10 Effective Tips to Improve Teamwork in the Workplace

When you were younger, you learned the difference between a house and a home. The former, your English teacher said, is made of bricks and stone. The latter, on the other hand, is made of warmth and love.

Now that you are older, you do not spend as much time in your home anymore. Instead, you go to your office to work day in day out. The workplace is mainly where you struggle to thrive, be productive, and fulfill your purpose. It is hard to do all these without a good team supporting you. Naturally, you will want your workplace to be more than a building, too.

You may be a new employee, but you still have a role in encouraging a warm workplace environment. The following is a list of tips you can practice, even as a newbie employee, to improve teamwork in your office.

1. Study the organizational structure

Before anything else, study the organizational structure of your company. Doing so will prevent you from overlooking anyone's roles. Many times, conflict starts when an employee feels neglected by their subordinates. Prevent this from happening, and learn the organizational structure by heart. Know who you have to report to. Consider everyone in the structure. Most importantly, respect your supervisors.

2. Regularly review the roles

In order to establish good teamwork, employees need to understand the roles of each and every staff in the office. As the newbie employee, it is your responsibility to get acquainted with the roles of your colleagues. These roles may be ever-changing, so make sure to stay aware of what is happening in your workplace. Of course, you should first and foremost master your own job role before you proceed to study the roles of others. When your supervisor adds more responsibilities to your name, take note of these.

3. Join work ice breakers

Make time to join social events hosted by the company you are working at. This idea may be intimidating, especially for people who are not social in nature. However, it will be especially helpful in the long run if you establish a good connection with your colleagues. You do not have to be best friends with them; you only need to create a friendship that will allow you to comfortably work with one another.

4. Get to know your colleagues

Aside from having fun with your colleagues, be intentional with getting to know them beyond surface level as well. Learn who you can talk to when you are facing a difficult situation at work. Think about who would appreciate your help for an upcoming project. It is easier to work in a team when you know how each person functions.

5. Maximize individual strengths and weaknesses

Once you get to know your colleagues, assess their strengths and weaknesses. Many employees make the mistake of leaving this step to the supervisor. On the contrary, you can practice assessing the strengths and weaknesses of your colleagues through observing how they work. While you should not be in the business of assigning tasks to others, knowing the strengths and weaknesses of your colleagues will help you know who the best person is for you to approach for specific types of tasks. Learn from the strengths of your colleagues, and if you can, assist them in tasks they are not very confident in.

6. Set healthy boundaries

While having good relationships with your colleagues is ideal, it is still important for you to establish healthy boundaries among yourselves. If you are not comfortable with your colleagues probing you to talk about your personal life, feel free to let them know. If you think that going out late at night with your colleagues will interfere with your productivity at work the next day, practice saying no.

7. Practice active listening

Communication is the key to good teamwork. One way to build your communication skills is by practicing active listening. Meaning, you must learn to be actually engaged with your colleagues when they are talking. Be open-minded. Ask relevant questions. Most importantly, take in what they are saying positively. In the case of active listening, you are letting go of the pressure to respond. Rather, you are focused on really understanding what your colleagues are trying to say.

8. Use project management tools

Nowadays, there are several project management tools that can help improve teamwork in the workplace. Most of these tools, you can find online. These tools are helpful for team projects as they usually help colleagues get organized. Automatically syncing to each individual's smartphone, project management tools help remind each employee about tasks, deadlines and priorities. These tools also encourage everyone in the team to participate.

9. Set clear goals

For a team to work, you need to have a shared goal in mind. When you are all working towards the same goal, you will have more distinguished roles and more motivation to encourage one another to work hard. As a newbie employee, you need to make sure that you understand these goals. If you have any questions about what the goals of your team are, do not hesitate to ask for clarification. It is also important that all of you are constantly reminded of your goals. If possible, have your goals printed out and displayed around your workplace.

10. Be grateful

When you have a positive outlook in life, your colleagues will love working with you. Remember to thank everyone who assists you in any way. Take every hurdle as a learning opportunity, and be grateful for the job that you have.

Keep these tips in mind and you will improve teamwork in your workplace in no time!

About JobStreet.com

JobStreet.com is a leading online job board presently covering the employment markets in Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines, Indonesia and Vietnam. JobStreet.com currently services over 230,000 corporate hirers and over 15 million jobseekers in its database.

About SEEK Asia

JobStreet.com and jobsDB are part of SEEK Asia, which is the leading online employment market place in Asia. SEEK Asia covers 7 countries namely Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

SEEK Asia is the extension of the Australian Securities Exchange listed company called SEEK. The company's purpose is to help improve people's lives through a better career. SEEK Asia's database consist of over 500,000 corporate hirers and over 24 million candidates.

For more information about this article, or to schedule an interview with JobStreet.com Philippines, please call Paola Savillo, Marketing Supervisor, at 286-6222.