This may seem like an obvious statement, but collaboration is absolutely essential within a business. Of course, every individual in a company has their own tasks that they need to focus on, but collaboration goes beyond sharing responsibilities. It is an important mindset that is needed to facilitate good performance. For instance, one company we know of claims that they would not be where they are now without proper collaboration. The company, TechQuarters, who provide outsourced IT support London organisations have been using for over a decade, stated that collaboration happens are every level of their organisation – as an SMB, they value the fact that they are a tight-knit group, and that has been one of the keys to their success.
Benefits of Collaboration
Collaboration is so important to work, because if everyone operated as if they were an individual, rather than part of a group effort, then work would be inconsistent and slow. Below are some key benefits to good collaboration.
1. Sharing Expertise
Collaboration is an excellent way for people to share ideas, and also share expertise. Together, people can grow and expand their skillsets and help each other get better. Where one person might be good at analytics, another may have great customer service skills – this means both people have something to learn from the other.
2. Better Problem Solving
Just like how different people have different skills and experience, they will also have different approaches to challenges and work. This might be good for some things – but an individual might come across a challenge they aren’t well equipped to deal with. However, in a collaborative team, someone else might deal with that challenge easily. A group will be better at tackling a range of challenges and problems compared to any one individual.
3. Learn Employees / Colleagues’ Strengths
As you have probably guessed by now, many of the benefits come down to learning how individuals operate – what they bring to the table, how they can improve in certain areas, etc. This is a huge benefit to collaboration. Managers and bosses get to see how individuals tick, which can help a business nurture and support their staff better.
Tips for Better Collaboration
If you are looking to improve collaboration within your business, or a team, here are some very valuable tips to follow:
1. Evaluate & Adjust
Like we mentioned above, collaboration means you have a greater pool of resources and experience. Learning to channel and utilize that pool is an important step to success. Therefore, within a collaborative team, it is important to consistently evaluate how you are performing. If something isn’t going well, use that to find out how things can be improved, and adjust accordingly.
2. Use the Right Tools
Giving people tools for collaboration is very important. Nowadays, there are lots of apps and services that make collaboration easier. For example, communication platforms like Microsoft Teams or Slack help keep individuals in contact with their colleagues and collaborators. Additionally, project management solutions like Basecamp help keep track of progress, and provide useful metrics. TechQuarters utilizes a range of collaborative tools to ensure that the IT support services London customers get from them are up to a high standard – because a good service involves the best efforts of everyone involved, but those efforts need to be channelled properly.
3. Give Credit
Of course, a collaborative effort is also a democratic effort, which means that everyone’s contribution is important – and that needs to be recognised. If someone in a team feels like they aren’t getting credit for the effort they put in, they might become demotivated. Everyone in a team needs to understand that their contribution is valued.