Collaboration in the workplace: How to get it right

Human beings are social creatures that rely on cooperation to thrive. And not much has changed over the past 2.5 million years. From caves to villages to cities and boardrooms, we move forward when we work together as a team. The only real difference is that now we eat crudités platters during meetings instead of tree bark.

You don’t even need studies to know workplace collaboration equals success (although there are plenty). Just look at the best football teams and orchestras: they all work together like a well-oiled machine.

Achieving this kind of culture in your company won’t take years of training. With a little practice, and the right approach, you’ll see the benefits of collaboration faster than you think. Let’s get started.

What is collaboration in the workplace?

Workplace collaboration is teamwork with purpose. It involves everyone cooperating to reach a goal. This usually involves making decisions together, sharing the workload, and communicating openly across the entire organization — from the newest intern right up to the CEO.

Usually, there is a combination of processes in place to help people make decisions more efficiently, as well as tools that help teams talk, share work, and keep track of each other’s progress. We’ll go into these in a little more detail later on.

A brief history 

While the idea of people working together is as old as survival itself, organized collaboration in the workplace has a surprisingly recent history. For most of human existence, cooperation was instinctive — a matter of necessity, not management theory. However, as industries expanded after the Second World War and projects grew too complex for one person to oversee, collaboration required structure.

In the 1950s, engineers and planners began formalising teamwork through new systems of project management. 

Methods like the Critical Path Method (CPM) and the Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT) mapped out how interdependent tasks could run in parallel — the logic behind every modern workflow board you’ve seen since. By the 1960s, the newly founded Project Management Institute began collecting and refining these practices, turning them into something standardized and teachable.

It’s easy to think of collaboration as a soft skill, but it’s built on some very hard lessons: that no plan survives without coordination, and that progress relies on shared visibility. The language may have changed — “alignment,” “cross-functional,” “sync” — but the goal remains the same: helping people move in the same direction, even when they start from very different places.

Three types of collaboration in the workplace

As workplaces embrace the benefits of remote work, it’s important now more than ever to understand what collaboration looks like in its various forms.

Teamwork

Teamwork is more than just throwing everyone together and hoping for the best. Managers should identify each individual’s strengths and weaknesses and match up compatible people with different skill sets. In fact, encouraging diversity will lead to a stronger performance overall.

Discussions

Holding open discussions that involve people from all levels of the business helps to break down hierarchies. This has the added benefit of letting everyone’s voices, perspectives, and insights shine through: CEOs can hear ideas from interns, coders can give design teams insight into how they work, and project managers can hear how other departments are plugging along. It also helps the workplace feel like a more transparent and engaging place.

Brainstorming

This tried-and-tested technique takes many forms — from word association games to gathering around a whiteboard and sharing ideas. Now, thanks to technology, brainstorming can even be done remotely and asynchronously (or, in other words, not in real-time).

What are the benefits of collaboration in the workplace?

Good collaboration takes work. Here’s what makes it worth the effort (and then some!).

1. Engaged employees

A 2017 Gallup research survey revealed engaged employees create around 17% more profitability. In addition, there are 41% fewer absences. If you’re not working on employee engagement, you’re not only missing out — but you’re potentially damaging business.

According to a survey of over 19,000 workers by the ADP Research Institute, feeling part of a team plays a big part in helping employees feel engaged and valued. Happier, more fulfilled workers are also much less likely to leave the business.

2. Better meetings

Meetings are expensive, so the fewer you have, the better. When people communicate, delegate work, and use tools to track their work, the need for meetings will drop. If one does need to happen, it’ll be more efficient because there’s more support and engagement.

Online collaboration tools are especially useful for remote workers because they make it easy for everyone to tune in, engage, and share work from wherever they are in the world.

3. A productivity (and profit) boost

Collaborative teams are more efficient. They communicate better and share skills. There are fewer mistakes and duplications, and they achieve more. This means a better product and shorter production times — good news for customers and the business’ bottom line.

4. Faster innovation

Encouraging a dynamic workplace with different personality styles and skill sets mixing together has the added benefit of creating a fertile ground for innovation and ideas to flourish.

Pixar is a great example of an innovative workplace: They designed their HQ with bathrooms in the middle, and food and coffee in the middle of an atrium to get everyone talking. 

“They were very intentional about wanting people who are artists and animators, and the coders, and the music people, and the screenwriters to be constantly bumping into each other in random ways to spark ideas,” says Benjamin Jones, a strategy professor at the Kellogg School.

You might not be able to do an office redesign, but you can take a leaf out of Pixar’s book: One quick and easy option is to create a ‘general’ thread on your office chat app. It gives people a place to socialize — think of it as being like a virtual watercooler.

Two real-world examples of collaboration in action

Some of the most remarkable achievements — in business, science, and the arts — come from teams that understood how to pool their strengths and trust one another.

The Human Genome Project

In the late 20th century, researchers across continents worked together to map the entire human genome — an undertaking that no single lab could have achieved alone. Thousands of scientists shared data in real time, combining biology, computing, and engineering expertise to reach a collective milestone that transformed medicine. The result was the first-of-its-kind Human Genome Project.

LEGO’s comeback in the 2000s

By the early 2000s, LEGO was losing relevance and struggling financially. Rather than relying solely on executives to fix it, the company began collaborating with fans and external designers through the LEGO Ideas platform. This open exchange of creativity revived the brand, generating hit products and proving that innovation flourishes when customers are invited to co-create.

