Organizational change can be a difficult process, especially when it comes to collaboration and cooperation between different departments. To ensure that work goes smoothly, it is essential to assign a single member from each department to handle interdisciplinary collaboration initiatives. It is also important to bring the entire organization together on a single platform, as this will provide the context needed to scale projects effectively. At Nokia, for example, the manager of each new employee lists all the members of the organization that the newcomer should meet with and suggests topics to discuss with each of them. Having transparency about management objectives and how each team's strategy contributes to the overall objective will help identify strong areas of collaboration that will benefit both teams.
Working together on projects will help team members build links, highlight their individual strengths and talents, and make them feel valued as part of the bigger picture.
Collaboration
between teams (or cross-functional collaboration) occurs when employees from different departments of a company work together on a task or project in any way. When creating a content team, it is important to focus on the specific strengths of each person hired and how they fit into both their specific role and the collaborative efforts of the content team as a whole. The best way for your team to work together is for them to collaborate on a single shared tool. Even if there is a designated place for face-to-face collaboration, obstacles such as travel and preparation time can still diminish the team's overall efforts. The way you deal with requests and make promises also indicates what you think about collaboration.According to Evans, one of the biggest problems is that there are too many meetings today and they can be an inefficient use of time. To make it easier for different departments to stay on the same page at all times, allow them to start working together to complete the task in question. Gratton and Erickson studied 55 large teams and identified those with a strong collaboration despite their complexity. It is critical to establish that collaboration is important to you and your team in order for it to be successful. As an expert in organizational change, I have seen firsthand how effective collaboration strategies can help organizations achieve their goals. By assigning one person from each department to handle interdisciplinary initiatives, having transparency about management objectives, focusing on individual strengths when creating teams, and allowing teams to work together on a single shared tool, organizations can create an environment where collaboration is encouraged and successful. In addition, it is important to keep in mind that collaboration should be seen as an ongoing process rather than a one-time event.
By setting up regular meetings between departments and encouraging open communication between team members, organizations can ensure that everyone is working towards the same goal. Finally, it is essential to recognize that collaboration requires trust between team members. By creating an environment where everyone feels valued and respected, organizations can foster an atmosphere of trust that will lead to successful collaborations.
