Why is teamwork so important in the workplace?

Teamwork: the backbone of any business’ success.

Deloitte studies show that companies who prioritise teamwork and collaboration are five times more likely to experience employment growth, twice as likely to increase profits, and twice as likely to outperform competing businesses. These benefits, among plenty others, outline an estimated worth of $46 billion per year for Australia’s economy.

Millennials are also set to make up over a third (35%) of the global workforce by the end of the year, with 33% of them seeking out collaborative spaces.

Needless to say, fostering a collaborative team culture in the workforce is invaluable. SkillsTalk further dive into its benefits below – and how you can get started on improving teamwork today.

Generate bigger, better ideas

The best, most innovative results are almost never borne out of individuals alone.

Through a tight-knit, productive team, ideas can be built upon – taking them from good to great. Members can play off each other’s strengths, talents, and perspectives; generating far more creative, out-of-the-box, and “big-picture” ideas. By combining their best skills and contributing multiple solutions, teams are also able to achieve results at a more efficient rate.

Working with a wider breadth of perspectives, cultures, and experiences is also vital to business growth and innovation. Collaborating with different opinions or ideas may be uncomfortable at first – but it’s this very discomfort that pushes employees to grow and visualize results beyond their set limitations.

Fostering diverse, collaborative teams can thus pave the way for new opportunities, challenges, and insights, helping your business evolve for the better. Additionally, research shows that these teams display up to 35% greater performance and creativity than their more “homogenous” counterparts.

More engaged employees

Of course, encouraging active teamwork can help strengthen employee bonds in the workplace. Close collaboration with others is likely to lead to strong friendships and trusting partnerships; which, in turn – fosters better, clearer communication, higher morale, and greater productivity in the workplace. 

Statistics show that sharing their workload with others also lessens the chances of burnout or high stress levels among workers. In a Gallup study of nearly 7,500 employees, almost a fourth (23%) of participants stated they “very often” or “always” felt burned out at work. When asked, most stated that “sharing the load” was the best solution to help with this.

The opportunity to encourage and learn from each other can also foster a more positive energy in the workplace, helping decrease stress (and thus, chances of error).

With more engaged employees, you’ll have workers more driven to collaborate and work effectively with their peers – leading to greater, innovative teamwork, and creating a positive feedback loop.

Encourages professional growth

By working off the feedback of their peers, teams offer employees the opportunity to improve and grow their skills.

Teamwork relies on its members sharing responsibility for the same goal; where each person must do their bit to achieve the set targets and desired results. Productive teams can thus foster a culture where employees keep each other accountable – and motivating one another or intervening when frequent challenges or performance dips occur.

This can encourage individuals to improve their professional skills for the better of their team. After all – if they play a crucial role in a project, its success is influenced by the value of their inputs.

Team feedback can help with this growth, though workers may also consider additional training or workshops to further expand their skillset. From short programs in self-management to larger courses in business, collaborative employees are more likely to pursue these upskilling opportunities to help bolster their team contributions.

Encourages (positive) risk-taking

Finally, a workplace that prioritises collaboration can lead to healthy risk-taking – thus increasing chances of greater results. 

Since they’ll be taking full responsibility in the event of failure, solo workers are understandably less likely to experiment or step out of their comfort zones. In the case of team projects, however, responsibility is spread amongst others – whether results fail or succeed.

As such, teams are far more likely to take risks and consider out-of-the-box ideas, since they’ll have the support of others if results don’t pan out. On the other hand, the opportunity to share success can help form closer bonds among workers, and make them more likely to pursue risky (and potentially revolutionary) ideas in the future. 

The statistics agree, too – workplace collaboration has been found to increase successful innovation by an average of 15% among businesses.

Want to bolster teamwork in your workplace?

By encouraging a workplace culture of close, professional bonds and collaboration – your business is bound to reap long-term employment and financial benefits.

As mentioned, further training can help improve one’s collaborative and communication skills. Whether for your employees or your own self-improvement, Upskilled offers a wide variety of businesses courses – including a BSB50215 - Diploma of Business and short courses in Improvement and Innovation or Self-Management and Professional Development – to help build your collaboration and leadership skills as a valued team member.

Best of all, each course is delivered online, helping you tailor your training around your personal needs and schedule.

Boost business results through quality teamwork, and enquire about a course today!