The collaborative workspace is the future, and millennials would definitely agree. 88% of this workforce prefers a collaborative work environment over a competitive one. By 2030, millennials will account for 75% of the workforce (read more). You can connect the dot.
With social media dominating their life, millennials are always “connected.” As a result, they have similar expectations of their organizations and colleagues. They feel good when their colleagues share their effort and their team backs them up.
Working with a group provides them with a sense of oneness and satisfies their urge to “feel connected.” This may be referred to as a need for ongoing validation, yet it may be exploited to great effect in business.
There are various benefits that come with a collaborative workspace, of which we will be looking at twelve of them. But before that, kets briefly talk about what a collaborative workspace entails as well as why it is a necessity.
What is a Collaborative Workspace?
A collaborative workspace is an office where employees from multiple organizations work together under one roof. Companies that share a collaborative workspace can range in size from small startups to large corporations.
The space is typically made up of a combination of private offices and shared common areas, allowing employees to be flexible during work hours.
One thing to keep in mind is that a collaborative space does not always imply that your employees will be working in a coworking space with other businesses.
Most businesses will have a dedicated office or perhaps several floors. They will, however, have access to beautifully built common areas and top-of-the-line amenities, which can unleash enormous value for your organization.
What is Employee Collaboration?
Employee collaboration happens when two or more individuals work together to achieve a common goal through thinking and sharing ideas.
What is The Significance of A Collaborative Workspace?
A Collaborative workspace enables teams to solve problems more effectively, resulting in more efficient operations, improved communication, and increased innovation.
Employees who listen to and learn from one another will find it simpler to support one another in achieving personal and corporate goals. Collaboration requires time and effort, but the benefits of collaboration will lead to long-term corporate success.
The benefits of this approach are numerous, ranging from increased participation and open communication to increased business flexibility, clearer standards, and improved employee engagement.
12 Benefits Of a Collaborative Workspace
Now let’s take a look at some of the numerous benefits of a collaborative workspace.
1. It Saves Time
Time is a valuable resource in the workplace. A collaborative workspace will undoubtedly save you time. How? because of the consolidation of all materials and documents on a single, accessible platform.
You also save time by not having to look for a document or ask for information. Everything is easily accessible with just a few mouse clicks.
Furthermore, collaborative workspaces are usually equipped with a versioning system (or version management), which means that you are always working on the most recent version of a document. Still, you can always go back to prior versions if necessary.
Gone are the days when you had to waste time making sure you were working on the most recent version.
2. Greater Transparency
Another benefit of cooperation is that it allows the company to precisely evaluate productivity and track development. There is no need for frequent, inconvenient departmental briefings because all staffs are up to date. There will be less duplicated work, increased fluidity, and no reworks as a result of this transparency.
3. Office Space in Opportunistic Areas
Prime real estate is pricey and difficult to find. However, in order to attract and keep talent, firms must place their offices in areas that are strategically located near other businesses, transit, stores, and restaurants. Furthermore, the buildings must be bright, tidy, and modern.
Collaborative workspaces provide access to more expensive and in-demand venues in great locations that would have been prohibitively expensive if you had rented the space solo. The majority of collaborative workspaces are in financial districts or active commercial districts in their respective cities.
4. Cost-efficiency
A collaborative workspace can often help you save money by allowing you to pay for exactly what you need. For example, if you’re establishing a new regional headquarters and only have 10 employees, renting a full-floor office would result in wasted space—and money.
By putting those employees in a private office in a shared workspace, you’re still providing them with a dedicated workspace but just paying for the area they use. The best part is that you can easily expand the area as the crew grows.
5. More Creative Input
When various people work together on a project, there is a higher sense of creative input. You can benefit from the creative collaboration of multiple employees in one group.
The collection of various ideas and approaches to the project, and brainstorming sessions can result in new results, which can enhance the visibility and quality of your company’s products or services.
6. Problem-Solving Efficiency
Working together improves efficiency and saves time for all employees. When various people work together to achieve the same goal, different minds focus on the same problem and come up with different answers. As a result, a wide range of alternative solutions to the problem emerges. All that remains is for the team to agree on the best method to address the issue.
Employees can also gain valuable problem-solving and decision-making skills from their peers.
7. Reduces Fatigue Levels
Working as a team entails sharing the workload when it becomes excessive. Excessive pressure can result in increased stress, anxiety, and even occupational burnout.
It is not an individual’s obligation to produce all of the plans and ideas in a team. Instead, the entire team pitches in to devise a feasible action plan. A collaborative workspace helps to ensure that collaboration runs smoothly.
When something goes wrong in a collaborative workplace, teams share the blame. Instead of criticizing one person for the loss, they work collectively to improve their weaknesses.
