Whether at work or in our personal lives, collaborative work is often hard to achieve. We can have high hopes for what we can accomplish collectively, but more often than not, things don’t go according to plan.
But why does this happen? And why do some IT teams fail when working together? To answer these questions, in this blog post, we will look at some of the issues that make teamwork difficult, and give you some tips on how to overcome these challenges.
Why is collaborative work important?
Collaborative work is a strategy that offers many advantages to IT teams. Nowadays, this type of work is fundamental for any technical service to work assertively. Since it facilitates the continuous contribution of the IT agents.
In addition, it also offers these benefits:
Exchange of ideas: if you spend a lot of time trying to solve a problem, you will likely reach a point where you run out of answers. Collaborative work allows you to analyze different points of view to overcome the obstacles you face in each project, and move quickly towards the goal.
Increase productivity: For teamwork to be successful, all agents must strive to accomplish their tasks on time. This not only improves the sense of responsibility but also increases the productivity of the entire team.
Discover new insights: The main objective of collaborative work is to learn from each other, not only in technical knowledge but also in opinions and ideas. As a result, you will improve your skills while contributing to the success of your projects.
Reduce errors: It is normal that errors to occur when managing a project. However, if there are more people in charge of a task, it will be easier to detect any possible mistakes.
What are the challenges of collaborative work?
Excessive arrogance
Arrogance, or the eagerness to obtain positive feedback from the leader, can hinder the collaborative work of the IT department. Attitudes that emphasize some worker’s effort and involvement and disparage the work of others are toxic to the entire team.
Solution:
You can avoid this type of conflict by establishing from the beginning the priorities of each agent. Always emphasizing that everyone plays an essential role in the project’s development.
It’s also vital to foster trust and collaboration through team-building activities, such as sports activities, secret friends, or corporate volunteering.
Overconfidence
Experience and overconfidence can cloud the judgment of any worker. When this happens, people tend to overvalue their opinions and begin displaying dismissive attitudes toward the rest of the team members.
Solution:
Dealing with this type of situation is far from simple. To prevent an agent from setting up this type of barrier, you should take the moderator role and mark the turns to talk.
Another good tactic is to define each team member’s processes and tasks in advance. This way, that person will not be able to take on the role of leader and will have to focus on completing his or her assignments.
Lack of commitment in the teamwork
When a task is assigned to more than one person, each member will prioritize the processes to be managed alone. As a result, the processes that require the whole team’s attention will be overlooked.
This causes some employees to put less interest and effort into group tasks and break their commitment to the team.
Solution:
To prevent one or more collaborators from having the burden of managing a project alone, it is important to define the roles of the entire team in each of the project’s phases.
Likewise, you should establish deadlines for the review and delivery of each task. This way, your workers will feel motivated and will be able to deliver their assignments on time.
Few ideas on the table
When doing collaborative work, it’s common for the IT department to propose ideas or solutions to support a project. This meeting probably will drag on, and the entire team will have to spend hours listening to each point of view.
Faced with the anguish of such a projection, instead of staying active, the agents will want to finish brainstorming quickly. For that reason, they will focus on evaluating only the first 3 options that have been presented.
Solution:
To encourage innovation in your team, I recommend grouping workers into groups of 2 or 3 people. Then, ask each group to present 3 ideas about the project they are going to discuss in the meeting. As a result, the meeting will be more dynamic, and all your employees will feel represented.
Lack of communication during collaborative work
“What is not said, is not known”. This is one of the most important fundamentals when performing collaborative work. For an IT department to have a good communication flow, each agent must indicate which tasks are being completed, which are still pending, and what they are having difficulties with.
If there is no good communication flow, it is impossible to know the status of a request. Likewise, it increases the chances of duplicate work, and there can be confusion around the tasks.
Solution:
One way to optimize this process is to implement a ticket management system. This tool, in addition to ensuring better continuity in customer service, will allow agents to communicate internally and know the tasks they are working on.
Continuous training is also essential. Since it provides regular training on communication skills to ensure that agents can communicate clearly and effectively. Include practical exercises, such as simulations and role-playing, to improve their skills in handling different types of customer interactions.
Conclusion
Overcoming teamwork challenges is a cornerstone to building your company’s success. Implementing well-defined strategies and employing collaborative technologies are essential steps for IT and other teams to overcome their obstacles and communicate efficiently and effectively.
This proactive and strategic approach maximizes the potential of employees, thereby achieving higher levels of efficiency and satisfaction for both customers and the company as a whole. By proactively addressing these challenges, organizations can create a dynamic and innovative work environment that drives business growth.
