Back To Course
Effective Communication in the Workplace: Help and Review12 chapters | 144 lessons
As a member, you'll also get unlimited access to over 75,000 lessons in math, English, science, history, and more. Plus, get practice tests, quizzes, and personalized coaching to help you succeed.
Try it risk-freeAlready registered? Login here for access
Aaron has worked in the financial industry for 14 years and has Accounting & Economics degree and masters in Business Administration. He is an accredited wealth manager.
If you asked several CEOs or human resource professionals what goals or elements were important to their success, you would probably get some phrases and corporate terms that kept coming up. Collaboration in the workplace would certainly be one of the more common answers. It is often the key to much of your success in corporate America. So what is workplace collaboration? Let's explore that answer and look at some of the benefits it offers!
Collaboration in the workplace is when two or more people (often groups) work together through idea sharing and thinking to accomplish a common goal. It is simply teamwork taken to a higher level. Teamwork is often a physical joining of two people or a group to accomplish a task. With the changes and advancements in technology, such as high-speed Internet, web-based programs, file sharing, email and video-conferencing, collaboration has become a more productive way of doing things. Collaboration in the workplace incorporates teamwork and several other aspects, such as the following:
There are many benefits to collaborating in the workplace. Let's look at some of those benefits in more detail.
When companies or departments collaborate, they are able to utilize the strengths and skills of everyone involved. For example, you may struggle with presentation skills but know all the benefits and challenges of a particular task or solution. Collaborating will enable you to share your knowledge and work with someone who can present the ideas in the best fashion. This will increase your odds of getting a proposal approved through upper management. The more people involved, the more skills you have access to!
The company and employees benefit from collaboration because as a result of sharing ideas and working together, they see how others think, negotiate and operate. This gives employees a better understanding of how the company operates at a higher level and not just their individual department. The skills and knowledge that each employee can pick up from others can be utilized or taken back to their own department to make improvements or enhancements.
What may take you three months to solve on your own may only take three hours to solve in a collaborative workplace. Access to several employees with unique expertise and viewpoints will most likely allow you to come up with ideas and solutions that you may not have thought of on your own at a faster pace.
ICON 2 Calvin Klein Jeans Marine TRUE HARO 6qpUgWcrqyCollaborating in the workplace allows businesses to complete important projects and initiatives in a more efficient manner. With multiple individuals or departments involved, work can be distributed more evenly and efficiently to those who have the time and expertise. This is often referred to as a divide and conquer strategy. Instead of one or two individuals working on something for months, a team of six or eight individuals could each take a small-specialized part and accomplish the entire thing in a week.
Working with others in a meaningful way helps employees feel good about what they do. When you can share your 'wins' with other people, you often build a sense of team. Employees are more likely to stay at a job or company longer when they have strong bonds with others around them and feel they are a part of something important.
Let's look at some examples.
Let's say that you have been given a task to come up with a three-hour training program in your department for new employees. At first glance, you realize that you don't know all the different roles and important tasks that need to be completed. You also are nervous because you need to give a PowerPoint presentation and aren't very confident in your abilities. So, what do you do? You collaborate with others in your department! Maybe you can find the three best subject matter experts in your work to talk to for thirty minutes on their specialty. You may also work with two other individuals who are extremely talented in putting together computer presentations that flow smoothly. In return, you might help your fellow workers with data entry, which is your work specialty. Now, you'll all benefit!
Imagine you work for a large multi-national firm with offices in Japan, China, Germany and the U.S. As a manager, you have been having problems motivating and retaining your employees. You heard in a meeting that the other three overseas branches have been performing very well in this area. So what do you do? A plane ticket to all three locations would be expensive and time consuming. Instead, you set up a video conference and invite two managers or key individuals from each location to brainstorm on ideas and best practices that they currently do to retain and motivate employees. After a 1-hour teleconference, you have five great new ideas to implement with your team!
Let's review! Collaboration in the workplace is when two or more people (often groups) work together through idea sharing to accomplish a common goal. This usually involves brainstorming and sharing ideas, dividing the work evenly and bringing people together with a shared purpose. The benefits to collaboration in the workplace include gaining access to additional skills and strengths of employees, employee development, quicker problem solving, efficient division of work and greater employee retention and job satisfaction.
Definition | Aspects | Benefits |
---|---|---|
When two or more people work together to accomplish a common goal | *Thinking and brainstorming ideas to find solutions *A strong sense of purpose *Equal collaboration |
*Accessing and developing collaborators' strengths and skills *Solve problems and innovate faster Beige Star PKT Raw CHECK TACOMA G BF LONG Red 1 *Increase work efficiency, job satisfaction and employee retention |
When you are done, you should be able to:
To unlock this lesson you must be a Study.com Member.
Create your account
Already a member? Log In
BackAlready registered? Login here for access
Did you know… We have over 160 college courses that prepare you to earn credit by exam that is accepted by over 1,500 colleges and universities. You can test out of the first two years of college and save thousands off your degree. Anyone can earn credit-by-exam regardless of age or education level.
To learn more, visit our Earning Credit Page
Not sure what college you want to attend yet? Study.com has thousands of articles about every imaginable degree, area of study and career path that can help you find the school that's right for you.
Back To Course
Effective Communication in the Workplace: Help and Review12 chapters | 144 lessons