10 Reliable Ways to Improve Teamwork in the Workplace

An organization or company benefits when its employees are working together. It’s because good teamwork can help build morale in the workplace and it can make people become more productive which can ultimately improve profits. Aside from that, when you have teamwork in the workplace, problem-solving will become much easier because people with different skills and knowledge can work well together in coming up with a solution. 


Isn’t it wonderful to be part of a great team at work? When your team performs well at work, you will be pumped out to get out of bed in the morning and you will feel energized throughout the day. However, without good teamwork in the workplace, it will be difficult for the business to progress. In fact, many employees and executive say that most workplace failures are a direct result of a lack of teamwork and ineffective communication. Therefore, if you want your team to work together and produce great results, you will need to improve teamwork within your organization. If that is your goal, then you’re in the right place. Today, we are giving you 10 reliable ways to improve teamwork in the workplace. 

1. Communication is the Key

To be able to improve teamwork in the workplace, there should be good communication. Great teams communicate often and they do it well. They share ideas, brainstorm together, and ask for feedback. Team members don’t always agree, but they should know how to communicate through their differences to be able to settle on a sound solution and continue moving forward as a team. If you want to improve teamwork in your workplace, you need to enable good communication within the team. This can be by holding meetings, listening to team members, and inspiring them as well. If you want more tips, you can check out our post on Simple and Effective Ways to Improve Communication at Work for more tips.

2. Create Team Rules

When people hear the word “rules”, most will think that it’s not fun. But rules need to exist to keep everyone in the team and workplace aligned. It will safeguard the success and productivity of a team. If you want to improve teamwork, you should establish rules early, but you also need to be willing to change those rules if they are hindering your team rather than helping it. When you create rules, you can either write them or chat about them openly. Make sure that you will explain to your team members why these rules exist and you can also ask them for feedback and contributions. 

3. Clarify the Purpose of Your Team

One of the things that can make a team’s attention and enthusiasm decrease is when they do not understand their purpose in the workplace. If you want to improve teamwork, then you need to be clear about why you are doing what you are doing. When your team knows their purpose, then they will become motivated to work together. 

4. Focus on Your Team Members’ Strengths

Did you know that employees who use their strengths every day are six times more likely to be engaged in their jobs? This is the reason why, as a leader, you need to focus on the individual strengths of your team members. This way, you will be able to bring together a team of people that has a combined skill set to get the task done. Keep in mind that everyone in your team is different. They have different passions, strengths, and weaknesses. But the important thing is that everyone contributes by bringing a strong skill to the team.

5. Identify Existing Problems

Another thing that can help in improving teamwork in the workplace is identifying existing problems. It’s because there are certain issues at work that can hinder the performance of a team. Some examples of problems in a team are, one member is unresponsive, one is unable to meet deadlines, and some have personality clashes. If there are problems like these in your team, it’s wise to address them the moment they arise. After identifying the problems, you need to encourage your team members to discuss the issues collectively instead of letting these problems become bigger. 

6. Define Roles and Responsibilities Clearly

To reduce conflict of responsibilities, you need to outline the duties and roles of different individuals in your team clearly. When everyone in your team understands their duties, less time will be spent on delegating work and this can lead to increased production and success. Aside from this, team members should also be aware of the roles and responsibilities of each of their teammates because this will allow them to help when needed. 

7. Take the Lead

As a leader, one of the best ways to improve teamwork in the workplace is by conducting yourself in the way you want your team members to behave. You need to live up to the change that you’d like to see in your office. Lead by example so that your team will know how you want and expect them to act and behave at work. 

8. Do Not Micromanage

It’s true that as a leader, you need to take control of your team. But if you want to improve teamwork, you need to avoid micromanaging your team. It’s because if you treat them like children, you cannot expect them to work together as an effective team. As a leader, your role is to specify goals, set deadlines, and give your team all the tools they need to perform the best of their abilities. But do not micromanage because there’s a tendency that they will be less inclined to work effectively and instead be more inclined to do what’s required to please you. To improve teamwork in the workplace, what you need to do is built a culture of trust, respect, and honesty.

9. Reward Your Team

If your team does excellent teamwork, one of the best ways to build camaraderie is to give them formal recognition. It is a great way to praise your team member for a job well done. Always make your team feel appreciated for their efforts, especially when they go out of their way to help the company thrive. When you give your people rewards, this will help in creating an awesome and friendly culture which in turn, can improve teamwork more. 

10. Encourage Informal Social Events

It’s true that team building events can help team members get to know each other. However, you cannot force people to participate in compulsory team building activities because that is detrimental to good teamwork. If you want to improve teamwork, then it’s more effective to allow teams to build organically. For example, you can have your team have a glass of wine and a nice meal at a restaurant where they can form bonds and get to know each other. Instead of preparing a budget for elaborate team building events, you can instead budget for low key social meet-ups. It will produce better results in terms of teamwork, and it will also help the company save lots of money. 

You cannot forcefully impose teamwork upon your workers. Remember that it will naturally occur when there’s a healthy workplace culture where people are treated as individuals and where there is open communication. We hope that the different ways we shared will help you improve teamwork in the workplace.