Collaboration is more important now more than ever. With team members working remotely via multiple locations, the need for a more effective collaboration strategy can make or break a project. You will notice that the most successful companies are those who encourage and reward teamwork. But to establish good teams, you must first get them to work towards a common goal and give them the right tools to achieve that goal.

At its core, collaboration is all about good communication. Teams need to be clear on how their part of the projects leads to the success of the project as a whole. Team members need to understand that they are not merely cogs on a wheel and that their parts are important. To develop smooth running teams who produce successful projects, here are 10 things you should do

1. Clearly define tasks and explain how these tasks can contribute to the project’s success. This means having clear goals and being able to impart those goals to team members in order to get their buy-in and cooperation. Being united in one goal is already 50% of the success.
2. Centralize communications so team members can find the information they need all in one place. Most collaboration tools have real-time chat functions so that members can ask questions in real-time and avoid having to send emails back and forth.
3. Establish official communication channels – preferably one that allows for information sharing. A lot of collaboration tools have file sharing features. This is very handy for sharing documents and media that can help team members do their work.
4. Use the right tools! Pick the right collaboration tools for your team and the project. Some good examples are Trello, Asana, Slack, Office 365, or even Zoom and Skype. Here are some features you might want in your collaboration tool:
   1. Real-time communication
   2. File sharing
   3. Task management
   4. Cloud-based software
5. Assign a team leader to act as a point of contact and a subject expert
6. Create opportunities to bring team members together. 
7. Successful collaboration means building trust among team members. This will only come as they get to know each other better. So, try to incorporate social events and informal gatherings, even in virtual formats.
8. Track and measure your success with clearly defined milestones
9. Don’t forget to celebrate each milestone.
10. Reward the team for a job well done!

Highly successful teams, such as the teams they have at Google, have achieved legendary team collaboration status because it invests in creating a highly collaborative environment. Google attributes much of its success in building efficient teams with team members putting more weight on how they could work together as a unit than on whom the members on the team were. If that’s not a sound model for all of us to follow,  don’t know what is.

You, too, can build a culture of collaboration at work. What are your collaboration tips for successful projects? Share them with us in the comments. Remember to work smart and be a blessing to someone today. Stay safe and healthy!

Written by Jaie O. TheHelp