ever wonder why some teams seem to effortlessly achieve their goals while yours can barely get through a meeting without conflict? The secret isn’t hard work—it’s team cooperation. And it’s possible for any team to achieve if they have the right tools, knowledge and willingness to learn.
For an organization to run smoothly and meet its goals, it is important to foster a work environment that supports collaboration amongst colleagues. Unfortunately for most organizations, team cooperation does not occur naturally. You must make an effort and take steps to help build and sustain a cooperative work environment.
What is Team Cooperation?
Team cooperation in the workplace can mean many things. It involves the level at which employees participate in decision-making, how management and employees work together to resolve problems, and how all levels of the organization work together to achieve common goals. It typically involves these three elements:
Communication
Communication is key in team cooperation at work! It’s important to always ensure everyone is on the same page when it comes to their responsibilities and team goals. This creates a sense of mutual respect and understanding, so any issues that may arise will be solved efficiently.
Trust
Trust is the glue that holds the team together when it comes to teamwork and cooperation. Trust involves creating a safe space where individuals feel comfortable and psychologically safe sharing their ideas and opinions without fear of judgment or criticism. This encourages creativity and innovation, as people are more willing to share bold ideas.
Collaboration
Teamwork and cooperation go hand in hand, so it’s no surprise that collaboration is a huge aspect of team cooperation. In cooperative teams, all members feel accountable for the team’s success. Instead of working in silos, they collaborate, exchange ideas, and provide support to ensure the team progresses. The team taps into each member’s unique strengths and expertise in order to achieve their common goal.
How to Improve Team Cooperation in the Workplace
There are many activities and steps that leadership – along with employees – can take to help improve cooperation skills in the workplace.
1. Teamwork and cooperation must become part of your workplace culture
For coworkers to successfully collaborate, the leadership within the organization must work to make collaboration one of the key values of the enterprise. Employees must see that the leadership within the firm works together as a team to accomplish goals. Also, the company’s leadership must award teams publicly when they are successful at working together to achieve their objectives.
To truly improve cooperation skills, leaders must provide an environment where employees are not afraid to share their ideas. Leaders must create a culture with positive team dynamics where the exchange of ideas is encouraged and rewarded. Teamwork and collaboration must be a central theme of the corporate culture to improve team cooperation.
2. Provide teams with the resources they need to work collaboratively
To make improvements with communication, the organization must provide the necessary resources to the teams. This includes comfortable work spaces where the teams can work together. If the teams are spread out amongst different locations, then the organization must provide the resources that allow the teams to work together remotely, such as video conferencing.
Finally, the organization should be providing an online collaboration platform for its employees, to use for communication. There are many online tools, such as Slack, that allow employees to communicate easily across different departments. Having the tools to communicate across departments easily is an essential instrument needed to improve team cooperation.
3. Train employees and encourage ongoing learning
Working as a collaborative team member is not a skill that everyone is born with; it is imperative for the organization to invest in the employee’s ability to be effective collaborators through interactive trainings and experiences like team building.
There are also practical workshops employees can take to learn how to better communicate through public speaking. Learning public speaking skills can increase confidence and ability to articulate points, as well as bring teams closer together if the workshop is completed as a group.
4. Encourage employees to socialize outside of work
When employees are in the office, they are focused on the tasks at hand, which means there is little time for coworkers to bond on a personal level. It is vital to team collaboration for people to get to know each other outside the office. Outside events do not have to be a significant expense; it could be going to the movies, having a casual lunch, or going for a drink after work. Participating in a social event will help break down barriers in the office and will help improve team cooperation in the workplace, as coworkers will have built trust and feel more comfortable collaborating together.
Collaboration in the workplace begins when coworkers feel comfortable with one another. Getting together outside of work and building strong relationships has a huge positive impact on team dynamics and the work they do in the office. If you need help engaging your team and planning an event, make sure to check out our professionally facilitated team building events.
5. Clarifying roles and setting expectations
Organizations will find when all employees are on the same page, team colalboration will quickly become a seamless and natural process. Making sure each employee understands – not only his or her role, but also the roles of the people around them will help everyone understand the big picture and how they fit into the larger puzzle.
It is also imperative that the leadership sets clear expectations for teams so that as employees work together, everyone is clear on which goal or objective needs to be reached.
6. Review individual’s talents
An organization must look at every single employee’s skills and place them in a setting where they can add the most value. For team cooperation, it’s important to identify each individual’s strengths and place them with coworkers who will complement and challenge those strengths. When each team member is the best at what their role is within the team, you will see them producing results above your expectations.
7. Resolve team conflict quickly
No team will ever be perfect, and it is crucial for organizations to recognize this and have a system in place to handle any conflicts that arise. The system should allow any employee to share their concerns without repercussions. Also, employees should be allowed to have input on any solution to implemented by the organization.
Employees who know there is a system in place and are comfortable knowing the dispute will be handled fairly will be able to work with other team members in a healthy and collaborative manner.
Boost Teamwork and Cooperation with TeamBonding
Poor communication can easily take over the workplace, but with these 7 tips you can boost team cooperation in the workplace to help your team achieve their personal and group goals.
Explore TeamBonding now for team building experiences to facilitate team cooperation skills in your workplace!
