Encouraging
Collaboration
At Work

At Pacesetter, we do everything we can to
encourage our associates to work
collaboratively.
As businesses become more globally focused and cross-functional, collaboration
among associates is even more critical. A recent Harvard Business Review report even
stated that “over the past two decades, the time spent by managers and employees in
collaborative activities has ballooned by 50% or more.”
But there are evergreen reasons as well. Collaborating energizes and empowers the
entire team. Everyone is able to bring in different ideas, strengths, and ways to tackle
challenges. With this new skillset, problems will be solved and probably in an even
faster manner.
While collaborating in your own area is a great start, teaming up with different
departments opens the door for even more possibilities. This helps erase the “us and them”
mentality across departments. Once this is in motion, it encourages different areas to share
information and cooperate with each other.

How can a company
create a collaborative
environment?

It starts
with the
leadership
team.
It practically goes without saying, but
leading by example is the best place to
start. If management demonstrates
open communication and creative,
collaborative, problem-solving, then
associates know that it’s a company
expectation, not just lip service.

Make sure the
goal, or problem-
to-solve, is clear.
Google, for years, has studied
team dynamics. Most recently
they’ve released results from
Project Aristotle which compares
high-performing teams to low-
performance teams. One key point:
clear goals were very important.
If a team doesn’t have a clear
goal, how will they work together
and accomplish anything?

Make sure associates have the
requisite skill sets–and offer
training if needed.
Often, associates and teams want to work together, but they can’t quite seem to get the
collaborative dynamic in place.
A Harvard Business Review report (from 2007) showed that a number of “soft” skills were
crucial to effective collaboration: appreciating others; being able to engage in purposeful
conversation; productively and creatively resolving conflicts, and effective program
management. The report suggests that training employees in those areas can make an
important difference in team performance.

Support a sense of community through
company events and office design.
Group events, whether planned like Pacesetter’s annual holiday party, or spontaneous like a
team sitting down to lunch together, allow for fun, casual, encounters that foster better
personal interactions during the standard work day. If a group of people can agree on pizza
toppings and share the result, they are that much closer to negotiating tougher problems.
The design of workspaces–from adding a gym or a library to the office building to
encouraging managers to have an “open door” policy–will also let colleagues interact in a
more personal way that can help foster good relationships.

In the end, trust is key to
collaboration.
Focusing on leading by example, building good communication skills, and supporting a
sense of community will create a corporate culture built on trust, which paves the way for
great collaborations.

Thank You!TeamPacestter.com
1045 Big Shanty Rd
Kennesaw, GA 30144
Phone: (770) 919 8000