Cross Department Collaboration

Collaboration in the workplace is one of the key factors to the success of an organization. Collaboration takes place when two or more groups or departments with different functional expertise work together to accomplish a common goal. In today’s modern world, it has become increasingly important for teams and departments working out of different locations to collaborate with each other.

The main purpose of collaboration among departments is to create value for the organisation by working together. Each department get benefit through collaboration as a result it benefits company as a whole. Below mentioned are some of the advantages to employees and organisations which come by working in collaboration:

• Sharing of ideas: Collaboration leads to sharing of ideas and working together among different departments and taking advantage of the benefits of working together. People working in different departments see how others think and operate and exchange the best practices within each department. Collaboration brings together different perspectives and expertise of departments in solving common problems.
• Utilization of skills and strengths of everyone: Collaboration results in utilization of the strengths and skills of everyone involved. It encourages ideas from all levels of the department. For example: An individual might know how to approach a problem and has the knowledge of all the benefits and challenges of a particular task or solution but lacks the presentation skills and cannot put his point across effectively. Collaborating with someone from the team or another department who has the expertise in presenting the proposal more effectively will increase the chances of getting contracts from clients.
• Enhancement of skills of the workforce: When employees work in collaboration with other departments, they observe how their colleagues in other departments deal with situations and learn from them. This leads to the sharing of knowledge and skills within departments for the development of individuals, departments and the organization as a whole.