Corel found that nearly two-thirds (64%) of respondents to a survey claim that poor collaboration is costing them at least three hours per week in productivity. Businesses today are also struggling with balancing the organisation’s with the individuals’ needs in terms of hybrid working and creating, and sustaining authentic positive company cultures – and poor collaboration might be at the heart of it. So how can we collaborate better?
Types of collaboration
At its core, collaboration betters the people and relationships within the workplace whilst improving productivity and solving problems. There are many types of collaborations, from internal teams and disciplines to external partnerships, cross-department, cross-company, interpersonal, inter-generational, community, mergers, virtual and network collaborations.
Some of us are naturally good at collaborating, for others it may need to be a learned skill. I worked with a pharmaceutical compound team which comprised a statistician, pharmacist, doctor, marketing expert, biologist, chemist, regulatory affairs representative and many more who all had different agendas and areas of knowledge, but they needed to collaborate, to find alignment and be informed, all to get the drug approved and to market. Their disparate objectives had to be subordinated to the greater needs of the compound and it was in the spirit of collaboration that this was achieved.
Collaboration trends for the next three years
Expect the biggest trends in collaboration to include the areas of flexible working, leadership styles, soft skills, AI, VR, social responsibility and DEI.
Whilst AI will automate and free up time for some, there are opportunities and a need to collaborate around its introduction, application and consequential safety, which will require a lot of consideration. An organisation’s culture as well as effective communication will all be affected in ways we cannot foresee. Virtual and augmenting reality will create extraordinarily immersive collaborative spaces and may differentiate early adopters.
Autocratic leaders in organisations who want to be in total control of their employees will find themselves boycotted by younger generations and those most benefitting from working from home. Leaders will be tasked with balancing what they believe is best for the bottom line with what flexibility suits their people. They will need to guide by listening rather than by dictating.
Thankfully there is increasing emphasis on social responsibility from mental health to physical well-being, the environment and sustainability. A lot of collaboration will be needed, not least because wherever there is push for change, there is pushback, and we are seeing both. In many circles, relational skills will be increasingly valued and that will call for collaboration, awareness and intention.
DEI requires collaboration by all parts of the working community to bring together diverse opinions, to ensure employees feel they belong, and their voices can be heard so they can contribute hteir full and unique insights.
The big question – has remote and hybrid work affected collaboration?
For many people, the advantages of working from home outweigh the disadvantages but is this having a knock-on effect on collaboration? Corel found 80% of employees believe remote work collaboration is either better than, or just as good as, in-person. However, for many roles, creativity and innovation come from people interacting and this alone infers a continued need to meet in person. Without talking to one another informally and in passing and being too ‘plugged in’ we miss social cues and skills, and the ability to listen which increases the chance of isolation. What is clear, is that we cannot go back to how it was, and the footprint for working from home will take time to define for each set of circumstances.
What are the positive effects of collaboration?
Collaboration enables an effective team to meet and exceed goals, pool resources and problem-solve, positively affecting the bottom line and organisational performance. It helps with creativity, brainstorming and innovation. It builds stronger connections among coworkers, encourages inclusion, reduces loneliness and lowers mental health issues and by sharing the workload, reduces burnout. It provides a learning opportunity where employees can share skills and learn from one another, mentor and reverse-mentor. Collaboration creates an environment to resolve conflicts and overcome disagreements in healthy ways. It aids the sustainability of a thriving company culture by connecting employees with organisational purpose and values.
Are there any downsides to collaboration?
There are rarely downsides to collaborating although some may argue it may take longer to make decisions or could lead to role ambiguity or a loss of autonomy. But collaboration is all about working together to get the best possible outcomes, so if that takes longer, the advantages are likely to outweigh the disadvantages.
How to improve collaboration
Leaders need to be role models, to want to hear opinions and to invest in building trust – Corel found employees blame poor collaboration on company leadership. More than three-quarters (78%) said leadership could be doing more to promote collaboration within the organisation, with 27% saying their organisation hasn’t invested in the right collaboration tools. Ego and vested interest need to be put to one side. Silos need to be encouraged to come together to share and gain a greater understanding of what each is doing. Leaders need to be acutely aware of how to operate and get the best out of that situation and carry the people with them. This starts with deep listening and welcoming differing opinions.
It’s important the C-suite has an overarching understanding of what each part of the business is doing but knowledge-sharing also needs to happen. Leaders need to focus on employee skills, be open to creativity and innovation and be solutions-based. They need to keep checking for training requirements to improve collaboration and to empower and encourage teams to find solutions together. From my experience as a facilitator, holding informal group presentations of what each department is doing means they can reap the benefits of shared information and avoid potential conflicts or duplication of effort.
Efficiency, clarity, and accountability are needed, as are solid time management skills, valuing soft skills and clear goal setting.
Agree on the common objectives to find a quick workable solution. A project I worked on in Cameroon involved dockyard, project and rig teams who could not agree or align on priorities and as a result were causing the costs of the project to rise by millions of dollars. Their lack of collaboration was disastrous. Similarly in a major tunnel fire, two teams of engineers brought together to make good the damage and make the tunnel workable cost the owners millions of pounds because they weren’t talking to each other. Good communication is as always key.
Implement a decision-making framework. Create professional development opportunities and set key milestones and goals. Have a framework to deal with conflict resolution. Use analytics such as surveys to try to measure the effect of collaboration. Ensure hybrid or remote working collaboration systems are in place including ways to manage workflows and share valuable information and updates.
Effective collaboration needs an environment (psychological and physical) where team members feel secure sharing their opinions, skills, challenges and knowledge without fear of becoming marginalised. Ensure clear, open and transparent communication but also encourage openness to admitting mistakes and challenges to encourage others to reach out to offer solutions.
Office planning can have a real impact, so have good open meeting and break-out spaces. Encourage social interactions. Set times for collaboration. Offer staff an inclusive coffee break slot each day if they would like to take a break and chat amongst colleagues.
Thom Dennis
With an MSc in Change Agent Skills & Strategies, expertise as a Certified Facilitator accredited by the CQ® Center, and an NLP Master Practitioner, 17 years’ experience as an officer in the Royal Marines and having worked extensively around the world, Thom brings all his experience together as a facilitator, speaker, consultant, educator and change agent as CEO of Serenity in Leadership. Thom is passionate about resolving the breadth of issues around good leadership and strives to bring healing and renewal in the face of dysfunction in the workplace.
