How to improve teamwork in 7 easy steps

If you’re reading this article, you’re probably already well aware of the power teamwork can have to transform your business.

However, fostering a teamwork mentality and motivating collaboration, especially as we shift towards a more hybrid workspace, can be a challenge. Many employers fail to follow through on essential elements in the team environment. Employees mainly cite a lack of effective communication and alignment with organizational goals as the reasons why teams fall short:

In a study conducted by Queens University of Charlotte, 75% of employers find collaboration “very important”, yet only 18% of them evaluate their employee’s performance in the context of communication and teamwork skills.

According to a McKinsey study, 97% of employees and executives believe lack of alignment within a team impacts the outcome of a task or project.

86% of employees surveyed by Salesforce felt that a lack of collaboration and ineffective communication were responsible for workplace failures.

Transforming your teamwork requires top-level commitment and a dedicated effort. However, with the right strategy and with a little help from tools like our social intranet software, you can connect and build teams to become the driving force of your organization.

What is teamwork?

Teamwork, noun: A group of people coming together to combine their strengths and knowledge to achieve a common goal. 

Here, individuals in your company cooperate to provide and act on peer-to-peer feedback. They learn from each other’s skills and experiences, and share a commitment to performance to achieve alike goals.

What does teamwork do?

It levels up your staff. Motivated. Engaged. Productive. These by-products of employee morale and behavior are by-products of teamwork capabilities. Why care? Teamwork promotes its chain of by-products in a positive loop: the better the teamwork, the stronger the corporate culture, the more efficient your organization gets at reaching its goals.

The evidence? According to ClearCompany, organizations with high levels of employee engagement are 20% more productive as engaged employees understand the importance of their role and become aligned with organizational values. Members will feel a higher sense of accomplishment in their work.

This assembles a team-centric environment. Therefore, you will attract and retain top talent as “37% of employees highlight working with a great team” as their primary reason for staying at their job. In the long term, your organization can focus on building a sustainable corporate culture and investing in Internal Communication software.

What’s the return on investment? A study run by PGI suggests that workplace collaboration can increase successful innovation by 15%. In this environment teams come up with new solutions that support open and honest communication – employees share their ideas and solve problems together.

How to improve teamwork

A team that is unwilling to communicate and collaborate can be difficult for any head of Internal Communications to improve. But your responsibility is to resolve it, so how do you?

Keep in mind that coherent teams take time to build. A mix of skills, opinions, and histories may raise tension, especially when building in remote teams or teams that use a hybrid model. The correct approach can make it less strenuous, so here are 7 easy steps to follow:

7 easy steps for successful teamwork

1. Set clear team and organizational goals

A shared objective is what unites and motivates teams to find new ways to work together, however, many organizations fail to communicate their mission clearly on the team level. A study conducted by ClearCompany found that only 14% of companies have employees that understand the organization’s strategy, goals, and objectives. Hence, for individuals and teams to be effective, clear goals must be set from the beginning and communicated regularly to ensure teams are moving in the right direction.

2. Play to individual strengths

Each understanding their strengths and the role they play within the team will help a team to excel. According to a study conducted by Gallup, companies that incorporated strengths-based management (e.g. performing a strengths test and placing employees in roles that they can excel in) increased profits by 14% - 29%. People like doing what they’re good at and will be more motivated if they feel that they are contributing their best work to achieve the overall goal.

3. Diversity is an advantage

Teams with a mix of skills-sets, opinions, and backgrounds create diversity which tends to be advantageous in problem-solving situations. A study conducted by Cloverpop found that diverse teams make better decisions 87% of the time. The size of the team is also important. Think 4 to 9 people. It needs to be big enough to get the job done but small enough that it doesn’t become unwieldy and succumb to groupthink.

4. Lead by example

Promote teamwork by practicing what you preach. Lead by example to establish better team practices by making it the cultural norm. According to Gallup, managers account for at least 70% of the variance in employee engagement scores across business units. This means that the behavior and attitudes radiated from the top will trickle through hierarchy and influence mannerisms throughout the organization.

5. Learn to listen

Communication is a two-way street. To promote a flow of knowledge and ideas, members of teams must be heard. Listening to your members will help them feel that their ideas are valued and worth sharing, building their connection to the organization and their role. A study conducted by Atlassian found that when honest feedback, mutual respect, and personal openness were encouraged, team members were 80% more likely to report higher emotional well-being.

6. Get to know each other

Unlock collaborative potential by connecting with employees on a personal level. 50% of the positive changes in communication patterns within the workplace can be accredited to social interaction outside of the workplace. Team building exercises and activities can help build trust between members and allow them to collaborate more successfully. Encourage individuals to take coffee breaks and host happy hours. Plan periodic icebreakers and activities that give your teams a chance to get to know each other on a deeper level.

