How to build and maintain a stimulating collaborative culture

We've seen it all: from stylish Instagram stories and colorful desks to designer bags.

But do corporate merchandising and fancy wallpapers ensure a good team vibe? This is undoubtedly a step in the right direction, but it is also far from being the fundamental ingredient for establishing a collaborative culture.

Architectural elements can help set the mood of the work environment. But the key to a collaborative culture is your team and your interpersonal relationships. So how do you cultivate a constructive atmosphere and create the right team spirit? Let's find out.

What is a collaborative culture?

A collaborative culture is one in which individual growth and success are achieved through collaboration and teamwork.

True collaboration, when everyone is open, transparent and freely sharing information, offers the greatest opportunities for innovation for a company and its employees.

Are you building a collaborative culture?

There's a fine line between creating and maintaining a collaborative work environment and following the latest trends to spoil your team a little. There's nothing wrong with pampering your employees, but if you're committed to laying the groundwork for effective collaboration, you need to go further.

A collaborative environment eliminates some unwanted side effects of working in a large default collective. Cliques and clans inevitably form when employees spend their time working with the same people and on the same or similar tasks.

Instilling collaboration in your organization requires you to be one step ahead. A good way to do this is to be clear about job descriptions, responsibilities, and the contribution you expect from each department, team, and employee. Meet with the teams frequently, keep them informed, and make sure everyone is aware of the overlap between their work and that of another team.

How you set things up can make all the difference in team contribution. Collaboration integrates needs and responsibilities. The nuanced differences in meaning between coalition, alliance and partnership can signify different styles of leadership. Understand the difference between these management styles when building your teams.

How to create a collaborative culture

Many current trends in creating a collaborative workplace are not entirely new. The Great Resignation, followed by the pandemic, opened up great debates and hot topics for work in general.

In what turned out to be a perfect storm of circumstances, remote working eventually became the norm, prompting faster technology development to support it. Workplace culture went from perk to must-have as things took shape. Employees finally voiced concerns about the usual 9am-5pm burnouts, and workplace trends began to change.

Some industries that rely on a physically present workforce recognize these bottlenecks and the importance of retention. This forces companies to focus on the employee experience, especially in today's business landscape.

HR departments should follow suit. From designing the candidate experience and employee journeys to recruiting, things need to change for the better. Hiring the right people for the right team and the right job means ensuring retention and communicating your expectations and commitment to the team and to new candidates.

Above all, pay attention not only to technical skills and professional experience, but also to soft skills and easier integration. Training people with the skills they need for their daily work is doable. But training candidates in the soft skills and character traits to ensure they fit in well with the team is quite challenging.

Today's recruiters need to deepen their knowledge alongside credentials and resumes, starting with a more structured interview, tailored tests, and a longer, more in-depth onboarding process.

When done well, onboarding can cover all candidate knowledge points, allowing them to fit into the team and get to know people little by little. If you also tailor the process to each candidate, you are well on your way to creating the recipe for success. The hours you put into the process guarantee a clear return on investment (ROI).

1. People Management 101

How you present your company culture to your employees is key to making a great first impression. Your employees are your most important assets. Even the most advanced AI tools cannot work without human oversight. As such, you should pay as much attention...