Collaboration is a crucial component in the workplace that enables people to work together to achieve a common goal. Choosing a right collaboration style is more crucial in team activities. It improves the way people work and solve problems in the workplace. When individuals in the workplace work together, goals and processes become more aligned thus boosting productivity.

People have varying preferences when it comes to collaboration at work. Some people thrive when they work in groups while others prefer to work alone. This means that collaboration in the workplace is both dependent and interdependent. Effective collaboration needs to have a clear goal of what your team wants to achieve and a clear strategy of how to achieve that goal. In this article, we will discuss common types of collaboration styles in the workplace and elements of a successful collaboration.

What is collaboration?

Before we discuss our main topic, let’s first discuss what collaboration in the workplace means. Collaboration simply means people working together in the workplace to accomplish a common goal. Collaboration can be between individuals, groups, or entities such as organizations. Collaboration in an organization is crucial because it helps workers to complete projects quickly, efficiently, and effectively because each participating member is relying on the strength of others.

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Collaboration also helps members to learn from others thus enhancing their knowledge and skills. Collaboration also plays a vital role in improving organizational culture and building trust and good relationships within the organization.

Types of collaboration styles

There are many types of collaboration styles and each has its benefits. In this section, we will discuss the main types of collaboration styles.

Internal collaboration

Just as its name suggests, internal collaboration involves individuals within the same organization working together on a particular project to achieve a common objective. Internal collaboration is important because it builds trust and promotes transparency that allows members within the organization to work together in order to achieve a certain goal.

Internal collaboration usually involves sharing of information that is not shared with external parties unless authorized. This collaboration style has benefits for both the organization and workers. To workers, it helps to build trust and good relationships. It also helps to enhance sharing of knowledge and skills. The organization, on the other hand, benefits from improved productivity from highly skilled and motivated workers.

External collaboration

External collaboration involves working with people outside the organization. A good example of external collaborators includes working with vendors, and customers. The main reason why organizations engage in external collaborations is to enhance their productivity and service delivery. For instance, the organization may collaborate with its customers in order to gather the information that will enable them to deliver better services. Companies use different strategies when it comes to external collaboration. For instance, some companies may send emails to their customers to ask them to fill out a survey regarding their shopping experience. Others engage with their customers via social media platforms.

Cloud collaboration

Cloud collaboration is a form of virtual collaboration where employees use software and other tools to work on the same objective but while in different locations. The tools that they use enable them to get updates in real-time, thus allowing them to collaborate even more effectively to achieve a common goal. Cloud collaboration is mainly used by organizations when sharing large files. It allows staff to create cloud-based folders and get real-time updates when changes are made to the document. Cloud collaborations are becoming more and more popular because they allow individuals to share information easier from different locations.

Virtual collaboration

Virtual collaboration involves people working together when they are not in the same location. This type of collaboration is mostly used by employees who work remotely. Virtual collaboration mainly relies on technology such as the use of email and software to enable individuals who are working from different locations to communicate and collaborate more effectively in order to achieve a common goal. For example, in 2020 when Covid 19 pandemic was at its worst, most companies switched to remote collaboration where staff works on the same project but in different locations. Most companies today are switching to virtual collaboration because it helps to save on cost and it also gives their staff much-needed flexibility.

Cross-departmental collaboration

This type of collaboration involves individuals from different departments within the organization working together on a certain project. Cross-departmental collaboration mostly occurs when one department needs resources that they don’t have and thus seeks assistance from another department that has that particular resource. For example, the IT and marketing teams may collaborate when launching a new product online. The IT department will provide the platform while the marketing team will use the platform to persuade and attract clients. Cross-departmental collaboration not only helps workers to complete a certain task quickly but also enables them to learn from each other and build a healthy working relationship.

Team collaboration

This is arguably the most common type of collaboration in an organization. This type of collaboration is quite simple, it involves dividing staff into different teams and then assigning them different tasks. For example, the human resource department may divide its staff into five different teams and assign them different roles. A team usually comprises 3-5 people and all team-created work to achieve organizational goals.

Strategic collaboration

Strategic collaboration is a type of collaboration where two or more organizations work together to achieve a common goal. They may sign a long or short-term agreement that is binding and each party is assigned well-defined roles and responsibilities. All parties involved come together and pull their resources and knowledge to ensure that they achieve the set goal. If one party fails to accomplish the assigned responsibilities, then they can be sued by other parties. A good example of strategic collaboration is when two or three companies that are located within the same area team up to enhance the security of the area. Both the parties involved will contribute their resources and expertise to ensure that security within the area is enhanced.

Attributes of effective collaboration styles

Any successful business person will tell you that the secret to success is via collaboration. Collaboration can be a blessing or a curse depending on how it is utilized. If you use it well it will help to boost productivity and when it is not used well, then it can lead to inefficiency and low productivity. In this section, we will discuss the attributes of effective collaboration.

Transparency

Transparency plays a crucial role in the success of any collaboration style. Transparency is about being trustworthy and accountable. It is about telling the truth before even people ask you. When there is transparency, then trust will automatically come. Transparency is important because it helps to build trust. Your colleagues will not feel like you are keeping something from them. Regardless of the collaboration style that you use, one key ingredient that must always be present is transparency. When people feel like nobody is hiding something, they will trust each other and that will enable them to collaborate more effectively to achieve a common goal.

