How to Build the Foundation for Collaboration

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Do you know the value of fostering collaboration among your team members and throughout your organization? In a culture that so often focuses on individual accomplishments and a personal drive for success, collaboration and cooperation can often become unfortunate afterthoughts in our companies or organizations.

Neglecting teamwork is one of the worst ways to stifle creativity and slow productivity, which ultimately forces your business to suffer in the long run. Shifting your focus to collaboration and a positive culture can have a significant benefit to everyone involved, boosting innovation by 15%, increasing employee retention, and helping everyone feel included in the workplace. At Pivot HR, we know the value of investing in employees and fostering a collaboration-based environment. We’re proud to partner with businesses and organizations across Canada to equip leaders and their teams with the tools they need to succeed through leadership and development seminars.

Read on to learn how you can start developing a more collaborative environment in your workplace today!

Foster Open Communication

Communication is key to all areas of success in business development, and so it comes as no surprise that it’s a key component of collaboration. If you’re wondering how well your team communicates, take a moment to reflect on recent interactions and consider if people seem open and comfortable chatting with each other, whether there’s constructive feedback given, and how the team responds to conflict. If your honest assessment leaves you wanting more out of your team, this is a great place to start when it comes to building the foundation for collaboration.

Create a Judgment Free Culture

One of the most important things you can do when encouraging your leaders and employees to collaborate with one another is to focus on building a culture of inclusivity and acceptance. Conflict and differing opinions may be inevitable, but with the right mindset, they shouldn’t be a point of division. Teaching your team how to be inclusive and open to different points of view, backgrounds, and experiences brought forth by your peers is one of the best ways to strengthen your collaborative energy and lay an incredible groundwork for success.

Inter-Departmental Connection

It’s great to have members on the same team in alignment, but the next stage in collaboration and connectivity is to work towards inter-departmental cohesion. Present opportunities for different teams to work together and encourage creative problem solving that goes beyond emails and phone calls; face-to-face time (where possible) is an invaluable resource and can break down walls that hold everyone back.

Equip and Reward

If you want your crew to work together, it’s integral to give them the support and resources to do so. Invest the time and energy into training, developing company assets that make collaboration possible (virtual or otherwise), offering the chance for continuing education, and don’t forward to reward those who strive to make cooperation and collaboration a priority in their day-to-day efforts.

Practice What You Preach

Finally, as is the case with so many other parts of leadership and development, in order to truly make a case for collaboration, your leaders need to be prepared to practice what they preach. Get your entire team involved and welcome their input as to how they think you can grow together, and be prepared to welcome constructive criticism. While it can take some time for everyone to adjust, you’d be surprised just how quickly people adapt to a positive culture and collaborative environment!

Build the Bridge to Success

At Pivot HR, we know that creating the ideal workplace and laying the building blocks for collaboration can be challenging. Based in Vancouver BC, we’re proud to partner with businesses and organizations across Canada to give you access to the HR support and tools you need to succeed. From executive coaching and leadership training for mid-upper management, employee workshops, workplace investigations and more, our team is here to help you grow safely and efficiently. Contact us today to learn more!

What Our Clients say about us

“Robin and Mia were both exceptionally professional and responsive and understood our needs. Their work was of great quality. We are a small non-profit organization and we found them very easy and wonderful to work with. Great value and highly recommend.”

~ Joy Masuhara , Co-Chair Women Transforming Cities International Society

“Cindy is a remarkable professional coach, who goes well beyond expectations in supporting her clients’ development. She knows how to ask the right questions and uncover the real and deep issues that contribute to the limitations we put on ourselves. This type of personal exploration is tough work to do alone and remain committed to necessary change. Cindy’s approach and support made this process one of the most impactful experiences of my life, professionally and personally.”

~ Monique Cotton, Firm Administrator, JFK Law Corporation

“As a medium size business with over 100 employees working in very different areas of our operation, Pivot was able to quickly understand our HR needs and offer practical solutions. Robin and the Pivot team worked closely with our Leadership group to implement effective turnkey solutions on time and on budget. We will continue to use Pivot for our ongoing HR needs and would highly recommend their services.”

~ Adam Zubek, General Manager, Point Grey Golf & Country Club

Pivot HR Services provides personalized solutions for our organization’s human resources needs. By engaging their services, we have been able to successfully outsource our HR function, as the Pivot team has demonstrated their ability to understand the HR priorities of our workplace culture and industry.

~ Areef Abraham, Chief Executive Officer Community Power

“Robin developed our employee policy manual with the goal of engaging and retaining our current staff as well as attracting new ones in this highly competitive marketplace. Her in depth knowledge of current legislation and HR policies proved to be of significant benefit. I would highly recommend Robin and the team at Pivot HR Services.”

~ Christopher Soles, President, Nextgen Technologies Ltd.

“Robin has been and continues to be an outstanding resource for our organization to navigate HR issues as we grow. She always approaches problems with professionalism and a keen eye for our best interest. I’d certainly recommend Robin to anyone looking to elevate their HR processes.”

~ Karim Abraham, CEO, Kambo Energy Solutions

“Our firm turned to Robin for advice and guidance at a time when we faced a period of serious difficulty in managing our human resources. She assisted us through the process of putting our relationship with our staff on a stronger, more stable footing and helped us implement a complete overhaul of our human resources policies. We could not be more pleased with the work she has done and continues to do with us.”

~ Robert Janes, QC, Managing Principal JFK Law Corporation

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