Collaboration in the workplace: 11 ways to boost your team’s performance

At Asana, we’re on a mission to help humanity thrive by enabling the world’s teams to work together effortlessly. Workplace collaboration takes teamwork to the next level. It allows your teammates to share their skills, talents, and ideas to achieve a common goal. 

When done right, workplace collaboration can have a positive impact on your team and organization. Collaboration can improve efficiency, innovation, and team relationships. In this article we cover the benefits and challenges of a collaborative workspace, what skills you need to look for in your collaborative team, and how you can support them to create an innovative and positive work environment.

What is team collaboration in the workplace?

Team collaboration is the cornerstone of building team synergy, because collaborative teams work together to brainstorm new ideas, share knowledge, and complete ambitious projects. Simply put, a collaborative team is one that accomplishes more together than the individual team members could on their own. 

Depending on your role, team collaboration in the workplace can look different:

• For team leads, team collaboration can help you allocate work in a way that makes your direct reports shine, expands their skill sets, and helps them advance their careers.

• As an individual contributor, collaboration helps you communicate more effectively with your team and work together to accomplish team goals.

• For cross-functional collaborators, team collaboration is critical to ensure work moves along smoothly. Without a clear way to work together and communicate, your team can end up siloed, and work can end up falling through the cracks.

How to collaborate in the workplace

Understanding how to collaborate effectively starts with creating a collaborative work environment where team members share knowledge, solve problems together, and work toward a common goal. Here’s how to improve collaboration in the workplace:

1. Create a culture of trust. Teams collaborate best when they feel safe to share ideas and voice concerns. A work environment built on trust allows for open communication and productive discussions.

2. Break down silos between teams. Cross-functional work improves when team members can access shared information instead of working in isolation. A collaborative team thrives when teams know how their work connects.

3. Streamline how information is shared. Miscommunication happens when files, messages, and updates are scattered across different platforms. Using team collaboration software keeps everything in one place, reducing confusion.

4. Use workplace collaboration tools. Whether teams work in person, remotely, or in a hybrid work setup, tools like Slack, Asana, and video conferencing apps promote collaboration among groups of people.

5. Support different working styles. Not all team members collaborate in the same way. Some may prefer structured team meetings, while others contribute more through messaging or brainstorming sessions. A flexible approach makes collaboration easier for everyone.

Learning how to build collaboration in the workplace creates a stronger, more connected team that works efficiently toward shared success.

11 ways to boost team collaboration

So you want to build a collaborative team: now what? Boosting team collaboration isn’t as simple as turning a switch “on” or “off”—it takes dedication and focus to develop this project management skill. But if you’re ready to reap the benefits of team collaboration, here are 11 tips to help you build a collaborative company culture:

1. Foster collaboration as a value

This one might seem obvious, but it’s critical to actually establish that collaboration is important to you and your team. Not every team values collaboration—some teams are driven by competition or individual prowess. Take time to clarify that team collaboration is important and lay out how your team will get there.

With Asana, our whole organization is so collaborative. It’s broken down silos between teams and projects, helping people realize where they fit into the larger scope.”

2. Establish communication conventions

Part of the way you can build and boost team collaboration is to create guidelines for your team to communicate and work together. Remember: at first, collaboration won’t be effortless. It’ll take time working together for team members to become fully comfortable with one another—and that’s ok. But by sitting down and co-creating your team communication plan, you can make the process easier.

Take some time to decide:

• What should be communicated through email?

• What messages should be sent through your direct messaging system?

• What information should be shared via your project management tools?

• Is there a preferred meeting day or time?

• What kind of communication and discussion guidelines or rules should we establish as a team to create an inclusive environment?

Knowing when not to communicate can be equally helpful. Make sure you create time for deep focus work, and encourage employees to set themselves to “Do Not Disturb” if need be, or to block off their calendars to avoid piecemeal meeting days. At Asana, we practice No Meeting Wednesdays, which makes time for everyone—from the newest team member to our executive leaders—to dig into work.

As an organization grows, communication starts to bottleneck. At Hope for Haiti, we’ve seen those inefficiencies hurt us: when we can’t run like a well-oiled machine, we’re not serving as many people as we could be—and it’s our responsibility to improve upon that.”

