Today’s accountancy firms boast many talented professionals who work collaboratively within teams or across teams to achieve their organisations’ business goals.
Even with the increased opportunity to work remotely post-COVID, organisations have continued to encourage employees to maintain collaboration and teamwork using various digital tools. Yet many accountancy and finance firms still struggle to maintain collaboration and teamwork; hence, this blog addresses how firms can benefit from collaboration and teamwork as well as how they can improve in each.
Benefits of collaboration and teamwork
Great teams are the product of effective collaboration and teamwork. There are also many benefits of teamwork and collaboration, which we will highlight in this article:
- Teamwork and collaboration increase team efficiency.
- When teams collaborate, clients often get more joined-up solutions for their business needs.
- Heard the saying, “Two good heads are better than one”? In the same vein, collaboration and teamwork lead to better overall client service.
- All work and no fun create boring workplaces; when teams collaborate, work becomes a more enjoyable experience.
- It is easier to learn from team members when collaboration occurs, and employee learning and growth are boosted by teamwork.
- Organisational goals are better achieved when concentrated efforts are made by team members.
- Different parts of an organisation are brought together to work when teams collaborate, reducing the silo impact.
How to improve collaboration and teamwork in Accountancy firms
Define the team’s purpose:
A team can be defined as a group of people with a common purpose. For a team to collaborate effectively, managers should ensure that team members are always clear on the purpose. One simple yet effective way to achieve this is to have regular team meetings where the team purpose is communicated or reiterated, as well as the “why” behind each of the tasks.
Promote the benefits:
Our primary way to align team efforts with a collective goal is to promote the benefits of collaboration and teamwork. When team members grasp the benefits, they are more likely to communicate better and actively participate in achieving business goals. As a stakeholder, you can learn how to communicate better from our article on workplace communication.
Lead by example:
When leaders actively practice collaboration, instead of merely talking about it, team members are much more likely to adopt these behaviours themselves, and this often leads to enhanced organisational success.
Make it easy:
Leading by example is a great start, and it’s also important to show how easy following the leaders’ example can be. Managers and partners can demonstrate this by collaborating visibly on projects, work initiatives, and social activities, as well as sitting in on the open plan.
Office-based days:
No doubt, remote work is here to stay, and technology has tried its best to ensure teams collaborate effectively while team members work from home. There’s still a place for physical human interaction, though. To optimise collaboration, managers should encourage team members to work some days in the office regularly, aligning with others at times to maximise face-to-face opportunities and impact.
Recognise team players:
Research indicates that 82% of employees feel elated when their efforts are recognised at work. To foster collaboration and teamwork, call out and recognise great examples of collaborators and teams, as well as to promote the benefits and achievements attached.
In summary, collaboration and teamwork are essential to organisational and individual success. But collaboration and teamwork don’t always happen by accident. We believe that the insights drawn in this article will help managers, as well as team members, to continually grow. Our Essential Skills Workshops for Finance Teams are also great tools you should consider if you’re looking for support in fostering your team’s collaborative spirit.
