Article

November 6, 2024

8 Types of Collaboration to Use in your Digital Workplace

Milton Herman

7 minute read

What is Collaboration in the Workplace?

Collaboration in the workplace occurs when people work together to achieve a goal. It’s another way of looking at teamwork. The team can use many different ways to work together depending on the project they are working on. Sharing ideas and discussing the approach the group is going to take is an excellent way to make the process work much more smoothly for everyone.

This work style was officially recognized in the 1950s. At that time, changes in project management were occurring. Up to that point, projects were planned using a Gantt chart and could be supervised by one manager. As the digital revolution took hold, a collaboration between team members became much more common in the workplace.

The internet set the stage for employees to share information with each other easily and conveniently, whether they work in the same physical location or are situated halfway around the world from each other. A digital workplace means employees don’t have to contend with traditional communication barriers. Instead, employees can focus on working together efficiently in an atmosphere that promotes innovation and growth for the company.

Collaboration is a strategy that can be used in any type of workplace, including non-profits, corporations, government agencies, service providers, and educational institutions. All employers and employees in the organization can benefit from learning about different types of collaboration.

6 ways an intranet can foster collaboration

Looking for ways to improve collaboration across your company? Download this free checklist to see how an intranet can help.

Types of Collaborative Working

1. Team Collaboration

This is one of the most common types of business collaboration in the workplace. In this version, all the members of the group know each other. Each person knows what their role on the team involves and how it impacts other team members. There are set deadlines to get tasks done within a set time to reach the team’s goals.

With this type of collaboration, there is often a team leader who is in charge of supervising the other team members. The team members collaborate on an equal basis to complete their tasks. Once the tasks are completed as set out at the beginning of the project, the entire team generally receives equal recognition for reaching the stated goal.

➞ Read more: Create a More Connected Workplace

2. Community Collaboration

In a community collaboration, the participants share an interest. The goal is often to share knowledge and learn, as opposed to completing a task together. Community members may share concerns by asking questions and getting advice. Upon receiving the advice, the members return to their offices and share it with their teams. This practice is an ongoing one.

In this type of business collaboration model, members may be at the same level. However, experienced members of the group may have more status with junior members. Group members are expected to help each other out, but there is not necessarily a one-to-one reciprocation of advice between members. The idea is that eventually all members of the group benefit from their association with each other.

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3. Network Collaboration

Network collaboration differs from the types of business collaboration listed above. It starts with individual people taking action in their own self-interest. They start contributing to the network to make themselves and their area of expertise known to other members. Probably everyone in the network doesn’t know each other. They rely on referrals to find out who they should be collaborating with among network members.

Social media tools are an example of network collaboration where the network members collaborate virtually without necessarily knowing each other personally. Members may post links to websites they find helpful using a social bookmarking tool. This information may be helpful to network members who are looking for information on the same topic. As that team works on the topic, they can post links to helpful websites for other network members who may need them later.

4. Cloud Collaboration

A list of the different types of collaboration tools would be incomplete without mentioning cloud collaboration. This method of collaboration allows more than one user to access, read, and edit documents in real-time. With documents stored in the cloud, all users with access see the latest version and can see the changes as they are being made.

Cloud collaboration can be used in organizations where teams are expected to collaborate remotely, such as a company with one or more satellite offices. Remote employees working on the same documents can share them easily without having to worry about whether they are looking at the latest version.

The cloud is an especially effective method to use for large files. E-mail servers are only meant to handle documents a few MB in size. Once an attachment gets larger than that, the e-mail program will refuse to send. A cloud-based collaboration tool doesn’t have the same limitations and can accept these large files for transfer.

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5. Video Collaboration

Video collaboration is one of the most common types of online collaboration tools being used today. Cloud-based services like Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace have virtual conference rooms where meetings are held. Guests are given invitations to join the meeting using their desktop or laptop computers. They can also join the meeting using a mobile device. Most cloud-based services offer guests the option of joining the call through their web browser; there is no requirement to download software.

Participants in a video collaboration can be located in the same office, across the street, in a different region, or halfway around the globe. Team members can talk in real-time, view the same computer screen as a colleague, and ask questions by phone, chat, or through a specialized headset.

