Team Collaboration
How To Help Staff Connect, Encourage Ideas, And Move Work Forward
Share. Communicate. Innovate
Team collaboration is a prominent trait among today’s winning organizations. Done right, collaboration aids better decision-making, innovative thinking and improved productivity. Staff are happier, performance is boosted, and there’s less risk of error.
But many organizations have yet to figure out how to help colleagues work better together to achieve a common goal.
The good news is that there are tools and techniques that have proven to nurture a strong collaborative culture within the workplace.
Here, we shed light on the causes of poor collaboration, tips for improvement, and collaboration software that enables co-workers to share ideas and improve internal communications.
What Is Team Collaboration?
The definition of team collaboration is when two or more people work together to achieve a common goal. This is done through idea sharing, planning and executing in unison. In contrast to working on one’s own, team collaboration is regarded as a more productive way to get work done, and carries less risk.
Tackling a major project – such as a new product launch or the introduction of a new internal process – usually requires a teamwork approach. This entails bringing together a group of employees to allocate and complete tasks, within a set timeframe.
These days, with technology overcoming geographical barriers, virtual teams are popular. Companies are now appointing the best people for a project – regardless of their work location – to form part of a team and collaborate. This development has created new opportunities for businesses to innovate – but is not without its challenges.
Why Is Team Collaboration Critical In The 21st Century?
Never before has the workplace been so diverse. For the first time in history, five generations are working side-by-side. Each employee has a unique perspective. Their opinions are formed by their own personal experiences. And they have different communication styles – some prefer face-to-face, others the written word.
Such differences are a lot to manage, particularly when complex, project-based decisions must be made.
How a team interacts with each other will influence the final outcome. Communication, knowledge transfer and equal respect for each team member are essential for a high-performing team.
Younger generations joining the workforce are eager to further develop the collaborative skills they’ve learnt during education. They place place greater support on social tools for collaboration than their older colleagues (49 per cent millennials vs 31 per cent baby boomers). And considering that 46 per cent of 2020’s workforce are millennials (compared with 36 per cent six years ago), employers must act upon this growing generation’s preference for building team dynamics.
Furthermore, around 75% of employees now rate teamwork and collaboration as crucial to their performance.
Reasons For Poor Team Collaboration
It’s a common scenario when a collection of people come together to solve a problem, cross-functionally. There may be representatives in the room from IT, Sales, Product and Finance.
When collaboration fails, it’s often because these individuals partially listen to others points-of-view, but do not fully seek to understand what they were actually saying.
Each representative remains in their own paradigm rather than genuinely taking on board and seeking a solution based on other perspectives.
To counter this, effective collaboration requires recognition of diversity; that each individual has their own thought process and purpose. This requires greater understanding of the team individuals, and the concerns they may be feeling.
These could include the following:
- Skepticism about the success of the project i.e.‘doomed to fail’
- Uncertainty around who does what in the team, and where tasks and responsibilities sit
- Misinterpretation or miscommunication: wrongly assuming all staff have the same understanding
- Lack of direction, KPIs and milestones set out from the start
- Conflicting priorities: failing to appreciate an employee’s current workload before adding more
- Forcing staff to communicate in ways that may be uncomfortable for them i.e. introverted employees making team presentations
How To Improve Team Collaboration
Successful team collaboration is hard work. With so much to consider – silos, company culture, staff at different locations, leadership styles – good team collaboration doesn’t happen by accident.
Furthermore, Harvard Business Review has exposed an interesting paradox at play, based on its research into team behavior:
“Although teams that are large, virtual, diverse, and composed of highly educated specialists are increasingly crucial with challenging projects, those same four characteristics make it hard for teams to get anything done.
“To put it another way, the qualities required for success are the same qualities that undermine success. Members of complex teams are less likely to share knowledge freely, to learn from one another, to shift workloads flexibly to break up unexpected bottlenecks, to help one another complete jobs and meet deadlines, and to share resources.”
It also found that the higher the educational level of the team member, the more challenging collaboration appears for them.
But there are some best practices for building effective collaboration strategies, as follows:
Define And Repeatedly Communicate The Team’s Goals
This is the first step to bringing together a group of people. Goals should be reiterated at the start of daily huddles, referred to when key decisions are underway, and repeated across all communication channels (your intranet, for example).
Promote Open Communication Particularly When Faced With A Roadblock
This is where technology has become a game-changer. Instead of waiting for the next round-table meeting to overcome a roadblock, intranet tools such as forums, instant messaging, and shared files allow members of the same team to work through a problem collaboratively at pace.
Create Structure Within Meetings And Give Staff Time To Prepare
WIP (work-in-progress) meetings are an important part of effective project management. Ahead of each meeting, share agenda items, action lists and related reading material with all members of the team so there are no frustrating delays when teams meet.
