Collaboration and communication aren’t just good for employee morale. Done right, they increase your organization’s ability to compete. That’s because productivity is directly tied to collaboration — you can’t have one without the other.
Let’s look at the connection between collaboration and productivity, along with proven methods for boosting both.
What is workplace collaboration?
Workplace collaboration is the act of two or more employees coming together to work on the same project. It can involve members of the same team, employees from different departments, or both. Most importantly, collaborative work aims to solve a problem or achieve a shared goal.
Traditionally, workplace collaboration happened in conference rooms. Now, with so many people working remotely, much of it happens digitally. Teams often replace in-person meetings with video calls and project management tools, and coworkers use live messaging apps to ask and answer questions. All of this activity counts as workplace collaboration.
How does collaboration impact productivity?
Collaboration is not just a buzzword. It’s essential to success. According to a study conducted by the Institute for Corporate Productivity, high-performing organizations are up to 5.5 times more likely than lower performers to incentivize workforce collaboration. Encouraging employees to work together results in better communication, faster problem-solving, and increased innovation.
More importantly, it empowers employees to learn from one another. Sometimes, that means sharing resources to find a solution. In other instances, it involves creative thinking and brainstorming. Either way, a collaborative environment increases your company’s ability to remain competitive.
What are the benefits of workplace collaboration?
Company cultures defined by collaboration experience numerous benefits, including:
- Greater productivity: Collaboration helps people answer questions and find solutions faster than they would by working in isolation.
- Higher-performing teams: When employees pool diverse knowledge, skills and experiences, the result is faster problem-solving and innovation.
- More employee engagement: Effective collaboration creates a sense of purpose, giving employees a reason to engage with one another and feel like they’re contributing to meaningful work.
- Stronger company culture: Effective collaboration promotes a sense of belonging, which helps create an environment where people rally around one another.
Strategies for promoting collaboration to increase productivity
To experience the power of collaboration, you must adopt targeted strategies that encourage teamwork. Here are four methods to help you get started.
1. Create a collaborative environment
Promoting collaborative habits starts with the right work environment. If your workforce is distributed, provide plenty of digital options for collaborating in real time. If your employees work in a physical office, encourage interaction with open layouts, shared meeting spaces, and informal gathering areas. Either way, focus on creating an atmosphere of trust and psychological safety where team members feel comfortable expressing ideas and discussing challenges.
Just don’t overdo it. As one Harvard Business Review article put it, collaboration overload — too much time spent on email, messaging and video calls — will actually sink productivity. Instead, create space for employees to collaborate as needed while leaving plenty of room for equally important focus time.
2. Break down barriers
Are you struggling to get employees to collaborate? Team building activities are a great way to break down barriers and foster camaraderie. Start with simple ice-breakers during meetings before working your way to workshops or a retreat aimed at strengthening bonds. Whatever you choose to do, look for opportunities to bring colleagues together for the sole purpose of building relationships.
And if you’re worried some employees will cringe when they hear “team building,” take heart. According to the National Library of Medicine, a wide range of studies have revealed how these interventions positively impact team collaboration. They help build trust, improve peoples’ ability to resolve conflicts and spur innovation. These important initiatives not only enhance relationships but also lead to increased engagement, which is tied to higher productivity levels.
3. Choose the right tools
Whether your workforce is remote or in person, much of today’s communication happens online. That means having the right digital collaboration tools is critical. The only problem? There are thousands of apps to choose from. SaaS providers are flooding the market with project management, file sharing and other team productivity tools. And most organizations pay for far more than they need.
So how do you decide which options meet your teams’ needs? Build a SaaS spend management plan. This allows you to see which tools your employees actually use to collaborate — and which ones they don’t. It also provides visibility into software habits that hurt productivity. For example, do people spend four hours or more a day on Slack and Microsoft Teams? This may indicate a tendency to over communicate at the expense of much-needed focus time.
4. Monitor productivity trends
If you really want to understand how collaboration impacts productivity at your organization, track it. Using time tracking or productivity monitoring software provides insights you won’t get with observation alone. Are people engaging in discussions that help them complete projects faster? Or does too much time in meetings hinder meaningful progress? Instead of speculating or guessing, collect and analyze productivity data to know for sure.
At ActivTrak, we’ve seen companies of all sizes boost both productivity and collaboration in big ways — simply by using this one strategy. They’ve reduced software expenses, quadrupled ROI and, in one instance, experienced more than $4 million in productivity gains.
Discover ways to improve collaboration and productivity with ActivTrak
Promoting collaboration in the workplace is one of the best ways to experience substantial gains in productivity. But you have to do it right. And the strategies above are a great place to start.
Looking to get a head start with a productivity management solution? ActivTrak is here to help. More than 9,500 organizations use our top-rated workforce analytics software for quick, easy-to-understand productivity insights across in-office, remote and hybrid employees.
Schedule a demo to learn how easy it is to start tracking productivity today.
