, but many companies make this difficult by encouraging their employees to communicate via email or instant message instead of talking in person, even if they're in an office together.

Email and instant messaging are useful tools for communication, but they don't allow for collaboration — there's no back and forth between two people, so there's no way for either party to respond with any kind of nuance or depth. Face-to-face conversation (including video calls, to an extent) allows for back and forth that doesn't happen over email or IMs — this helps build trust between colleagues and fosters a sense of community within your company.

Encourage people to work on projects together

When you have a team working on a single project, you naturally create an environment where workers are comfortable working with each other. This will not only help them learn from one another but also make them more likely to communicate with each other on a regular basis. It will also mean that they're more likely to feel like they're part of a team rather than just working alone in their own little bubbles.

This is especially important for remote teams, which don't have the same opportunities for collaboration as office employees do.

Listen to feedback from employees

If someone has an idea for improving the way things are done, listen to them. And don't just dismiss their ideas because they're not perfect or because it's not what you would've come up with. Instead, try implementing their ideas and see how they work out. With this approach, you'll find that employees are more likely to collaborate with you on other projects too.

Celebrate teamwork at regular intervals

When people work together on a project or campaign, acknowledge their efforts and achievements as a team. If you can, celebrate the team’s larger achievements with a small party, celebration or even just an email/Slack message. This is a great way to build morale and promote collaboration within your organization.

Establish clear team roles and expectations from the beginning

When you're starting out with a new group or project, it's important to get everyone on the same page about what their role is and how they'll contribute to the team's success. Make sure everyone understands what each person brings to the table — skills and expertise — and how you expect them to contribute. This will help ensure that everyone is contributing in an effective manner.

Encourage employees to take risks and experiment with new ideas, processes and products as a team

When people feel safe enough to share their ideas with others, they're more likely to make suggestions and offer feedback when they see something wrong or inefficient. That's how innovations happen!

In summary

By now, it should be clear that collaboration can be immensely beneficial to the business world, and that poor collaboration leads to poor efficiency and diminished productivity. As a business owner, you can use our tips above to help your team work and communicate better together. And as a fellow employee, you can use these tips to get your company's management and leadership on board with improving collaboration in the hopes of boosting your own department's efficiency. One thing is for certain: there is no substitute for good communication when it comes to making businesses run more smoothly!

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