How to create a collaborative environment for your team

Human beings are born with the need to interact with each other. Not only that: society as we know it today is the result of several collaborations. For any project, a collaborative environment is necessary that contributes to high performance. 

In this sense, it became necessary to develop an environment where each employee can express themselves and teams can help each other. 

For this, project management tools can be great allies. They allow teams to work together on tasks. Furthermore, the manager can monitor the entire development of projects.

After all, what is a collaborative environment?

The work in team is necessary for the development of any project. But the environment built by teams is not always healthy and collaborative. This can compromise the efficiency of deliveries and harm the mental health of employees.

Before telling you what a collaborative environment is and showing you how to build it in your company, a little reflection is necessary. 

Do teams in your company work together? That is: do they share ideas, look for solutions together and bring innovations? Is open communication a value to be practiced?

The purpose of these questions is to make you understand what is expected of a collaborative team. By doing this reflection, it is possible to identify whether your team values ​​a collaborative environment, or whether the work is carried out in a traditional way. 

A collaborative environment is a workspace where projects are developed through partnership. In other words, the objective is for the team to prioritize teamwork over individual work. 

Thus, it is possible to find solutions, innovations and resources to optimize the company’s processes. This can be seen in the efficiency of deliveries. 

An engaged and collaborative team produces more in less time, without the quality of the final product being compromised. Furthermore, the rapport between employees only tends to grow, creating a healthy and light environment. In this scenario, each member knows their roles and their importance to the project. 

However, it is impossible to achieve this environment without the commitment of the manager and the team. It is necessary to create a culture of collaboration between everyone, so that this becomes natural within the company. 

How important is a collaborative environment? 

According to one PageGroup survey, teamwork (47.5%), emotional intelligence (33.8%) and assertive communication (28.8%) are the behavioral skills most valued by managers. The research was carried out with leaders of large companies in Latin America.

With this, we can observe how collaboration and teamwork are valued by leaders and managers. This is because, in fact, the benefits brought by a collaborative environment are fundamental for any company. 

An engaged team participates in the company’s activities and is always bringing good ideas. This contributes to the development of projects and the adoption of new practices and strategies that will guarantee the quality of the final product. 

Furthermore, it is possible to trust the team when assigning responsibilities. It is possible to know that deliveries will not be delayed and quality will be maintained. As long as work is not affected by external factors, an engaged team can be trusted to perform at a high level. 

A collaborative environment is important for the company’s functioning and growth, but it is also essential for the well-being of employees. This is because this type of environment makes relationships more respectful, making activities more stimulating. Furthermore, collaborative work helps to lower the stress levels of members, who now know they can count on each other. 

How does a collaborative environment work? 

Now that you know what a collaborative environment is and what its importance is, it’s time to learn about its characteristics. 

The characteristics are common points that can be observed in successful teams that have a collaborative environment. 

It is possible to observe that, within collaborative environments, transparency, synergy, empathy, creativity and innovation are characteristics that demonstrate the success of implementing a collaboration space.  

Transparency

“In exceptional teams, people don’t hide things from each other. They are not afraid to ‘air their dirty laundry’ and admit their mistakes, their weaknesses and their concerns without fear of retaliation.” — Patrick Lencioni, American author.

Thinking about motivating collaborative work, the team must have transparency as a characteristic. This way, it is possible for all members to know what is being accomplished within each aspect of the project. 

This is part of open communication, a fundamental value for building a collaborative environment. With a management tool like Gipo, it is possible to maintain all workflow transparent. 

The manager can monitor the status of each task, as well as what stage of the process each one is at. This is possible through a quadro kanban visual and organized. 

Collaborative environment – ​​Gipo Kanban Board

Synergy

One of the needs to be achieved to obtain a space for collaboration is synergy between members and areas. The idea is that the team is involved in each aspect of the project, so that collaboration is even greater. 

This interaction will allow ideas to be shared, facilitating the development of solutions and new strategies for operations. 

Empathy 

Empathy is a characteristic of collaborative environments and also a fundamental value for human relationships. Empathy ensures that work is done according to what each member can deliver. 

It is important to put yourself in the other person’s shoes, so that you can act responsibly and respectfully, increasing bonds and collaboration. 

Creativity and innovation 

A collaborative workspace contributes to a light atmosphere, where everyone feels free to collaborate. By encouraging the exchange of ideas, it is common for collaborative teams to contribute innovations and solutions to projects. 

Therefore, creativity becomes a characteristic of this type of environment. With teams in synergy and working together, it is possible to expect many innovations and out-of-the-box ideas. 