Encourage Creativity And Free-thinking: All Ideas To Be Respected
Brainstorming sessions can be fun and fruitful. Team leaders must give advance warning though so staff can do their own research. And if you’re the manager, resist the urge to direct and jump in immediately with your ideas, as staff may feel obliged to follow.
Log Important Decisions And Their Backstory
Avoid the “he said/she said” nature of spontaneous conversations; make sure ideas are contextually documented in a central space, accessible for all, and not lost in the moment.
Invest in Collaboration Tools
Team collaboration tools have shown the way here. Employees can set up team channels where decisions can be made in real-time. Slack, the popular chat tool, has been joined by a host of other instant messaging tools, virtually eliminating the need for traditional email. Video conferencing, in the wake of Covid-19, has become the default meeting format. And forums are another effective channel for effective team collaboration.
Check For Understanding
Nodding heads does not necessarily mean agreement and understanding. Many co-workers won’t like to admit they don’t understand something. Reiterate major decisions – during and after meetings – providing clarity and an opportunity for others to ask further questions. Engage in two-way communication with all members when possible.
Create Ways For Less Outspoken Team Members To Contribute Ideas
Not everyone has public speaking skills. Shy people will not feel comfortable sharing their idea in a room full of colleagues, but may happily submit an idea via a forum or chat channel. Make it known that individual thinking is unique and valued, and that every team member should be able to communicate with equality and authority.
Share Experience, Knowledge And Resources
Use an intranet to capture treasured insights – physically and virtually with file-sharing software. This will save mistakes being repeated, and knowledge walking out the door when someone leaves. Don’t leave this to chance: embed a process for eliciting and storing this valuable intelligence as part of your regular WIP meetings. Add tags to meeting notes that can be searched for later on.
Acknowledge And Celebrate Individual And Team Success
Highlight individual qualities and the special skills that each team member brings to the table. Go big when a milestone or key task has been ticked off with a team building celebration event. This boosts morale and makes people feel valued.
Appoint Task And Relationship-Oriented Leaders
HBR research found that the most productive and innovative teams had leaders who could outline clear goals and responsibilities and easily switch to relationship-building mode i.e. smoothing out internal tensions.
Limit Group Sizes
Not always possible – particularly if you’re about to organize the next Olympics – but aim to keep teams small enough so that staff get to know (and respect) each other, and ideas exchange freely. Big teams tend to be more vulnerable to tunnel vision, or the ‘squeakiest wheel wins’.
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Collaborative teams are 5 x higher performing as they feel motivated towards a common goal
Source: i4cp
Team Collaboration Trends
Team Collaboration tools are evolving to suit the changing needs of businesses today.
Flexibility, scalability, and compatibility with existing systems increasingly matter. Because of this, enterprise players such as Cisco, Slack and Microsoft have no choice but to integrate with each other.
Some other noticeable trends in team collaboration include:
Artificial Intelligence
Machine learning tools and bots can help an entire team improve the way they collaborate by making it easier to find information instantly. They can also offer things like real-time translation and transcribing during video conferencing meetings.
Unique Experiences
As more technology vendors come to the integration and interoperability party, open-source platforms with the help of APIs are enabling employers to build their own collaboration experience, just right for their internal culture.
Love Of Video
This format’s popularity continues to rise, but so do expectations around its performance. With remote teams the new normal, businesses are relying more on video conferencing, which must be reliable, secure and consistent.
Team Collaboration Software
Creating a workplace using team collaboration software is a practical move that can really transform how you and your colleagues collaborate.
MyHub’s cloud-based intranet is designed specifically for organizations in search of an affordable and adaptable collaboration solution. It’s fully scalable, designed to support your company’s growth. And fully customizable, to meet your exact needs.
Combining a company internal newsfeed, instant messaging and secure cloud storage, MyHub is the perfect choice for your important projects-in-progress.
Whether you’re an IT pro or completely non-technical, MyHub’s cloud-hosted solution offers all the features and functionality you’ll ever need.
We’ve made it so that it’s super simple to set-up (no coding skills or IT experience required) – and is enjoyable to use!
Using simple drag-and-drop functionality, you can create a professional space for your team to start collaborating in minutes! Being cloud-hosted also means you’re future-proofing your investment: you get to benefit from our latest new features and enhancements as soon as they’re released.
Useful Team Collaboration Resources
Board Governance Models: The How, What, And Why
Strong board governance is critical to organizational success. This blog post explores the 7 most common governance models used by boards worldwide, including the advisory board, cooperative, management team, policy, traditional, and hybrid models. Each model defines different roles, responsibilities, and levels of authority for board members and management
For example, the policy governance model—popularized by John Carver—focuses on separating strategic oversight from daily operations, whereas the cooperative model emphasizes shared authority and consensus decision-making. The management team model involves board members actively running operations, which can be suitable for startups or smaller organizations with limited staff. Choosing the right model depends on an organization’s size, sector, resources, and goals
The post also outlines best practices for improving board effectiveness—such as adopting clear reporting lines, setting performance expectations, and using tools like MyHub’s intranet to manage board communications, documentation, and workflows securely. Ultimately, the right governance model should promote clarity, accountability, and alignment between the board and executive leadership.
