Collaboration

I wrote a blog post several weeks ago for a non-profit organization regarding collaboration. It was about working with my husband to clean our garage. I provided a step-by-step approach for getting it done and offered suggestions for effective communication. It got me thinking about collaboration at EPI. Collaborating is about working together to get something accomplished where one of the side effects is teambuilding.

I work virtually; our entire team does with the exception of our office manager. This means that most days I work with my computer and phone in my home office. I go to an actual office about once a week and meet with clients as needed. Some weeks I am out in the world everyday and some weeks go by without any face-to-face interaction. As you can imagine, this makes collaboration a challenging adventure.

Our team has made a conscious effort to be an example of what a successful virtual workplace looks like and so collaborating on projects is something we often do. In a traditional office setting I would be able to walk down the hall and ask a coworker questions and get their input. In a virtual environment we need to be a bit more creative.

Some of the things we do that help us to be successful in a virtual environment while collaborating are:

1. Virtual brainstorming: This means one of us may need some input on a project and we send out an email to others for ideas. Things will go back and forth, sometimes for several hours, in between other things, and I think we genuinely help one another.

2. Daily huddle: Each morning we all send out an email with the items that we will be working on that day, where we will be, and what meetings we may be involved in. It is about accountability but it is also about collaboration. If I am developing an online course for a client and one of our designers is working on online template creation, it is a great opportunity for us to chat.

3. Monthly meetings: We do make sure that each month we get together for several hours to talk face-to-face. We share ideas, try to learn something new and get the big picture of the organization.

Of course I would be remiss if I did not say that, like most organizations, communication is still a challenge. On occasion, being in the office together is just more effective. The dynamic of email means that tone can be misinterpreted and I sometimes miss the satisfaction of getting an answer to a question or problem immediately.

Every organization has opportunities for greater successes and collaboration is a key component. How well does your team work together to accomplish the projects and tasks required to be successful regardless of where they sit?