Commitment

Another very important attribute of effective collaboration is commitment. Collaboration involves different people coming together to achieve a certain objective. The set objective will only be achieved if all members are committed to participating and giving their best. Collaborations are usually more successful when all members are committed to participating and give their all to ensure that they achieve the set objective. Before any individual in the organization enters into a collaboration, they need to be sure that they are willing to participate.

Trust

Effective collaboration occurs when people trust each other. When the level of trust is not strong, then people are less likely to achieve the desired outcome. When people in a group trust each other, they are more likely to deliver better results compared to when there is a lack of trust. So, before creating any form of collaboration in the organization, ensure that there is trust.

Good communication

Collaboration is about different people coming together to achieve a common goal. This can only happen if there is good communication. For example, if members are supposed to report at a certain time, the communication should be clear so that no one fails to avail themselves on time. Proper communication will help to boost teamwork and lead to better collaboration. It ensures that every member is on the same page.

Assertiveness

Assertiveness is a crucial component of collaboration. Assertiveness will enhance better collaboration by minimizing conflicts. It also ensures that each member is committed to achieving a common goal. Assertiveness is about each member expressing themselves effectively and standing up for their point of view while at the same time respecting the rights and beliefs of others. Being assertive is about each member being able to get their message across in a confident way without being aggressive. Assertiveness will ensure that you all work together as a team to find solutions that will take the organization to another level.

Benefits of collaboration in the workplace

It encourages problem-solving

One of the biggest benefits of collaboration is that it helps to encourage problem-solving. It is highly unlikely that workers will have difficulty solving the problem if they have a strong collaborative culture. Problems are bound to occur at any workplace, but how they are solved matters a lot. If there is a strong collaborative culture, then solutions to the problem will be found quickly. If there is no collaboration at the workplace, people will struggle to solve problems that arise and that could slow productivity. However, when people come together and combine their knowledge and skills, they will find solutions to every problem that arises in a timely and effective manner.

It improves productivity

When employees in the organization work collaboratively, they are more likely to achieve more compared to when each is working individually. Research has shown that employees who feel as if they are part of a larger group are more likely to be more productive. This is because when you feel that you are part of a team, you will give your all to ensure that you don’t let others down. However, that is not usually the case when working solo. When employees work collaboratively, they are more likely to share brilliant ideas that will boost productivity.

It helps to boost morale

Collaboration help people to build connections, which in turn build trust over time. When people in the organization trust each other, they will be motivated to give their best. Studies have shown that organizations that encourage collaboration are usually more successful compared to those that don’t. Working with other people outside your own team is one of the best ways to build trust and morale. And when people in the organization have high morale, they will feel more comfortable collaborating with people from other departments to achieve a certain common goal.

It opens up new communication channels

Collaborating with people, especially people outside your business will help to open up new channels that will otherwise remain close. Networking is crucial for the success of any business. External collaboration is one of the most effective ways to form new alliances that will help propel your organization to success. Through collaboration, members of each team will trust each other and that could open up a new channel of working together in the future. Collaboration is not just about working together, it is also about communicating and building trust, and allowing people to learn from others.

It allows sharing of skills and knowledge

Another benefit of collaboration is that it helps staff to share knowledge and skills. When people work collaboratively, they bring different skills and knowledge to the table. Collaborating with different people is a great learning experience that every member will benefit from. Learning from others will not only help to improve productivity but will also create a good organizational culture.

Tips on how to choose the best collaboration styles for your business

Consider the needs of your business

One crucial thing to consider when choosing a collaboration style is the unique needs of your business. There are many collaborative styles but not all will suit your business at the moment. When choosing a collaborative style, you need to choose one that will benefit your business the most. For example, when you establish an inter-departmental collaboration, you need to ensure that it will provide value to both the worker and your business. Not all collaborations will benefit your business. So, before you choose one, conduct a cost-benefit analysis to see if it will provide value.

Consider whether you have the capacity

You also need to consider whether you can host the collaborative style. For example, virtual collaboration requires access to the internet, computer, and other software in order to conduct it successfully. Therefore, you need to ensure that your business has the capacity to accommodate the collaboration style of your choice.

Why it is important to know your collaboration style

Knowing your collaboration style and that of your workers is crucial because it will help you create a more effective form of communication at the workplace. Although there are many collaboration styles. Not all will work for your business. That is why it is important to determine the most effective collaboration style that will deliver the best results. Determining your collaboration style will also help you determine the best strategy to use to get the best outcome.

Any tools that can help?

Communication is vital in all aspects of our lives otherwise nothng will be oganised. It is therfore fundamental in contributing to effective  collaboration as it entails working with others collectively to achieve a common goal.

Efficient and reliable communication tools are key in achieving effective collaboration. Simply put, teams and departments can’t collaborate if they can’t communicate. Fortunately we have a huge selection of digital tools to choose from to assist with virtual comms. Email is still a popular choice of course, but as we have all expereinced, it is not always the best way to to reach out to someone. Multi channel communication is always the best approach via messaging, calling and video calling.

 ConXhub is one of the best unified communication plpatforms  around as it enables office based or remtote teams to communicate simply and efficiently. It provides the perfect and most cost effective solution for attaining open communication within an organisaion no matter where in the world its teams or clients are located thereby enabling collaboration to manage customer queries as they occur in real time. Multiple features and CRM integration makes conversations across different touchpints much more efficient and seamless.

Finally…

Collaboration also helps to boost employee morale, encourage hard work and also create a sense of belonging. Of course, collaboration can only work when there is trust, transparency, and commitment from all parties involved. However, the communication tools that are in place to help support effective workplace collaboration are of equal importance.