8. Enhancement of the Working Environment
Colleagues will naturally grow more acquainted with one another when working together. It enables people to connect, strengthen their bonds, and appreciate each other’s efforts. Working confidence is strengthened when the environment is comfortable and relaxed. Workplace disagreements decrease when true integration and team spirit grow.
9. Improved Division of Labour
The division of work is one of the benefits of collaborative efforts in the workplace. When more than one person is involved in completing a task, especially if it is a large project, it is preferable for everyone to share a small portion of the responsibility to ensure things get done rather than overloading one or two people with too much work to complete the task.
10. Enhances Communication
If you want a group of individuals to work together to achieve a common goal, they must communicate. And a collaborative workspace makes it simple to communicate.
Real-time communication keeps teams connected and up to date on the status of their projects.
When employees communicate with one another on a daily basis, fresh ideas and viewpoints emerge. Communication saves time that would otherwise be lost due to misunderstanding.
11. Increases Employee Loyalty to Your Firm.
Employees who believe they are appreciated by their employer and are making a contribution are less inclined to leave.
When people complain about their jobs, it’s usually not about the income or benefits; rather, it’s about not feeling valued at work. They may complain about their supervisor or coworkers not treating them with respect, which is the primary reason they desire to find another employment.
When teams collaborate and employees believe their contributions matter, they become more loyal to the organization and are less likely to leave. In other words, a collaborative workspace helps employees feel among (i.e sense of belonging).
12. Vertical hierarchy is no longer present.
Because of their job title, an employee may have been hesitant to approach someone in the organization with an idea in the past.
Because of the vertical hierarchy, senior managers may have been out of reach for employees who wish to ask them questions or express concern. A collaborative workspace helps to eliminate such issues.
The vertical structure is no longer a barrier to sharing or listening to ideas from across the table when cooperation is adopted. Everyone has the opportunity to express themselves.
How To Create A Collaborative Workplace
1. Set Your Objectives
Give your team something bigger than themselves to motivate them to bring their A-game and achieve the goals. To persuade your staff to join and function as a team, you must synchronize your vision and motivation. Explain to them the “why” of the job they will be performing and what they will accomplish as a team if their goals are met. You can also share and debate your goal with your team.
2. Establish Clear Expectations
When team members are unclear about the aims and expectations, they can become disoriented. This will lengthen the project and diminish productivity. Set the goals early to avoid this. Set and delegate individual and group tasks for which they will be held accountable.
Making this individual goal-setting into a team is an excellent method to create collaborative workplaces. Peers share the obligation of assisting one another in reaching their goals. This fosters camaraderie, promotes morale, and aids in the development of a collaborative workplace.
Setting expectations ahead of time ensures that everyone is aware of each other’s goals. This ensures that employees do not try to take credit for work done by others. It also prevents teams from wasting time by mistakenly doing each other’s tasks.
3. Embrace The Cloud
Traditional workplaces are giving way to digital workplaces. Work-life integration has taken the place of work-life balance. New generations of workers, such as remote workers, digital nomads, and millennials, are taking over the workforce.
To stay afloat with the fast-changing workplace, employers need to accept cloud-based technology. Cloud-based collaboration tools are the glue that’s going to keep this dynamic workforce together.
To create a collaborative environment where employees can always stay connected, you can use-
- Project management tools like Basecamp, Asana, JIRA, ClickUp
- Communication tools like Snapcomms, Slack
- Video conferencing, instant messaging mobile apps like Skype
4. Carry Out Team Bonding Activities
This is a terrific way for new employees to meet one another, for existing employees to mix with folks from other departments, and for everyone to just have fun.
Team building exercises are also an excellent approach for employees to learn crucial job skills. Communication, decision-making, problem-solving, strategizing, and other abilities are included.
When people collaborate with somebody they haven’t worked with previously, it might occasionally improve their perception of that person. These activities bring people together from different departments, ranks, and new hires.
5. Encourage New Thoughts and Innovation
For any new concept to germinate and develop, the person who has the idea must be certain that it will be addressed and considered. Assume they believe their ideas will be dismissed or mocked. In that circumstance, they will naturally be hesitant to join in the activities of the team.
Encourage staff to come up with as many ideas and methods as possible. Every idea will be given equal treatment, and the entire team will examine the pros and drawbacks.
Conclusion
It’s true that a collaborative workspace offers numerous advantages that can save you time (in almost all cases). However, you must recognize that it is not always synonymous with productivity or speed.
To ensure its efficacy at the heart of your organization, this form of operation must be introduced gradually, pique the attention of, and be adopted by, all team members involved.