Workplace Incident Report Sample – Free Template!
Workplace incident reports—covering accidents, injuries, near misses, security issues, and property damage—are essential tools for safeguarding health and safety on the job. Filling in a report as soon as possible preserves critical details and supports compliance with occupational health regulations. Centralizing these reports in a register enables regular review by management.
The true value lies in investigation and prevention: reports help identify root causes, leading to corrective actions like changing procedures, updating training, or fixing equipment. Reporting even near misses reinforces a proactive culture, protecting employee wellbeing, reducing costly legal claims, and boosting morale .
An effective incident report form should be clear and structured, capturing event type, location, people involved, witness details, environmental conditions, injury or damage descriptions, and treatment steps. To encourage thorough reporting, use corporate branding, field guidance, and options to upload photos/videos. Collect feedback on the form from employees and iterate accordingly.
27 Easy Office Management Software Tools
Office management software centralizes routine processes—such as task tracking, communication, document handling, and scheduling—under one digital roof, reducing manual work and minimizing errors. By automating repetitive tasks and improving visibility, both staff and management can focus on high-impact strategic work and better support business goals.
These solutions also enhance internal collaboration and communication. Integrated tools like chat platforms, file sharing, and video conferencing keep teams connected and aligned, whether in-office or remote. Powerful integrations with project tools, performance reviews, and HR systems ensure a seamless experience across the organization.
Finally, office management platforms offer vital analytics and scalability. They provide real-time performance metrics and support informed decision-making while adapting to team growth. As cloud-based tools evolve—with AI/ML enhancements—they promise more intelligent automation and efficiency, making them essential for modern, agile workplaces.
Microsoft Forms: Your Questions Answered
Microsoft Forms is a versatile, browser-based tool included in most Microsoft 365 subscriptions, enabling users to build surveys, quizzes, polls, registration forms, and more without coding. Popular use cases include employee feedback surveys, L&D assessments, incident reports, and new-hire questionnaires—all accessible on desktop or mobile.
Users benefit from prebuilt templates and branching logic, allowing conditional flows based on responses. With support for multiple question types—multiple-choice, rating scales, Likert, dates—and automatic saving of draft forms, creation is intuitive. Microsoft Forms also provides built-in analytics and the ability to export response data to Excel for deeper analysis.
For organizations seeking more than surveys, intranet-based digital forms (like those offered by MyHub) offer advanced workflow tools: drag-and-drop builders, approval routing, self-updating cloud storage, notifications, permission controls, and integration with chat channels . These tools streamline processes like vacation requests or purchase orders, reducing paperwork and reinforcing green initiatives.
Website For Employees: Top 17 Essential Features
A modern website for employees, often called an intranet, serves as a centralized hub to streamline communication, collaboration, and connection for team members—both in-office and remote. MyHub’s blog outlines 17 essential features, beginning with team & company-wide newsfeeds, business instant messaging, and staff profiles that humanize coworkers and strengthen engagement. These tools make finding updates and colleagues faster and more intuitive, replacing cluttered emails and shared drives.
Beyond communication, the intranet becomes a powerful productivity engine. It combines a centralized information hub with smart search, automated requests and approvals, project workspaces, and knowledge management tools like forums, wikis, surveys, and quizzes. This consolidation reduces wasted time, ensures employees can quickly access SOPs, policies, training content, and collaboration spaces without hopping between apps.
Employee experience is further enriched through onboarding support, learning & development portals, employee recognition, and fun social features. An intranet that includes mobile-first design, enterprise app integration, and gamification elements—like shout-outs and contests—boosts adoption and culture. MyHub emphasizes that unless a staff website is built around employee needs, it likely won’t engage users—which is why those 17 features are mission-critical .
Instant Messaging In The Workplace – All You Need To Know
Instant messaging (IM) has revolutionized internal communications, enabling employees to connect seamlessly via text, video, voice, and file sharing in real time. Unlike email or phone calls, IM supports group channels, @mentions, hashtags, and presence indicators—ideal for fast-paced or hybrid work environments where timely interactions matter.
IM offers significant efficiency gains: quicker answers, reduced email volume, improved collaboration, and measurable productivity increases—66 % of users report faster query resolution, while 75 % see fewer calls and emails thanks to chat usage. It also enhances team cohesion, especially in remote settings, by encouraging informal chats (#coffeebreak), emoji reactions, and social recognition that mimic in-person interactions.
However, IM isn’t without drawbacks. Uncontrolled notifications can distract, security vulnerabilities may arise without proper safeguards, and reliance on chat alone can erode deeper connections fostered through richer communication channels. To strike a healthy balance, organisations are advised to implement clear IM guidelines—covering etiquette, work‑life boundaries, content appropriateness, and integration strategies to align chat tools with existing systems .