7. Use collaboration tools

Digital collaboration tools improve teamwork both in and out of the office. Selecting an intranet solution as a tool will promote Internal Communication within your organization, offering employees a flexible way of working whilst still keeping them connected. 

Collaboration tools offer organizations the ability to take their Internal Communications and collaborative network global. How do you get started? Happeo's intranet solution offers a dynamic solution and user-friendly design that can boost productivity and make collaboration at work easy company-wide.

Implementing successful teamwork in your business

When taking steps to improve your teamwork, you must approach these changes in a way that works for you and your organization. Teams can be diverse in their communication and collaboration styles, so it’s important to recognize what works best for your culture. Follow the aforementioned and over time teamwork with your organization will begin to improve creating a more driven and effective team.

Selecting the right digital collaboration tool is key to encouraging teamwork. A collaboration tool that delivers organizational information to your employees for collaborative and social means will help your employees connect with each other and the company to achieve goals and objectives.

To reach your organization goals. Check out our intranet comparison guide to find the tools that suit you best.

Workplace teams often fail to collaborate effectively due to a lack of clear communication and a misalignment with overall organisational goals. Research indicates that a staggering 86% of employees blame ineffective communication and poor collaboration for workplace failures. When team members do not communicate openly, projects stall, misunderstandings arise, and productivity drops. Furthermore, 97% of employees and executives believe that a lack of alignment within a team directly impacts the final outcome of a task or project, showing how critical it is for everyone to work towards the same objective.

Another major reason for failure is the gap between what employers value and what they actually measure. While 75% of employers rate collaboration as “very important” in the workplace, only 18% of those employers actually evaluate their staff’s performance in the context of their communication and teamwork skills. This disconnect means employees are rarely incentivised or given feedback on how well they cooperate with others, leading to a neglect of these crucial skills.

Additionally, a general lack of understanding regarding company strategy plays a significant role in team failure. Only 14% of employees truly understand their organisation’s strategy, goals, and objectives. Without this foundational knowledge, individuals cannot align their daily work with the bigger picture, resulting in disjointed efforts. Building a successful team requires resolving these communication barriers, setting clear goals from the very beginning, and actively encouraging peer-to-peer feedback to ensure everyone is moving in the same direction.

Managers and leaders can practically improve collaboration by implementing several strategic changes, starting with leading by example. Because managers account for at least 70% of the variance in employee engagement scores, the behaviours and attitudes radiated from the top will naturally trickle down and influence the entire organisation. By actively practicing and promoting teamwork, leaders can successfully establish collaboration as a cultural norm within their business units.

Secondly, leaders should play to individual strengths and keep team sizes optimal. Research shows that companies incorporating strengths-based management see profit increases of 14% to 29%, as employees are more motivated when they contribute their best work. When structuring these teams, leaders should aim for a size of four to nine people. This range is large enough to ensure diverse skill sets and opinions—which helps groups make better decisions 87% of the time—but small enough to prevent the team from becoming unwieldy or succumbing to groupthink.

Finally, fostering open communication and active listening is crucial. When managers encourage honest feedback, mutual respect, and personal openness, team members are 80% more likely to report higher emotional well-being. Leaders must also ensure that team goals are communicated regularly, as only 14% of workers currently understand their company’s strategy. By setting clear objectives, listening to employees, and utilising digital collaboration tools like an intranet, managers can keep their teams connected and aligned to achieve their common goals.

Social interaction and a strong company culture are fundamental to building successful teamwork, as they directly impact employee trust and retention. Approximately 50% of positive changes in workplace communication patterns can be attributed to social interactions outside of the normal working environment. Encouraging team members to connect on a personal level through coffee breaks, happy hours, periodic icebreakers, and team-building activities helps build deep mutual trust, allowing individuals to collaborate much more successfully when tackling business projects.

A positive team culture also serves as a powerful tool for attracting and retaining top talent. In fact, 37% of employees highlight working with a great team as their primary reason for staying at their current job. When employees feel a high sense of accomplishment and enjoy working with their peers, it creates a team-centric environment that fosters long-term loyalty. Additionally, workplace collaboration and an open culture can increase successful innovation by 15%, as employees feel safe to share new ideas and solve complex problems together.

Ultimately, investing in teamwork and internal communication software creates a positive loop that strengthens corporate culture. Organisations with high levels of employee engagement see a 20% increase in productivity because engaged staff members understand the importance of their individual roles and are closely aligned with organisational values. By focusing on social connections and building a sustainable culture, businesses can ensure their teams remain highly motivated, engaged, and productive over the long term.