Improving teamwork in the workplace has become one of the main priorities for many employers across the world. However, it has also become a major challenge for most remote and hybrid organizations. 

Even though some people think that we may see the end of this pandemic soon, its consequences will stay with us forever.

Employees and teams have experienced the benefits of more flexible work. They have seen that work location doesn’t necessarily impact their performance and productivity. So many of them are not ready to go back to their offices full time.

However, the biggest challenge for remote and hybrid work is a team collaboration and team communication.

Today, when teamwork in the workplace is a prerequisite for organizational success and healthy corporate culture, employers need to find ways to mitigate the negative sides of remote work and enable better workplace collaboration.

As agreed by many experts, teamwork in the workplace has many benefits, so let’s take a look at some facts that really prove the power of teamwork in an organization.

Make teamwork in the workplace effortless with a proper internal comms platform

1. Despite Remote Work, Teamwork In the Workplace Is In the Rise

According to research, employees now spend about 50% more time engaged in collaborative workCross-functional communication and collaboration are bullet points of almost every job description out there.

a quote from goremotely

With that, teamwork has become one of the most important communication skills and most desired traits among employees.

Because employees are not physically connected as they used to be, the need for teamwork and better team collaboration has increased.

The shift from synchronous to asynchronous communication makes it harder for individuals to stay connected. This is many organizations today focus on teamwork.

💡Learn about 20 ways to engage with your remote employees!

2. Most Employees Consider Teamwork as “Very Important”

Employers are well aware of the importance of teamwork in the workplace. According to research, about 75% of employers rate teamwork and collaboration as “very important”. The rest consider it important or somewhat important.

Traditionally, working in silos wasn’t a big problem for many companies and individuals. The nature of many jobs used to be to celebrate individual success and individual performance. Today, on the contrary, we see more and more shared goals and team OKRs.

Furthermore, the most common EVP and core company value companies use today is “teamwork”. Being aware of the importance of great team collaboration, organizations are trying to make teamwork part of their DNA.

💡 Check out our complete guide to Employee Value Proposition and learn how to attract and keep top talent engaged.

3. Inefficient Team Collaboration Is the Reason Why Projects Fail

Highly connected teams are more successful in delivering successful projects. This is particularly true when projects imply cross-departmental collaboration, which is the case for most workplace initiatives today.

This is why 86% of employees and executives cite the lack of collaboration or ineffective communication for workplace failures.

a quote from salesforce

When a project is delivered by a product team in a software company, this initiative most likely needs to be supported by the marketing, sales, customers success and other engineering teams.

The effectiveness of this cross-functional collaboration usually determines the level of project success.

Yet, research shows that 39% of surveyed employees believe that people in their own organization don’t collaborate enough. This is mostly due to individualism in certain cultures or frustrations caused by asynchronous communication, which we depend on. Many employees and employers still need time to adapt to the new ways of working. They need to better understand how to get the most out of digital workplaces.

💡Listen in to our podcast Rethinking How We Network: The Bill Gates Mindset!

 

4. Teamwork in the Workplace Reduces Employee Turnover

Teamwork and good workplace relationships have proved to have an impact on employee engagement, employee morale, wellbeing, and retention. According to research, 54% of employees say a strong sense of community (great coworkers, celebrating milestones, a common mission) kept them at a company longer than was in their best interest.

Today, when employees are changing jobs more than ever before, it is in every employer’s interest to retain their people and stop them from leaving.

Good peer relationships have a big impact on employees’ tenure. 37% of employees say “working with a great team” is their primary reason for staying, and 27% of employees who plan to leave within the first year cite feeling “disconnected” from the organization.

💡Learn about the importance of employee wellbeing in the workplace!

5. Most Teams Depend on Technology to Collaborate Efficiently

The role of technology in enabling teamwork in the workplace is crucial. Many distributed teams depend on technology to collaborate in a more efficient way. Furthermore, the latest workplace technology is here to enable asynchronous communication.

According to an Alfresco survey, nearly 83% of professionals depend on technology to collaborate. 82% of the participants also felt that they would feel impacted if this technology to collaborate was lost.

quick stat from alfresco

However, organizations are challenged by understanding various types of technology and their impact on employee engagement and productivity. Adding too many different solutions can be counterproductive and frustrating to employees.

Hence, it is crucial that companies look for solutions that are flexible, scalable, easy to use, and accessible to every employee no matter where they are located and what’s their nature of work. It is also important that the technology is secure and integrates with your organization’s existing tech stack.

The 3 most popular workplace tech categories organizations have been implementing since the emergence of COVID-19 are:

💡Don’t miss out on our comprehensive employee experience guide!

6. Teamwork in the Workplace Results in Higher Profitability

Probably the biggest reason why employers are investing more time and resources into enabling teamwork is the fact that good teamwork results in greater profitability.

According to one research, extremely connected teams demonstrate a 21% increase in profitability. Connected teams are more driven to achieve great results together. They tend to be aligned with the organizational goals and objectives, and they know how to drive higher individual engagement among teams.

💡Since teamwork in the workplace greatly impacts employee motivation, check out these 15 tips for increasing employee motivation!

7. Virtual Team Building Activities Are More Popular Than Ever

In response to the global shift to remote work caused by COVID, there was a nearly 2500% increase in interest in online and virtual team building activities during quarantine.

a quote from teambuilding

The purpose of team building is to foster a sense of belongingness and employee connectedness. The fact that your employees can’t meet in person doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t find ways to help them connect. Even if your team is 100% remote, they can still interact with each other and feel less alone through virtual team-building activities. These may help boost employee wellbeing and productivity.

💡Your corporate culture plays a big role in driving more teamwork and collaboration in the workplace. Check out our guide for building a great corporate culture!

8. Socially Isolated Teams Are Less Productive

Social isolation made this pandemic the worst time in many people’s careers. People felt stressed, scared, and lonely at the same time.

So the same way teamwork can increase productivity, isolation and the sense of loneliness can reduce it. While more people than ever are working from home, it may feel inevitable that employees feel isolated. That experience should be an alarming concern because, according to this Gallup article, feelings of employee isolation reduce productivity up to 21%.

💡Check out our advice for boosting employee morale in these trying times!

9. Good Workplace Relationships Result in Higher Engagement

Good teamwork is often the result of good workplace relationships. Such relationships can also have a big impact on the level of employees’ job satisfaction and engagement at work. There is even research that proves it!

According to Gallup data, female employees who have a best friend (63%) at the workplace are two times more likely to be fully engaged at work than those who do not have a best friend at the workplace (29%). With employees spending at least 8 hours a day working, it helps to have a best friend there. Making and maintaining strong friendships at work creates a space where employees feel safe and included.

💡Don’t forget that managers account for over 70% of the variation of employee engagement. Learn about the must-have leadership skills every manager should have!

Enabling Teamwork In YOUR Workplace

As previously mentioned, workplace technology significantly impacts whether and how employees collaborate at work. It is more important than ever for employees to stay connected with their peers and for employers to be able to reach every employee with important information.

Technology such as employee communication apps also have the power to reduce the time employees spend searching for relevant information. The latest technology is designed to serve the right information to the right employees at the right time.

It is also made to make workplace communications more efficient and also more measurable. It encourages employees’ share of voice and promotes frequent, honest, and transparent organizational communication.

If this is something you are looking for in your organization, schedule a Haiilo demo and learn why and how companies use it to drive more teamwork in the workplace. 

Check out our report on the key drivers of employee engagement

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