Collaborative work is where more than two individuals work for the exact cause or project. It involves regular meetings and communication to keep the individuals up to date. Due to changes in technology and working environments in the last few years, collaborative working has had an enormous impact.
In this guide, you will learn about collaborative working and its operation.
In this article
What is Collaborative Working?
As the name suggests, collaborative work is a type of work that involves the partnership of two or more people to achieve a common goal. Collaboration could be among organizations as well. It could be like two or three cloth manufacturing companies working together to deliver orders to a typical client.
After 2020, a lot of businesses shifted online due to the pandemic, so technology has made it easier for people to work in collaboration. This technology has enabled teams to connect through video calls, collaboration platforms, and online meetings with such ease that they still stick to this norm.
Although collaborative working is excellent, it takes time for people to be in sink with each other and share knowledge that works better. There could be certain areas where collaboration is optional.
For example, someone dealing with software would not like it if someone else intervened in his work. At the same time, the management department of the same organization needs more people to work together.
So, an organization must know what areas are targeting for collaborative working and what role should be awarded to a particular person.
The Benefits of Collaborative Working
There are several benefits of collaborative working. Few of them are mentioned here.
- 1. New Ideas and Innovation
- 2. Better Growth and Improvement
- 3. The mental health of the workers Improves.
- 4. Quick Turnarounds
- 5. Removes Communication Barriers
When two individuals or organizations sit together, they must have different opinions. This difference of opinion could never be to let down the other. It is due to their way of thinking. So, when they talk about something, they get new ideas every time and reach a common point, which benefits them both.
Collaborative working offers the most significant advantage, which is skill improvement. When you bring two people with different skill sets, they learn from each other and work out of their comfort zones. By doing that, workers end up doing each other's work with ease, which is a form of collaborative working.
The most important benefit of collaborative working is the mental health of the people working together. It gives them a sigh of relief when they get help from the other group members. Whenever they get stuck somewhere, they know there are other people to help them escape those situations.
Collaboration in a workplace creates healthy competitiveness as well. People with different skills work together, which makes it possible for you to complete a given task quickly. Companies with collaborative working principles get more recognition due to such results and encourage workers to improve.
Communication among the workers in any company is essential. Most of the time, people need clarification while talking or delivering their thoughts when they are not allowed to speak. Collaborative talking breaks that barrier and helps workers communicate whenever they want. The environment changes when people interact, share their thoughts, or ask for help in such working scenarios.
How to Build Collaborative Teams?
To build a healthy working environment for your company, you must follow a few of the most important points below.
1. The Team Leader
A team leader is the one that binds all the employees working under him. He should have a task or relationship-oriented personality—the one everybody listens to. He must gather the right kind of individuals for a particular task.
A team leader always looks forward to the learning environment for his workers so that they can make the right decisions by themselves and help your company grow.
2. Establish a Gift Culture
You must say goodbye to the "tit-for-tat" culture and start a gift culture for your employees. It brings confidence in the workers and motivates them to work efficiently. Gift culture shows your trust towards the workers and creates an eagerness to be the best in their skills.
3. Bring Skillful Individuals to a Team
Studies have shown that collaboration only works when the right people with the right skills are grouped. The big companies have merged many people in a group, but the skill set of those people could have been better, no matter how good they have been communicating or hard working. So, it is essential to know whom you are selecting and pairing with each other for the best collaboration.
4. Model Collaborative Behavior
The executives of a company have a massive role in building a collaboration. There are very few companies where the senior workers are used to contacting the employees daily. The ones who follow the collaborative behavior model by keeping an eye on the workers have a healthy success rate. The senior also checks how thriving teams are prepared to work together.
Use Tools to Support Collaborative Working
With the advancements in technology and the need for collaborative work, you need to have tools to help deliver your ideas to your workers efficiently. Here are a few tools to change your ideas into charts and illustrations.
Brainstorming Tool: Edrawmind
Using a brainstorming and mind-mapping tool like EdrawMind enhances creativity, organizes ideas, and facilitates collaboration. It offers visual idea mapping, real-time teamwork, and efficient project planning with diverse templates and structures. This tool is ideal for diverse applications in business, education, and personal development.
EdrawMind stands as a multifaceted brainstorming and mind-mapping tool, uniquely designed to enhance collaborative efforts across various domains. Its real-time collaboration feature is particularly advantageous, enabling teams to work together seamlessly from the Web or the desktop. This fosters a dynamic environment where ideas can be shared and developed in sync, breaking down geographical barriers and promoting effective teamwork.
It also offers an AI-powered PowerPoint function and an extensive library of over 5,000 templates. With more than 22 structures and 47 themes, it provides immense customization, catering to various needs. Its user-friendly interface makes it ideal for organizing, developing, and presenting ideas in business, education, and personal settings.
Task Management Tool: Monday.com
Monday.com is another platform where you can draw charts and manage your work quickly. It creates a workflow and follows your path while drawing something. So, you can find the actions taken on one side of the chart whenever you use it.
Whiteboarding Tool: Miro
Miro is one of the tools that support teamwork and collaborative work. It has plenty of features in it. However, it would help if you started from the blank chart given. The boards are empty, but you will have the toolbar to design anything you want. The basis tools and templates are provided in Miro, just like in any platform. Mind map is one of the most used features as well.
Gantt Charting Tool: TeamGantt Chart
TeamGantt is another platform used by collaborative managers. It provides tools to create a chart where every team member gets their work details through charts and visuals. The interface is simple to understand and work with.
Difference Between Teamwork and Collaborative Working
However, teamwork and collaborative work involve individuals working together to achieve goals. But there is a slight difference between these two terms. Let's define each term separately.
Teamwork
Teamwork involves the individual efforts in a group to achieve a goal. Every person in a group is destined to perform different tasks. No one does his job; he needs to do it alone. For example, a cashier in a bank would deal with the money matters only, while a manager in the same bank never does that. A person who is involved in opening/closing accounts has his duties. They are working in teamwork, each having his own responsibilities.
Collaboration
Collaboration is a collective effort in a group to achieve a specific goal. In collaborative work, everyone can share his ideas, knowledge, and opinions. Collaboration is best used for brainstorming ideas, discussions, analyzing particular problems, finding solutions to a problem, and reaching a certain point when stuck.
Collaboration requires creativity and listening to what others think differently from you. In the case of cooperation, there could be fewer members than those of team workers. It requires frequent communication and trust when you are working in collaboration.
Conclusion
Collaborative working makes it easier for you to conclude with the help of other members. They work together and share their thought frequently to help each other. They communicate and respect each other throughout. Collaborations stay longer than those of teamwork as a team until the project is there.
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