A dated survey by The Grossman Group shows that over $37 billion are lost each year just due to “employee misunderstandings”. Sounds unreasonable but it is true! But why deem it unreasonable when misunderstandings have been a part of our life ever since the beginning of time. And we have learned to live with and around it. Often, people don’t realize the communication gap until it causes damage. And though the scale of the damage can differ and may seem economically recoverable, misunderstandings between people in the workplace can cost dearly to the business as well we professional relationships; jeopardizing the success of the organization.
As widely
said, ‘Prevention is better than Cure”, it wouldn’t take a genius to anticipate
that preventing communication gaps is far more effective than fixing its
repercussions. And a bit of backtracking may yield various reasons for the
communication gaps. Here are some examples:
“My client always ends up expecting something more than what I have done. I wonder how I can meet their expectations one hundred percent?”“We never deliver on time. Just don’t get how we spill all the time”
Are these
just communication gaps? It may be visualized as incorrect expectations set
with the client or unreal timelines committed by the team. But to be honest,
there is much more going behind these. It could be a case of inaccurate
understanding of the task at hand or mismatched priorities or even intentions.
I could go on and on trying to list out the possible reasons behind these gaps.
There could be no end to the list. The point to note is that communication gap
isn’t the only line of fault. There are other factors that eventually lead to
the gap. However, the good news: there is a single solution to all the possible
factors!!
“Workplace Collaboration”. Workplace
collaboration is nothing new. One may argue, that I have been collaborating
with my colleagues all my life. But still we end up in a mess every now and
then. Well let’s try to find out.
Yes, we do
collaborate everyday with everyone. How we can say if that is enough? Or
perfect? Or appropriate? Achieving true collaboration in which entire team play
more than the mere sum of the individual parts. Yes, it is difficult in any
environment. People must set aside their egos, trust one another, and share
their expertise willingly. When a team
collaborating smoothly, openly sharing information and able to communicate
seamlessly, they can work at their most effective level. On the other hand,
when employees work in individual silos, it can take longer for a team to
finish a project. Highly engaged people, more productivity, an educated happier
work culture is a sign of good workplace collaboration.
Knowing this fact; unfortunately, workplace collaboration
remains one of those commonly under-utilized tools for project success. Many of
us will accept the fact but still like staying in our little bay of expertise, comfortable
in our silos and never seeking out true collaboration. It’s easy to put your
curtains on and get the job done, but that’s not what drives success, or
growth, both individually and organizationally.
One need to
think upon this factor when it comes to success of an organization. Workplace Collaboration
depicts the educated happier workplace. It cultivates a sense of community
within an organization, with employees feeling almost like they are a part of a
family. Such environment encourages them to go beyond the expectations of their
role. When you communicate, you get fair access to skills and strength which
helps to solve problems faster and innovate better. It also allows businesses
to complete important projects and initiatives in a more efficient manner. With
multiple individuals or departments involved, work can be distributed more
evenly and efficiently to those who have the time and expertise.
Tackling
workplace collaboration comes down to three things – your company culture, work-space, and technology. Certainly we
can strike a balance where one can work in silo but at the same time can
collaborate well. It’s just matter of thinking how to achieve it. There can be
several ways to do that and no way is perfect. We need to think wisely and keep
it purposeful. It’s simple but at the same time it’s tricky. Let us touch base
couple of them based on my own experience.
Lead by Example:
Leaders or
executives in the organizations are the ones who can inculcate the
collaboration. The effective collaboration mechanism they showcase; more others
will respect and follow. Company leaders should support collaborative tool and
strategy for the same.
Know each other:
Different
personality dynamics, skill sets and experiences are present in every team. It
is worth the effort to have everyone openly discuss likes and dislikes about
communication, tasks and personal focus.
Set team goals:
Ensure
measurable goals are set on a quarterly basis. Getting the team to focus on
goals will keep individual efforts aligned with desired outcomes. Be willing to re-evaluate goals as needed.
Each quarter the outcome of each goal is also published. This keep everyone
focused and transparent.
Establish collaboration tools:
Implementing
the right tech tool is the key. Everyone must find it useful and not too much
complex to use it. This helps everyone
to be open on everything be it status or be it opinion on one topic. Such tools
are also helps to conduct effective meetings. This will also help at times to
get rid of feeling about meeting is waste of time.
Establishing
a collaboration is just the beginning. Collaboration must be consistent and
purposeful, with resources dedicated to its success. Well, every company has
many superheroes or committed contributors already; but one can build
productivity exponentially by getting them to work as a collaborative team.
0 comments :
Post a Comment