When it comes to building a top performing team, collaboration is one of the keys to success. But issues like company politics, employee personalities, and unclear expectations can undermine even your best efforts to collaborate effectively. To help you improve collaboration at work, here are 6 tips to consider:

Tip #1: Set the parameters.

As one of the leading staffing agencies in Sacramento, California, Pacific Staffing knows if you don’t have specific goals in place for collaborations, then it’s going to be tough for your team to meet expectations. Make sure that before any collaboration begins, everyone understands why they’re there and what you’re all trying to achieve. Collaboration won’t be effective without goals or boundaries.

Tip #2: Let employees make decisions.

Once there are parameters in place, let your employees come together and hash things out. Don’t constantly try to step in and make decisions for the team. If you do, then you’re defeating the entire purpose of collaborating, Your role in this situation should be facilitator, not decision maker.

Tip #3: Help with conflict.

When employees hit an impasse, it’s up to you to help them through the situation. While conflict isn’t a bad thing and heated debate can produce the best ideas, you don’t want the situation to escalate too far either. So if it is sounding more like fighting and less like collaborating, it’s up to you to step in.

Tip #4: Build diverse teams.

When it comes to collaboration, don’t always bring together the same teams with the same backgrounds. The best results come from diverse teams with different perspectives. That said, don’t collaborate just for the sake of it and build a team if one person can really handle the task or project. Collaboration should help streamline work, not add to it.

Tip #5: Be patient.

Don’t rush your team to come up with the solution in a day. Great ideas and great results take time. It may take several collaborative sessions to really find a rhythm and start chipping away at a problem or developing a creative solution.

Tip #6: Recognize individuals for their efforts.

Just because it’s a group collaboration effort doesn’t mean you need to generically recognize the whole group. If there are certain team members who are consistently going the extra mile, then recognize them individually. They’ll stay engaged and motivated when you do, and hopefully inspire others around them.

If you’re looking to add more collaborators to your team, call Pacific Staffing. As one of the leading staffing agencies in Sacramento, California, we know where to find the area’s top talent. Contact us today to learn more about how we can help you.