How to create a high-performance collaborative environment? 

As noted, encouraging and creating a collaborative environment within a company has been a differentiator for those who want to grow and stand out. Its importance for the company and employees is essential, making its implementation necessary. 

But how do you create a high-performance collaboration space? This is what will be presented to you now. Check out some tips and steps for creating a collaborative environment. 

Encourage a collaborative environment 

The first step to achieving a collaborative workspace is to encourage cooperation and teamwork. Making this present in the company is what will make teams adopt a collaborative mindset. 

To do this, organize meetings to talk about collaboration and highlight its benefits, distribute materials on the subject and implement collaboration routines. 

Collaboration routines can be activities where teams will have to collaborate with each other to achieve objectives and goals. They can start as small activities and later become large company goals. Thus, collaboration is encouraged in practice. 

It is important to highlight the value of collaboration in employees’ daily lives. 

Leadership

The image of a leader is essential for building a collaborative environment. The leader must encourage and practice collaborative attitudes, as an example for the team. 

Your role is to motivate the team, encourage them to be collaborative and work as a team and serve as a guide to achieving the company’s objectives. 

Furthermore, thinking about creating a high-performance team, the leader must be able to spark leadership in each of the members. This way, it is possible for everyone to understand their responsibility towards others and the project. 

Establish clear communication 

Another important factor, also mentioned in this post, is open communication. A collaborative team must practice communication in a clear, objective and transparent way. 

This is one of the pillars of a collaborative environment. It must be exercised by both leaders and the team among themselves. The leader must always be open to guide, help and also involve the team in projects, as a way of practicing collaboration. 

This communication will guarantee good results for the team, which, once oriented, can find the best ways to solve problems through collaboration. 

Furthermore, open communication is essential for synergy between teams. It is important that everyone knows what is being done and can follow the development of projects. 

Use technology to your advantage

Thinking about optimizing team collaboration and communication, it is important to be aware of the benefits that technologies can offer. In this case, a project and task management tool is essential for implementing a collaborative work environment. 

With a tool like Gipo, it is possible to monitor the tasks that each member is working on. This allows the manager a complete view of project development. 

Furthermore, within Gipo teams can be created and assigned to tasks, making work even more collaborative. 

Through the resource of time tracking, the manager and members can see how much time is being spent on a task. This allows strategies to be created with a view to optimizing processes. Furthermore, time tracking also makes it easier to locate obstacles and bottlenecks in the workflow. 

Create clear and collaborative goals

Defining the company’s goals and objectives is normally the responsibility of the manager. Within a collaborative environment, this is still done, however, employees also participate in this definition. 

The team defines together with the leader how the success of the objective will be measured and what means must be followed to achieve it. This way, goals can become clear and attainable for the entire team, who understand the importance of achieving them. 

Create a feedback routine

Feedback and recognition are important for anyone. Within a collaborative environment, they are essential for encouraging a collaborative mindset and motivating team members. 

It is important that the leader knows how to recognize when teamwork has been done well. Finding solutions together should be encouraged so that everyone follows this path when solving problems. 

Furthermore, it is essential to establish a feedback routine for teams. The idea is that the manager becomes a guide for the members, monitoring the process and identifying difficulties. This way, it is possible for the team to be guided as to what must be done to follow the correct path.

Monitoring and feedback are important for the growth of employees as professionals and for the quality of results. 

One way to establish this routine is to adopt the the Scrum methodology. This methodology encourages a routine of monitoring and feedback meetings, making project development clearer for everyone on the team and optimizing results. 

Invest in training and qualifications 

Last but not least: offer training and qualifications to employees. This will make the team more ready for the collaborative environment. 

This way, new ideas, solutions and innovations will be brought more easily and with greater quality. A well-trained and capable team also understands the importance of a collaborative environment and will have more resources to contribute. 

Benefits of a collaborative environment

“In the long history of humanity, those who have learned to collaborate and improvise most effectively have prevailed” – Charles Darwin

The main advantage of creating a collaborative environment is the increase in the quality of results and the well-being of employees. But beyond that, the benefits are numerous. 

Among them are: 

• Innovations 
• Talent attraction and retention 
• Satisfied teams 
• Shared knowledge
• Increased quality of results 
• Process optimization

With this, you are ready to implement a collaborative environment in your company! Don’t forget to demonstrate to teams the importance of collaboration, so that this becomes a brand within the company.

With an engaged team that recognizes the need for teamwork, it becomes easier to turn your work environment into a collaboration space.