Comic books like The Avengers have turned into million-dollar franchises giving lessons about the power of teamwork. They show the magic that happens when people work collaboratively, with trust and confidence, and bring their unique strengths to meet a common goal or defeat a common enemy.
While the corporate universe might be wildly different from the Marvel one, I feel that reel meets real here. A collaborative work environment is now an essential organizational capacity to develop as a response to the changing world of work. The world of work is now boundaryless and connected by technology. The digital workplace has revamped how teams operate and work on a global scale. VUCA is constant and disruption is a mainstay.
The key to successful existence in this new era depends on an organization’s capacity to build a collaborative workplace – a workplace where people share ideas and skills and “problem-solve” to achieve a common goal.
At enreap, developing a collaborative work environment has been an intentional exercise, and over time, it has become our default mode of operation.
What Does a Collaborative Work Environment Mean to Us?
I have seen many organizations put in some technology instruments, plug in a document-sharing process, and call a collaborative work environment. While one cannot ignore the importance of technology as an enabler of such an environment, it is not the only important piece.
enreap embodies the thought that a collaborative work environment is one where the workforce brings different perspectives, ideas, and expertise to work symbiotically and develop innovative solutions. Such collaboration is not geographically defined. It can happen in any setting, irrespective of where teams are stationed – locally or virtually.
A collaborative work environment maximizes the possibilities of success as it allows the workforce to utilize their knowledge, skills, and experience to meet a shared goal. This work environment involves a slightly deeper level of engagement than “traditional” teamwork. It demands creating an environment where people can constructively explore ideas, get work done faster and solve problems quickly.
Here is what our collaborative work environment looks like:
Cross-Functional Teamwork
Much like The Avengers, our workforce brings in their individual superpowers to defeat a challenge or discover new solutions. Our teams are made up of people with diverse knowledge and experiences.
We do not assume that innovation comes from lone geniuses and, as such, have created an ecosystem that allows our teams to move faster and more efficiently. Our systems allow employees to seek out opportunities across teams and projects that interest them, leverage their skill sets, and employ their knowledge.
Diversity of Team
Cross-functional collaboration is more likely to challenge the status quo to identify better ways of doing things. Building a collaborative work environment powered by cross-functional teams means being hyper-focused on diversity.
Diversity is the cornerstone of successful cross-functional teams and, consequently, a great facilitator of collaboration as well. However, to build a collaborative work environment, we work beyond ensuring diversity of skills. This includes accounting for diversity factors in gender, age, experience, viewpoints, tenure within the organization, industry, etc. As such, don’t be surprised to find people from different industries with the right skills and behavioral attributes working with us.
Mentoring and Support
Creating a collaborative work environment without creating support structures is like trying to construct a building without using any beams and pillars to support it. As such, we look at providing mentoring and dedicated support as a cornerstone of our collaborative work environment.
While collaboration is all about bringing your unique strengths to the table, it is also about helping the workforce navigate challenges, scaling skill gaps, or simply delivering support to help them thrive in new roles and responsibilities.
Managers and organizational leaders are, as such, invested in mentoring team members and helping them become better collaborators. Our open-door policy makes help accessible to all without any fear of judgment.
The workforce is also encouraged to pursue learning opportunities if they contribute to their skill sets, job roles, or career desires.
enreap, for example, sponsored a law program for one of our employees to help them in their role, where they were tasked to set up our Singapore unit. An entry-level employee who worked in our accounts team was mentored and supported to rise fast on the corporate ladder. Today he is a senior member of an 8-person team and one of our most valuable collaborators.
Communicate to Collaborate
A collaborative work environment thrives only when people get the space to think outside the box and come up with new and creative solutions. This can only happen when people get a safe space to explore and communicate their ideas. We believe that team empowerment happens when people can share their views, ideas, and excitement without any fear or judgment.
It’s critical to foster a culture of respect and inclusivity where everyone is free to ask questions, bounce off ideas and viewpoints, and get opportunities to create success — both for the organization and individuals.
Apart from this, we also leverage regular huddles and brainstorming sessions. These huddles are an organized forum to throw ideas on the table, identify opportunities for improvement, address concerns and learn from others, and explain our viewpoints. This environment has helped us build an atmosphere of patience, empathy, and humility that invites people to join the conversation, speak their minds, and hence collaborate easily.
Sense of Belonging
Finally, we succeed in creating a modern, collaborative work environment because our people have a sense of belonging. This sense of belonging comes from treating every single individual across the organizational landscape with respect and fairness. We make sure that there are no micro-exclusions that create divisions of ‘us-vs-them.’
Also Read: How Employees Are Recognised And Appreciated At enreap?
Technology Backing
That being said, just like the Marvel superheroes need their tools and machines to defeat mortal enemies, a robust collaborative work environment needs the right tech to back the people for better outcomes. Our well-designed and scalable processes and robust technology infrastructure play a pivotal role in facilitating clear communication and easing collaboration across teams.
The way we work has changed forever. As technology upends the world of work, disruption becomes a constant, and workplace demographics change, it becomes clearer that nothing exists in a vacuum any longer. While building a collaborative work environment might need more muscle than the traditional ways of working, it is the only way to help people thrive in today’s workplace. Better business outcomes emerge as an organic consequence of these efforts.
