One of the most important elements of success in business is collaboration. After all, it is not a single person who creates success for a company.

There might be naturally born leaders and people confident to stand out with their brilliant ideas, but at the end of the day, business is a collaborative effort. Victories in commerce are won by organizations, not individuals. They are won by companies that are greater than the sum of its parts.

Studies have shown that collaborative teams perform at levels a whopping 400% more efficiently and productively than their competitors. A survey of over 1400 professionals also found that 86% of them believe that a lack of collaboration was responsible for many failed endeavors in the workplace.

More and more studies out there show that companies that favor collaboration over competition are more likely to succeed. The value of a cohesive team with relationships built on trust is now something companies can no longer ignore, but achieving it is no simple task.

As such, we have created this guide to help businesses of all sizes build better connections between their employees to promote teamwork and collaboration. With these strategies, you could quite possibly create an improved and more productive work environment that your employees look forward to being part of.

1. Go back to your company’s mission, and never forget it

People are always more motivated to do their individual tasks when they know their work goes towards a higher aspiration. One of the ways to do this is to return to the company’s mission. Why was this company founded? What did the pioneering members set out to do?

If the answers are not clear, then it might be time to rethink it and recreate a new mission—one that inspires and motivates your employees by making them feel like what they’re doing goes towards something good. Once this common goal is set, make sure to continually remind yourself and your employees of it.

2. Include collaboration among the company’s goals

If your employees do not know that they are supposed to work together, they might not. If you make collaboration a minimum standard in your operations, it will immediately make employees more comfortable about working together. It could even be part of your onboarding process, which can make the adjustment process a lot easier.

When telling employees about their goals, make sure to include the goals they are expected to carry out in collaboration with their colleagues, in addition to their individual expectations. That way, they will be sure to know that collaboration is rewarded in your workplace setting.

Regularly discussing these goals your team will also keep them accountable, and it will keep upper management aware of their progress. Maybe you can even let the team manage their own goals once they have had sufficient training in the company.

3. Highlight individual strengths, and cover for weaknesses

Every person is different, and as such, they are all likely to have unique strengths and weaknesses. Not everyone is good at or comfortable with public speaking. Some people prefer working on the numbers behind a project rather than its qualitative aspects. Whether this comes from personal reasons or just differences in skill sets should not matter.

Your teams and the roles in them must account for the intricacies of each employee. Not only can this strategy help cover weaknesses, but it can also develop the abilities of each employee. This can allow them to learn from one another, share perspectives, and develop more skills.

4. Promote community

Many have experienced an unhealthy work environment at one point or another, and one of the reasons this can happen is from a lack of community in the company. This is so valuable and rare that 54% of employees report that they have stayed at a company longer simply because the company had a strong sense of community and healthy relationships with their peers and colleagues.

For this to happen, employees must feel that they are valued. They must feel that their input and opinions are both heard and appreciated. When this is achieved, your employees will feel more comfortable communicating whatever concerns they might have.

This can create an environment where ideas flow more freely, ensuring collaboration and productivity.

5. Encourage creativity

One of the reasons for the success of many companies is that they allow individual employees to work on their own ideas on company time.

This is the reason why Google has branched out to create many different systems, such as browsers, office suites, cloud storage, and so on. Having seen this success, companies all over the world are giving their employees leeway to be creative.

In an environment conducive to creativity, better collaborative habits can be achieved through brainstorming and discussion.

6. Be an example

You should never be seen as apart from your employees. A good leader is never an unattainable standard. In terms of collaboration, you must appear to be as important to the team as any other person there.

The more you are there, on the ground, with your employees, the more comfortable they will be collaborating with you and the rest of the team.

As in all things, a leader must set an example. A collaborative attitude towards company operations is not an exemption in this regard.

7. Invest in collaboration tools

Now more than ever, collaborative tools are important to the successful operations of a company. With many of us forced to work from home, it has become more difficult to foster a community among your employees. As such, having smooth communication via collaboration tools is paramount.

With the right tools, you can make working lighter and easier to deal with.

In conclusion

The core of these seven strategies is that success is built from great collaboration, and that collaboration is built on trust and creativity.

Fostering an environment that encourages and rewards teamwork can turn unhealthy competition for recognition into a non-zero-sum game. At the end of the day, the success of the company belongs to everyone in it, not just one individual or group of people.

If you’re looking for resources on team collaboration tools, send us a message at Market Plan. We have the expertise and experience to bring your company to greater heights.