6. Internal Collaboration

Internal collaboration can include several types of collaborative strategies, depending on what your medium or large-sized business wants to accomplish.

Discussion forums (or bulletin boards, as they are sometimes known) have been used for some time. They are still an effective way to share ideas about a particular topic. The disadvantage with forums is that they can be challenging to search when a participant is looking for specific information.

Microblogging can be an effective strategy for sharing messages within the company. This can be compared to using Twitter internally. It is not meant for complicated discussions but should be reserved for brief messages. Team members can start and participate in discussions by making their points quickly.

A wiki can be developed to manage information within the company. Multiple participants can contribute to the articles and keep them updated. This type of server program will likely need someone to ensure that the information is accurate.

Look here for a list of the best internal communication tools

7. External Collaboration

When you think about types of collaboration spaces, don’t forget about external collaboration. This term covers knowledge sharing that occurs outside the company. An example of external collaboration is the interaction between a brand and its presence on social media. The brand is collaborating with social media users when it asks for opinions and feedback using quizzes or discussions. The answers are analyzed and ultimately used to decide whether the brand is interacting well with its audience or if it needs to tweak its message.

A blog is a way for your company to have a “face.” Customers may find it easier to ask questions and make comments in that space than to contact the company head office directly. These questions and comments are powerful. Make note of what people are saying and apply the messages when you can. Customers are sharing what they think, what they want, and how your company can keep their business.

8. Strategic Alliance

A strategic alliance is a common form of collaboration between companies. These agreements are commonly between two or three businesses in which they agree to combine their efforts and resources temporarily to reach certain goals.

These types of business strategies can work out quite well. The companies involved in the strategic alliance will each bring something to the table that the other ones lack. For example, a company may be looking for help in reaching new markets or with customer service. In that instance, it will look for a company with expertise those areas.

Companies that can manage these types of relationships successfully will be considered “partners of choice” by more companies looking to develop similar relationships in business. With all good relationships, it is important to establish clear goals, practice good communication skills, and be respectful of others. The best strategic alliance partners also invest in the necessary personnel, tools, and processes to reach the stated goals.

How to Choose among the Best Collaboration methods?

The answer to the question, “How to choose the best type of collaboration?” is a bit like asking “How long is a piece of string?” The short answer is “It depends.”

Before you can decide which types of collaborative working will give you the best results, you’ll need to consider what you want to achieve by collaborating with others (either individuals or a company).

Are you interested in finding fresh sales leads?
Do you want to boost your company profile in the community?
Does your business need to set up a knowledge library for your team members?
Would you like to conduct meetings via video conferencing to stay in touch with remote workers?

You also need to ensure that everyone involved has the right tools. Your remote workers will find it difficult to participate in video conferencing if the internet in their area is unreliable. If your team has access to a reliable internet connection, then using video conferencing can be a great option to stay in touch with team members who work in your office as well as other locations.

Ultimately, the choice of which methods to use when collaborating with your employees will depend on your organization and its company culture.

Ultimately, the choice of which methods to use when collaborating with your employees will depend on your organization and its company culture. If your workforce is comfortable with new technology, you can expect that it will play a big role when your managers are suggesting the best types of collaboration. In a situation where your team members have not fully embraced the digital era (yet), collaborating with others gives them the perfect opportunity to learn new tools.

If your employees have others who can help them navigate the collaboration tools being used today, it can only result in a win-win situation. The person sharing their knowledge feels good about assisting a colleague. The other person increases their knowledge by learning about a new tool that can assist them in their work. Collaboration is a win-win for both parties.

6 ways an intranet can foster collaboration

Looking for ways to improve collaboration across your company? Download this free checklist to see how an intranet can help.

Discover our latest content on Team work & Collaboration

Collaboration is the cornerstone of any workplace environment, and its ways evolved at the same time as technologies, used to unite global teams, enhance communication, and drive productivity. LumApps, enlisted as one of the best collaborative tools offers a suite of tools that facilitate various types of team collaboration and answer team management goals (sharing knowledge, ensure good collaboration between desk, frontline and remote workers…).

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