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In recent times, innovation and creativity have skyrocketed and have drastically increased the competition between businesses. The secret to this improved innovation and creativity is ‘teamwork.’
Many businesses have introduced the concept of ‘teamwork’ within their companies- whether big or small- however, this teamwork rarely seems to give root to increased innovation and revenue.
Instead, many businesses report that teamwork often cultivates a more significant number of conflicts between coworkers and often increases the errors in work and the time it takes to complete a project.
This is why we have delved into the top five proven strategies to improve the quality of teamwork within a workspace- read ahead if you want to enhance collaboration within your business!
Before your team or employees start working on their assigned project, let them personalize their respective working space.
A case study by Harvard Business Review has shown that employees tend to view their workspace as more collaborative, flexible, social, energetic, and comfortable if they have developed a ‘place identity’ in their assigned working space. On the other hand, workers who have not developed a place identity may view their working area as cluttered and noisy.
Furthermore, it has been proven that if employees develop a personal connection with their working space, they report feeling more enthusiastic and energetic about their work, have higher quality communication with their coworkers and managers, and feel a greater sense of belonging within the organization.
To encourage your employees to foster teamwork and collaboration, you must promote place identity within the office space, and to do so, you must understand the five aspects of place identity and the importance of employees personalizing the office space.
The following are the features of ‘place identity’:
Workers feel like the space is an important and meaningful place to work.
Workers feel a sense of connection to the office space.
Workers feel proud to be a part of the space when others visit.
Workers feel like their work space is a reflection of them.
One primary benefit of being a part of a team is that responsibilities are shared, and thus, no single employee is overburdened.
However, the downside is that if roles are not clearly defined, or tasks are not effectively distributed, conflicts can arise between team members, relating to uneven contributions by each person.
Therefore, to ensure effective teamwork within a group, it is essential to equally divide responsibilities and clearly define every member’s role so that the same tasks are not completed twice and boundaries are respected.
Often, colleagues are more willing to ask each other for help, give help, and discuss ideas with one another if they have stronger bonds.
An effective way to achieve and foster friendships between coworkers is by encouraging them to spend more time together outside the office; therefore, hosting enjoyable corporate events is essential to building bonds and teamwork within the office.
Once you spark friendships through your corporate events, your employees will probably feel more comfortable inviting one another for nights out or dinner! Such social get-togethers outside of the office will not only build trust between employees, but they may also lead to employees brainstorming and discussing problems in a more relaxed environment and, in turn, lead to the ignition of more innovative solutions or ideas.
With project deadlines looming over teams, work can often become a series of reaching milestones and ending every day exhausted. However, it is essential to celebrate milestones as a team after working hard to overcome hurdles and meet deadlines.
Therefore, before jumping onto the next project or deadline, teams should assign a few hours to hold a celebratory get-together and acknowledge each other’s importance in the group. It is essential to realize that this celebration resulted from teamwork rather than autonomous work.
Furthermore, it is a thoughtful gesture for group leaders or managers to occasionally reward members or the entire team with a lighthearted present. This elicits some merry moments within the office and teams- and one of the most recommended ways to bring this about is by searching up funny team awards ideas and bringing them to life!
Teammates must take breaks together during office hours, and it is advised that you build these breaks into the team’s timetable so they have something to look forward to between their busy days.
These team breaks may consist of getting coffee together, going on walks, or just lounging around talking about anything and everything!
These breaks give teams time to process their accomplishments during the day. Such breaks also give employees time to actively acknowledge their teammates’ presence, leading to informal discussions about work or moments that strengthen bonds.
The strategies mentioned above have enhanced teamwork and bonds between colleagues, leading to greater motivation and innovation within many businesses, and they will undoubtedly result in the same fate for your company!
