Workplace Collaboration…a Problem Worth Fixing
- February 17, 2023
- Humantelligence
In a global survey of more than 2,000 workers, more than two-thirds of employees (64%) claim that poor workplace collaboration is wasting at least 3-5 hours of productivity per week — and some even say more than 6 hours. As a result, nearly half of those employees have left or would consider leaving their job due to poor collaboration.
“Collaboration, in terms of how we work together, and the tools we use to do so, is firmly under the spotlight at present,” said Scott Day, Chief People Officer at Corel. “Prior to the pandemic, we underappreciated how easy it was to collaborate. Now, with the shift to new hybrid models of working, cracks in how we work together have begun to show and the onus is on businesses to actively seek new models of collaboration that suit the way that their employees want to work.”
In that same survey, 78% of employees claim their businesses’ leadership could be doing more to promote collaboration within the organization, with 27% claiming that their organization hasn’t invested in the right collaboration tools.
But the companies that are promoting, encouraging and investing in workplace collaboration have been linked to reducing employee turnover rates by 50%. A workplace collaboration problem costing you money, time and resources can be fixed with a strategic approach to relationship building and a focus on team performance and the employee experience.
When you invest in this, you could experience :
5% ↑ in engagement per 1,000 employees
5% ↓ in turnover per 1,000 employees
$1.9 M saved by re-engaging & retaining
Collaboration Powers Productivity
We are now at the next stage of work where hybrid and remote working have moved from being an employee request, to an employee expectation. Business leaders need to embrace this change, making a concerted effort to create a working environment that makes it easy for employees to work together–and a critical part of this means investing in the right tools. Failure to do so will see businesses struggle to attract and retain their best talent and they will continue to be at a competitive disadvantage.
In fact, it’s a problem worth fixing when you consider that effective communication and collaboration sparks both creativity, innovation, and productivity — all which leads to better team effectiveness and hence business outcomes.
- A recent American study of 1,100 companies carried out by the Institute for Corporate Productivity and Babson College found those that promoted collaborative working were five times more likely to be high performing.
- In 2008, a University of Maryland meta study of 72 different pieces of research highlighted significant benefits from using an agile software development approach – that is, a collaborative approach. It showed significant improvements in costs, reduced timescales, productivity and return on investment.
How much does collaboration increase productivity? The benefits of using collaboration tools are real. Collaboration increases productivity by 25% or more. A comprehensive workplace study by McKinsey looked specifically at the effect of improving collaboration through improved internal social tools, so it’s likely that the total effect of collaboration increases productivity by even more than 25%.
Source: Raconteur
Employees Value Workplace Collaboration More Than You Think
- More than 50% of workers in the United States say their jobs are reliant on collaboration.
- 86% of employees in leadership positions blame lack of collaboration as the top reason for workplace failures.
- About 75% of employees rate teamwork and collaboration as being very important.
- Employees are 17% more satisfied with their job when they engage in collaboration at work.
- Over the last 20 years, workplace collaboration has increased by at least 50%.
- Top-performing workers spend 45% of their time working collaboratively.
- Only 9% of surveyed employees in a Deloitte study reported that their place of employment had very effective sharing and collaboration tools.
- Collaborating on tasks and sharing ideas is valued at $1,660 per employee each year and that quality improvements made as a result of workplace collaboration are valued at $2,517 per employee each year. (Deloitte)
- Companies that promote collaboration at work have 5x better performance rates.
Source: Zippia
At the end of the day, focusing on workplace collaboration in the context of the employee experience doesn’t just help your people; it also helps the company. An employee who feels connection to others is an employee who is most likely to engage. And an employee who can fully engage is an employee who feels compelled to stay. That means you stave off the risk of the lost productivity, lower morale, and customer dissatisfaction that can arise when turnover is rampant.
To dive deeper into our employee retention to-do list and learn how to inspire deeper connection among colleagues, download our short guide.