Both stories reveal the same truth: collaboration multiplies intelligence. When people from different disciplines unite around a shared goal, the results can reshape entire industries.

10 workplace collaboration tips to live by 

Whether you’re part of a team or leading one, here are some simple rules to promote a culture of collaboration in your business.

1. Listen and communicate with intent
   Most people think they’re good listeners. Spoiler alert: they’re not. True listening isn’t waiting for your turn to speak, or nodding with glazed eyes — it’s pausing your own thoughts long enough to really hear what someone else means. Combine that with clear, consistent communication and you’ll get more done.
2. Bridge communication barriers
   Misunderstandings aren’t a failure of intelligence; they’re a natural hazard of language. Some people speak in bullet points, others in essays. Some prefer to type, others to talk. Bridging those differences by checking assumptions or switching mediums keeps things on track and the vibe positive. 
3. Be approachable and trustworthy
   People work best with those who feel human. Approachability doesn’t mean people-pleasing, but it does mean being receptive and kind. Pair that with reliability — meeting deadlines, following through — and you’ll build the trust that people are drawn to. 
4. Credit, don’t criticise
   When a project wobbles, it’s easy to look for someone to blame. The harder — and far more productive — move is to look for what went right, then propose solutions that move things forward. Acknowledging effort, even in failure, builds resilience.
5. Know your team
   Every team is an ensemble. Knowing who thrives on detail and who sees the big picture helps you pair people whose strengths complement each other. A bit of thoughtful casting early on saves a dozen misunderstandings later.
6. Encourage discussion and experimentation
   Collaboration needs conversation. Make room for spirited but safe debate, where people can challenge ideas without fear. Experiment with techniques — from online brainstorms to asynchronous idea threads — to surface perspectives that might otherwise go unheard. 
7. Stay open and curious
   Optimism may not be a job requirement, but it’s the glue that keeps collaboration from splintering under stress. An open mind doesn’t mean agreeing with everyone; it means staying curious long enough to see where another person’s logic leads.
8. Set direction, then step back
   Clear goals give people purpose, but rigidity strangles initiative. Define what success looks like, then let the team decide how to get there. Delegation is a vote of confidence — it says, “I believe you’ve got this.”
9. Acknowledge and appreciate
   People notice when their work is seen. A quick thank-you or public nod can mean more than a bonus. It also keeps morale high when projects falter — a sense of humour helps, too.
10. Handle conflict constructively
    Tension isn’t toxic by default; it’s information. Address issues early, listen to all sides, and focus on fixing the process, not the people. Remember, compromise means moving forward together. 

Collaboration problems to watch out for

Like all worthwhile things, collaboration takes commitment. It’s also important that teams recognize when issues are cropping up so they can be dealt with quickly before they snowball into bigger problems.

• A communication breakdown
  Workplaces are made up of different types of people, from different backgrounds and with different communication styles. Sometimes, these differences can cause communication breakdowns. Learn about the barriers to communication to spot and overcome these challenges.
• Inflexible workplace practices
  Workplace collaboration might clash with current structures, especially in top-down workplaces. If your business is rigid and hierarchical, phase changes gradually so it’ll be less of a shock. (A change management plan can help you here.)
• Complex decisions
  The more people there are, the more complex decision-making becomes. This is especially true in bottom-up workplaces, which are less leader-centric. To overcome stagnation, have a strong decision-maker ready to step in and keep things moving.
  
• Miscommunication and mixed signals
  Different communication styles, time zones, or assumptions can easily cause confusion. A quick message might be read the wrong way; a crucial update might get lost in the noise. That’s why active listening and written follow-ups are so important — they keep everyone aligned on what’s actually been agreed.
• Decision overload
  When everyone has a voice, decisions can slow to a crawl. Endless debate can drain energy and stall progress. Having a clear process — and someone empowered to make final calls when needed — helps teams move forward without losing momentum.
• Rigid systems and old habits
  Some organizations struggle with collaboration because their structure is too top-down or inflexible. Shifting from a “command and control” model to a more open one takes time and leadership buy-in. Small experiments — like cross-functional meetings or joint planning sessions — can help the change take root.

Recognizing these friction points early doesn’t mean collaboration has failed. It means the team is learning how to adapt — and that’s a vital part of building a stronger, more resilient culture.

Tools that make workplace collaboration easier

The right tech makes all the difference. Pick a combination of collaboration tools that work for your team: Look out for easy interfaces with plenty of built-in support and the kinds of features you need.

Chat apps and video

Phone and email will always be useful, but there are so many more tools designed to boost communication. Chat apps are ideal for quick, informal conversations — whether you’re in the same room or on different continents. Meanwhile, video software is a must for having conversations and meetings with remote workers.

Diagramming tools and project management software 

From brainstorming sessions to sharing graphs, cloud-based diagramming software is incredibly useful. With Cacoo, our diagramming tool, team members can log in from wherever they are, edit together, track changes, and share work, all in real time.

Meanwhile, project management tools make it easier to stay on track when you’ve got everything right there in front of you. From real-time notifications to file sharing, wikis, and Kanban boards, Backlog makes it easier for everyone to stay on track, share jobs, and see what everyone else is up to, wherever they are. Give both a try for free today. 

This post was originally published on January 17, 2020, and updated most recently on December 17, 2025.