In a recent research article on the Institute Of Internal Communication website (www.ioic.org.uk) I came across the following statistics on the importance of teamwork and collaboration in businesses:

According to Zippia Research:

• More than 50% of workers say their jobs are reliant on collaboration
• About 75% of employees rate teamwork and collaboration as being very important
• 56% of employers use online collaboration tools and social media to communicate with employees
• 86% of employees in leadership positions blame lack of collaboration as the top reason for workplace failures
• Companies that promote collaboration and communication at work have been linked to reducing employee turnover rates by 50%
• Employees are, on average, 17% more satisfied with their job when they engage in collaboration at work

Other Employee Perspectives:

• 86% of employees blame lack of collaboration or ineffective communication for workplace failures. (Fierce Inc.)
• 90% of employees believe decision-makers should seek out other opinions before making a final decision; approximately 40% feel leaders and decision-makers consistently fail to do so (Fierce Inc.)
• Nearly 100% (99.1%) prefer a workplace in which people identify and discuss issues truthfully and effectively, yet less than half said their organisation does this (Fierce Inc.)
• In one study, 38% of workers felt there was not enough collaboration in the workplace. Participants said that factors encouraging participation were: positive recognition of input shared (50%); encouragement from senior staff (41%); ability to easily share input with different departments (33%) (Cornerstone OnDemand)

How Important Is Teamwork And Collaboration?

Working in the field of team performance I was once again struck with how important effective teams are to both business success and to employee engagement.

We spend a huge amount of time working in teams and being judged by the performance of the team as a whole.

The levels of employee engagement (and the sense of purpose) that radiates from being part of a high performing, supportive team that gets s&@t done can literally make life feel like a joy for everyone involved.

The frustration, stress and reduction in wellbeing that comes from being immersed in a toxic team culture is, by contrast, nothing short of miserable and results in poor business results and high employee turnover.

Does Team Building Work?

Why though with all this quantitative and qualitative evidence pointing to the important of teamwork is team development so low on the agenda for most businesses?

I have to hold my hand up as complicit in this.

Over the last 20 years there have been too many occasions where team intervention we’ve been involved in was nothing short of woolly nonsense.

Nice but, in terms of it’s impact on the bottom line, nothing more than a box ticking exercise or an afterthought.

At best making the team feel bonded for a week or so or, at worst, making them feel like plonkers.

We realised this around 2008, just after the financial crash.

One of the reasons that we (a team building company of all things) survived 2008 and then the Coronavirus Pandemic is because we realised that businesses NEED teams that work in order to grow and reduce turnover.

We exist to recalibrate the role of team building and team development to ensure that it delivers measurable improvement. Clients that are aligned to this have supported us through thick and thin because they realise that high performing teams are essential to their business success.

Yes, workshops and events should be enjoyable and engaging but they should also be challenging, deliver true insight and produce actionable next steps for the Leaders to act upon.

If you want workshops and events to measurably build employee engagement and team performance then book an initial consultation call now to get started HERE.