The Importance of Collaboration in the Modern Workplace

For every business, success has always been built on successful collaboration. After all, this is typically the clearest sign of an effective team, as they work together to outline their goals, avoid miscommunication and ultimately produce better results on projects.

In fact, recent ProofHub research found that 75% of all employers regard workplace collaboration as “very important”, while 39% of employees feel as though they don’t collaborate enough. Although the idea of encouraging teamwork is certainly nothing new, recent technological innovations mean that teams are now collaborating in very different ways.

Large, chaotic boardrooms have made way for instant messaging, virtual workspaces and other innovative video collaboration solutions. Now with modern workplaces shifting towards remote working cultures, businesses are finding more flexible ways to encourage collaboration and keep teams connected in different places and spaces. But why is this so important?

Creating New Ideas

Effective collaboration is one of the most exciting things in the world. Not only does it help to improve results and boost employee engagement, it also generates some truly innovative ideas and concepts. Without these ideas, your business is going to struggle to make much of an impact.

By coming together to discuss, share and collaborate on projects, team members can outline clear goals and brainstorm new ideas; offering their own unique perspectives on the task and helping the group work towards the best solution. When you’ve got multiple participants providing truly valuable insights, such a competent group are bound to create better ideas than if they were working alone.

Modern digital whiteboarding solutions are ideal for effective brainstorming sessions, allowing meeting participants to seamlessly share, annotate and edit relevant files. Working just like a traditional whiteboard, this innovative technology allows users to draw on the screen from their own device—regardless of whether they’re based remotely or in the same room. Once the ideas start to flow, team members can unify the discussion into one convenient place, working together to come up with the best strategy possible.

Increasing Productivity

A few years ago, a Stanford study found that people who work collaboratively will stick at challenging tasks 64% longer than those working alone, displaying much higher levels of productivity and motivation. Collaboration fosters creativity and inspiration, bringing a sense of pleasure to the project and improving employee satisfaction.

When people feel happier in their work, they’re known to work significantly harder, while a study from The Economist found that 33% of employees believe that collaborative projects make them more loyal to the organization. Ultimately, such an environment will lead to a significant boost in productivity.

Providing Faster, Better Results

Modern collaboration tools make it easier than ever for teams to work together, allowing them to meet and collaborate in ways that best suit them. Through instant messaging and video conferencing solutions, teams can seamlessly connect across multiple devices with the simple press of a button.

When teams are able to collaborate so quickly and efficiently, they’ll feel encouraged to host meetings and brainstorming sessions more frequently. Regular collaboration is known to speed projects up, allowing teams to delegate tasks, outline goals and ultimately provide faster, more impressive results.

By significantly reducing the time it takes to complete certain projects, you’ll inevitably enjoy increased levels of client and customer satisfaction. In fact, a Salesforce study found that 86% of employees actually blame poor collaboration for the majority of workplace failures, while 97% believe that a lack of teamwork could negatively impact the outcome of a task.

Embrace Flexible and Remote Working Practises

Although remote and flexible working are unquestionably on the rise, these new working practices certainly don’t reduce the need for collaboration in the workplace. Indeed, the rise of mobile technology has perhaps made it much easier for teams to work together from remote locations instead.

Advancements in this technology mean that businesses can utilize video conferencing, digital whiteboarding, cloud-based virtual workspaces, digital signage, and other innovative AV solutions to keep remote teams better connected. By ensuring remote workers can get involved with collaborative projects, businesses are embracing these flexible working practices and ensuring workers remain engaged with the rest of the team, rather than attempting to tackle problems and tasks completely on their own.

Since 40% of people would prefer to work from home, and one in four would actually move jobs if they weren’t provided with that option, offering remote working is now essential towards achieving employee happiness and satisfaction—while also retaining key members of staff and attracting top talent. The end result is a happier, healthier workforce who find much greater fulfillment in their work.

Additionally, effective collaboration allows remote teams to quickly adapt to changing circumstances or updated project goals, ultimately enhancing the overall sense of flexibility which has made remote working so popular. To truly embrace modern working practices, collaboration has always been the key to success.

This article does not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors or management of EconoTimes.