3. Invite co-creation

The core tenet of team collaboration is that teams can do things better together than they can alone. So one of the best ways to promote team collaboration is to invite co-creation. Don’t just tell team members to work together on a project—instead, hold brainstorming sessions, invite discussion, and open the door to disagreement. Co-creation means building an idea together, not chipping away towards a goal separately.

Co-creation doesn’t have to be face-to-face, either. Asynchronous brainstorming sessions can be incredibly beneficial. One simple way to co-create with a virtual team is to all collaborate in a Google Doc—simply open and build on each others’ ideas.

Using Asana is all about knowledge sharing. The more features we discovered and introduced to different teams, the more everyone saw the value of using the tool and began using it.”

4. Encourage open communication…

…and mean it. Collaboration happens when team members feel like they can bring their whole selves to work. Team members should be encouraged to participate, innovate, and communicate. Instead of holding back their thoughts or reigning in their feelings, they can be themselves and bring all of the great ideas that come with it.

But open communication also means that, sometimes, people are going to disagree. Disagreements are not counter to team collaboration. In fact, healthy disagreements and open conversations are critical to unlocking successful team collaboration.

5. Lead by example

It’s hard to build a collaborative team if you aren't leading by example. Collaboration starts at the top, so make sure you’re always inviting co-creation, encouraging open communication, and making time for your team to innovate and collaborate. Encourage team members to reach out to you if they have questions, or schedule a 1:1 for some extra meeting time.

Asana provides an opportunity for me to work with people across the business, from the CEO to people on my team in a more streamlined way. It makes me a better leader.”

6. Build time for team bonding

When was the last time your team got together to just chat? Team building activities aren’t just a great way to release steam, they’re also an opportunity to get to know each other outside of a work setting. What is your colleague's life goal? Where is your boss from, and how did that affect their experience? What did your new teammate do before their current job? 

Teams that get to know each other inside and out of work know each other better—so when you’re busy with your next project, they can more easily communicate and collaborate more effectively.

I don’t want people to burn out. I want them to be good to each other and enjoy their time at work. Asana helps us do that.”

7. Highlight successful teamwork

Everyone loves to be recognized for a job well done—and congratulating team members on successful teamwork is no different. If two team members work together to bring a new idea to fruition or lead a particularly difficult initiative, take time to give them kudos. 

Ask team members to share their impressions about their experience—what worked well? How did they collaborate and work together to achieve their goal? This not only gives them a well-deserved moment in the spotlight, but it can also serve as a blueprint for other team members to collaborate in the future.

Before Asana, we never had a way to track all of the cross-functional work happening across multiple projects. Now we can see everything on a granular level and our sprint commitments crystal clear.”

8. Offer mentorship opportunities

Building team collaboration is a soft skill: in fact, it's a combination of interpersonal and communication skills. Every individual team member can work to improve those skills—but sometimes, an external perspective can be incredibly helpful. 

There are some intangibles that come with work experience, time spent at a company, and familiarity with the market or job function—and new employees may be itching to learn more. Encouraging mentorship opportunities within your company can help the entire team improve.

Asana allowed us to see the overall amount of work that we were actually doing, and then it allowed us to be able to reprioritize and re-strategize the types of work that we were doing.”

9. Set goals collaboratively

How does your team set goals? Goal-setting is an incredibly important part of any team; it can help you align on what’s important and execute towards those goals. Oftentimes, goals are set from the “top-down,” which means leadership sets goals and the metrics of how to get there. This can help your team or company reach a common goal—but it doesn't give your team a chance to collaborate and innovate on how they can reach the goal.

Consider setting hybrid goals—where team or company leadership set the main objective, but individual team members are encouraged to set their key results or KPIs on how they’ll achieve the objective. You can workshop and brainstorm these metrics, but opening the door for team members to be involved in goals can make them more interested in achieving the goals.

Asana has made us better project managers because it encourages an accountability mindset for every employee.”

10. Be flexible

As a collaborative team leader you have to continuously adapt to the different needs and practices of your teammates. Don’t expect people with different backgrounds to follow the same process—instead, recognize and support their unique styles. The more flexible your strategy to implement collaborative work is, the easier it will be on your team.

11. Use shared tools

The best and easiest way for your team to work together is for you to collaborate in a single, shared tool. When you have a central source of truth, all of your teams' work is happening in the same place. Any new updates, shared files, or additional context are all easy to find. By reducing the barrier to working together and collaborating, you're empowering your team to do more together effortlessly.

