Business collaboration can help your company grow and develop healthy teamwork in your startup. Startup collaboration isn’t always easy when you lack visibility on project progress and who’s doing what. Plus, maybe it was easy to work together when you were starting out and only had a team of five. But when your business grows, collaborating with more people is going to take more careful planning.
The hard truth is that 90% of startups fail in the first few years and team issues are a leading cause. The good news is that improving business collaboration can help to grow and steer the company through even the most treacherous waters. Collaboration model in business benefits of internal and external collaborations and how you can develop them shall be discussed below. Along with small business collaboration ideas that help your people get more done together in real time or async.
Let’s set sail.
How does corporate startup collaboration impact performance?
“Teamwork makes the dream work” is a cliche for good reason. Here are some other ways business collaboration aids business growth:
Increased creativity and innovation
There are more eyes and brains on a problem when you come together as a group. Diversity of perspectives, skill sets, and resources also opens up the door to new business opportunities, which can be crucial for a growing startup.
Improved efficiency and reduced costs
When teams are fully in sync, they’re able to communicate better and solve problems more efficiently. And if you join forces with other business owners, you can pool your resources and come up with solutions to your client’s problems more easily and quickly.
More access to new resources and connections
Working with other businesses lets you learn from others and grow your network. These connections can be valuable down the line when seeking partnerships, referrals, or even potential investors.
Happier, more fulfilled team members
When people understand the impact of their work and are accountable to each other, they’re more satisfied in their roles.
Happier customers
Collaboration model in business can give you ability to address customer needs more quickly and find creative solutions to improve their experience with you.
How to develop collaboration in your startup
Working together across departments and teams also boosts retention rates. New hires who are asked to help on other’s projects and have team members jump in to help on theirs are 65% more likely to stay in their roles long enough for the company to become profitable.
But collaboration doesn’t just happen by itself. As an entrepreneur and a leader, you need to be intentional about implementing steps that help your teams get more done together. Here are five ways to do just that.
Build company culture around collaboration
Company culture is the foundation that can make or break a startup. When collaboration is rooted in your culture, it sets the stage for how people work together. Here are some ways to build teamwork into the very essence of your company:
- Build team connections.
- Establish clear guidelines for how people should work together.
- Foster psychological safety.
- Give your teams what they need to get things done.
Automate, streamline, and outsource
Embracing automations, streamlining workflows, and outsourcing non-core tasks frees up your people’s time and energy so they can work together more effectively on projects and in meetings. This is particularly helpful for startups because you often need all hands on deck and people may need to be flexible about their hours and workload. So the more you can help safeguard your people’s time and energy, the better.
- Identify repetitive and time-consuming tasks.
- Consider delegating non-core or specialized tasks to external service providers.
- Evaluate your internal processes and workflows.
Partner with other companies
Collaborative relationships with other types of businesses can help you grow, learn different skill sets, and tap into new markets.
Here are some things to keep in mind when you’re looking for external collaborations:
- Look for companies that share your values, target a similar audience, or have skills that complement your own.
- Nail down the why behind the partnership.
- Set common goals.
- Explore co-creation opportunities.
Overcome barriers to collaboration
Collaborative working is the key to growing as a business and as individuals, but it’s not without its challenges. For example, different time zones, communication styles, and goals can make it harder to be productive and enjoy working together. Here are some tips to overcome these barriers:
- Provide communication and collaboration training.
- Set clear goals and review them regularly.
- Use agile practices.
- Provide the right tools and technology.
Lead by example and model collaboration
In startups especially, the buck really does start and end with you as the leader. That means you need to lead by example to build a positive, collaborative company culture and meet business goals and client expectations without causing burnout. This involves actively seeking out different points of view, living your values, and modeling collaboration.
Here are some ideas on how to get started:
- Set company values that inspire teamwork.
- Foster a growth mindset.
- Celebrate successes.
- Develop a collaborative leadership style.
Strong corporate startup collaboration: The wind in your sails
Startup leaders do have to overcome epic challenges and continually strive to meet their goals. And one fact that still stands the test of time is that you can accomplish more with collaboration than individually.
That said, inefficient collaboration model in business can lead to burnout and prevent your team from sailing off into the success sunset. That’s why it’s crucial to create an environment where people enjoy working together and can get more done in real time together or async alone. By recognizing the advantages of both internal and external startup collaboration and actively fostering them, you empower your teams to be more productive and surpass client expectations.
To develop business collaboration in your startup, take steps like building company culture around collaboration, leading by example, and partnering with other companies that share your values. Build a company culture based on collaboration will make your business flourish.
