Collaboration is a cooperative arrangement where two or more parties (who may or may not have worked together before) work jointly toward a common goal. When collaborations works, the collective “know how” creates results not possible without the collective interaction.
With this kind of promise, is it working in the workplace?
Here are 27 surprising facts about collaboration in the workplace. They show why it works and why it is or isn’t working in our businesses today.
WHY IT WORKS
- Managers are the Number 1 way that people feel supported by their organization. (Forbes)
- 90% of employees believe that decision-makers should seek other opinions before making a final decision. (Salesforce)
- 88% agree that a culture of knowledge-sharing correlates to high employee morale and job satisfaction. (Oscar Berg)
- 88% believe collaboration accelerates decision making. (Next Plane)
- 75% of employers rate team work and collaboration as “very important.” (Queens University)
- Women are 66% more likely than men to help others in need – an action that typically costs more time and energy than sharing knowledge and expertise. (Oscar Berg)
- 60% of respondents have experienced change in their way of thinking due to collaborations. (Oscar Berg)
- 56% pointed out collaboration-related measure as the factor that will have the greatest impact on their organization’s overall profitability. (Oscar Berg)
- 56% of respondents said that they were happier when they collaborated. (Oscar Berg)
- 53% are confident that collaborations are having a positive and tangible impact on their organization. (Oscar Berg)
- Compared to two decades ago, the time managers and employees spend on collaborative activities has ballooned by 50% or more. (Oscar Berg)
- Over 50% of employees and managers identify time saved completing tasks as a benefit of collaboration.
- 49% of Millennials support social tools for workplace collaboration. (Queens University)
- 33% of organizations are using social collaboration tools across all departments. 50% of those surveyed expect that number to increase in 2017. (Next Plane)
- 30% want to collaborate more, with women slightly more collaborative than men. (Oscar Berg)
- Men are 36% more likely to share knowledge and expertise than women. (Oscar Berg)
WHY IT IS OR ISN’T WORKING
- 97% of employees and executives believe lack of alignment with a team impacts the outcome of a task of project. (TINYpulse)
- 86% of employees and executives cite lack of collaboration or ineffective communication for workplace failures. (Salesforce)
- Less than 50% say that their organizations discuss organization issues truthfully and effectively. (Salesforce)
- 40% of employees believe that decision makers “consistently failed” to seek another opinion. (Salesforce)
- 40% of organizations lack a collaboration strategy altogether. (Dimension Data)
- 39% of employees believe that people in their organization don’t collaborate enough (Professional Service Centre)
- 20% to 35% of value-added collaborations typically come from only 3% to 5% of employees. (Oscar Berg)
- 20% of organizational “stars” don’t contribute to the success of their colleagues after they have hit their own numbers and earned kudos for it. (Oscar Berg)
- Only 18% of employees get communication evaluation at their performance review. (Queens University)
- People tend to lie more when collaborating on a joint effort when they believe it will result in a better outcome for both, if they engage in collusion. (Oscar Berg)
- People primed to think of themselves in an organizational context (e.g., co-worker) felt less motivated to reciprocate and did reciprocate less than those in an otherwise parallel personal (e.g., friend or acquaintance) situation. Organizational contexts reduce people’s obligation to follow the moral imperative of the norm of reciprocity. (Oscar Berg)
The facts say to me although the vast majority of people believe there are significant benefits to collaboration, what we believe is not often what we practice and do.
What do these facts about collaboration say to you? Are they are a surprise? Does your business need help is creating a culture of collaboration?