A team’s collaboration and communications tech stack are crucial, even more so now because of COVID-19. Because of the setup we had from day one with Asana and our other tools, we hit the ground running when we started working from home. There was no disruption in our workflow or output.”

Benefits of collaboration

When done right, collaboration in the workplace helps teams build trust, drives innovation by bringing in different perspectives, strengthens problem-solving, and helps people share information more effectively.

• Increased innovation: A strong, collaborative team sparks creativity and uncovers solutions that wouldn’t emerge in isolation. Great brainstorming sessions encourage team members to build on each other's ideas, which can lead to breakthrough strategies.

• Happier teams: Encouraging collaboration improves employee engagement, strengthens relationships, and helps individuals feel valued. Higher team morale leads to better work quality and long-term success.

• Alignment across distributed teams: Remote teams need team collaboration tools to stay connected. Instant messaging, project management tools, and video conferencing will help a group of people share ideas and participate in decision-making, even when not working in person.

• Shared knowledge among team members: Collaboration strategies promote knowledge sharing and prevent the loss of critical insights in silos. A transparent workspace helps the entire team stay informed and aligned on shared goals.

• Optimized workflows: A collaborative culture streamlines processes, improves efficiency, and helps teams respond faster to challenges. By integrating team collaboration software, teams can automate tasks, reduce bottlenecks, and focus on high-impact work.

Even with these benefits, many teams struggle with collaboration due to silos, miscommunication, or inefficient workflows. Understanding how to improve team collaboration can help you overcome these challenges and build better collaboration.

Common collaboration challenges

Effective team collaboration comes with its hurdles. Team leaders who anticipate these seven common collaboration challenges can help their team members navigate them more easily.

• Slow adoption: Some team members resist change when adopting new collaboration tools or workflows. Start with one small process at a time and assign internal champions to guide adoption.

• Creating space for everyone: Quieter team members may struggle to contribute. Set meeting guidelines that support different perspectives and reinforce that failure is part of growth.

• Too much information: Scattered files and siloed updates make it harder to share information. Use team collaboration software to centralize files and discussions.

• Too many notifications: Constant alerts disrupt focus. Adjust settings in your collaboration app to limit unnecessary notifications and help teams concentrate on their work.

• Complex decision-making: Large teams bring more input but slow down decisions. Assign clear decision-making roles and encourage collaboration to keep projects moving.

• Friction between strong personalities: A collaborative team with dominant voices can create tension. Build diverse teams with complementary skill sets and check in regularly to keep teamwork balanced.

• Slow results: Collaboration between teams takes time. Set clear goals from the start so the entire team can track progress and adjust as needed.

Not all teams face the same obstacles, but learning how to improve teamwork and collaboration can help create a more productive work environment.

4 essential team collaboration tools

Team collaboration software can help your team more easily communicate, share files, and coordinate work. Try these collaboration apps to help your team promote effective collaboration:

1. File sharing tools

One of the biggest barriers to team collaboration is having to endlessly search for documents or wait for an email reply before you can access a file. With a centralized file-sharing tool, like Google Workspace, Microsoft Office, or Dropbox, your team has a shared knowledge base and file depository they can access.

2. Communication tools

How does your team currently communicate? Rapid communication for simple tasks or fun moments of team bonding can boost team collaboration. A good team is in constant contact—even if they're not constantly talking. This is especially important if your team is remote. While team meetings or huddles are great ways to communicate, a communication tool, like Slack or Microsoft Teams, provides easy access to all members of the team.

3. Video collaboration tools

For remote teams, video conferencing with Zoom or Google Meet is critical for team collaboration. Increasing face time with your team can help create a collaborative environment—even while you're working remotely. Make sure everyone on your team has access to create and share video calls and knows how to use your tool.

4. Work management platform

Work management is the linchpin of your team collaboration strategy. With a work management tool like Asana, you can easily align on team needs, visualize work in real time, and clarify goals. Work management software is a great tool to help your team do just that. It helps your team organize and streamline work, stay in sync, and hit your goals.

To limit toggle fatigue, it’s important to integrate all of your collaboration tools. The average employee switches between 10 tools per day—but with Asana’s integrations, all of your favorite tools are accessible in one place.

Collaboration makes teamwork work

When your team collaborates, you can do great things. While teamwork isn’t always easy, the gains in innovation, efficiency, and team dynamics will be well worth the investment. So from our collaborative team to yours: you got this.

FAQs about building team collaboration