There is no denying that effective teamwork is key to an organisation’s success. Good teamwork keeps employees motivated, happy, and productive - all of which are known to positively impact company profits. When teamwork is effective, problem-solving becomes easier, as people with different skills and knowledge will work together to produce creative solutions.
In contrast, 86% of employees state that workplace failures are a direct result of a lack of collaboration or ineffective communication.
So, how can you improve teamwork in your workplace? Here are six tips to get you started:
How to improve teamwork
Promote transparency
Transparency is key to any effective team, as it ensures both employees and their managers have a clear understanding of their respective responsibilities.
A great way to encourage transparency is to start off with having frequent team meetings to delegate responsibilities and shared goals so that everyone can be on the same page and work together towards their objectives.
Use shared goals
Setting goals is one of the most important tasks within a business, whether it’s a small company or a multinational corporation. Setting shared goals brings teams together to achieve a business’ targets, and encourages employees to work closer together as a result.
To ensure employees maintain a clear understanding of shared goals and remain accountable for their progress, employers can perform periodical checks or performance reviews for both teams and individuals.
Encourage collective recognition
Creating moments of collective recognition and appreciation of employees’ achievements and milestones, big or small, plays a pivotal role in building a sense of togetherness at the workplace.
Not only does this bring the team closer together, but it also allows your team members to feel validated and enabled in their roles, empowering them to push beyond their goals.
Employers should feel obligated to applaud their employees’ hard work and commitment, and by doing so, they build the foundations for a positive company culture.
Maintain central communication
Good communication is key to effective teamwork, and an often overlooked aspect of communication is the use of a unified and consistent channel for internal communication.
Too many organisations fall into the trap of using multiple channels for their day-to-day communications, however, abundant and disorganised information can lead to the employees questioning their responsibilities as well as those of others.
For an efficient flow of information, employers can make use of chat apps, email platforms, and other meeting tools, but they need to ensure they assign each channel a dedicated purpose that is clearly understood by the wider team.
Delegate responsibility
Delegating responsibility to your employees can help improve teamwork, morale and productivity. This is because empowering your employees to make decisions can boost their confidence and reinforce their roles and responsibilities as an individual and as part of a collective.
Effective delegation of decision-making is important for facilitating teamwork as rather than fixating on the thoughts and attitudes of a singular team member, the collective group is encouraged to weigh in and be heard.
Show respect
Managers need to understand that individual employees often have their own distinct ways of communicating, and with too many strong personalities in one place, it can be challenging to navigate conversations and disagreements.
Respectful communication is more than simply being kind to your teammates - it is about making sure that every team member feels valued, respected, and empowered to work together as a group.
Both managers and employees should take an active role in ensuring effective and respectful communication. Framing communication positively, encouraging all individuals to share ideas, promoting active listening, and using inclusive language that avoids assumptions are all great ways to demonstrate respectful communication at work.
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