Nearly 1 in 3 firms lacking sufficient team collaboration: Survey

Poor communication main driver

While the majority of Canadian organizations value high-impact team collaboration, less than one in three actually provide the proper framework for it, according to a study by ESI International.

As a result, the skill gap widens while business performance suffers, said ESI. Almost 81 per cent of the 895 survey respondents said poor communication lies at the heart of cross-team collaboration failure.

Key survey findings include:

•The majority of organizations, in fact, do not work collaboratively, despite the value that they realize would come from better teamwork.

•Rigid work structures exist within companies that keep people from working together.

•Organizations are not investing in the right mix of skills training needed to improve collaboration on projects and initiatives.

While 65.5 per cent of respondents believe their organization’s project performance would improve if their teams worked more collaboratively, only 27.8 per cent actually do.

“Businesses and public sector organizations have a proven best practice in using collaborative teams to drive improved performance and attain numerous other benefits, but the study results show the majority aren’t taking advantage of the approach,” said Glenn Brûlé, executive director of global client solutions at ESI. “Organizations that continue to conduct business in silos will be left behind.”

The study suggests an increasing need for business skills such as leadership and critical thinking in organization. Further, it suggests best practices for building collaborative teams such as more autonomy within projects, tearing down organizational roadblocks and providing the right mix of business and technical skills.

These efforts can lead to more collaboration, better project/initiative outcomes and, ultimately, higher overall business impact, said ESI.

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