Top 10 Tips for successful Collaboration & Collaboration Platforms

OVERVIEW (Continuum of Collaboration/Involvement)

Collaboration is a human activity which takes place as part of the human systems in an organization. The culture and behaviors in an origination impact on the level of, and benefits of collaboration. The use of social media and collaboration platforms provide individuals and groups with tools to accelerate collaboration. To release the talent within an organization and its interfaces with the external world, enhancing collaboration and changing the way we work is essential.

Leadership (Integrated): Team & Community is empowered and resourced to source and engage any resource human or otherwise, to research and identify/solve problems, or to research and identify/generate opportunities (self-directed)

Advantage (Collaborative): The team is directly responsible for all aspects of problem solving, and solution implementation. The team addresses problems related to the performance of their work, as well as competitive, organizational and customer related issues.

Competitive (Cooperative): Individuals and teams take responsibility for all aspects of problem solving in their work area , leveraging both formal and informal channels of communication, and implement solutions to those problems.

Operational (Coordinated): Individuals and Groups identify problems they encounter and make recommendations on solutions leveraging formal or recognized lines of communication.

Comfort (Communicate): Individuals and Groups follow rigid process and/or custom and practice guided by a leadership group who are facilitating improved collaboration and ways of working for their work.

Critical (Coexist): Individuals and Teams identify problems in their work area and communicate to management, whose responsibility is to develop solutions and take action to resolve the problems.

Crash (Indifferent): Individuals and teams wait to be stimulated into action and tightly directed in that action while the need for change an improvement is being shared.

TOP TEN CRITICAL SUCCESS FACTORS FOR COLLABORATION

Based on research and experience we outline the top 10 critical success factors (In no order of priority as the maturity of each organization will require different priorities)

1. Training & Awareness: Enabling stakeholders to participate in the change and accelerate organization collaboration requires training and development for individuals and groups both interpersonal & on the tools.

2. Select Integrated Platform: In choosing tools to enable collaboration whether they are public domain social media, or a dedicated organization platform make sure it supports and integrates with the culture as well as the current technology and tool sets.

3. Dedicated Leadership & Facilitation: A critical success factor is that the leaders “walk the talk”, a senior executive is accountable and most importantly there are new roles required to facilitate, mediate and support users in getting the best from the system as well as the normal technology support.

4. Pilot & Proof of Concept: Validate the program plan, cultural change goals and the technology. Create early success and implement the priority features.

5. Publicize and Reward: Where core outcomes are being realized.

6. Link to Business Goals: It’s important that any collaboration program has a business case connected to the organizations KPI’s. If innovation is the goal revenue from new products may be a KPI.

7. Identify Program KPI’s: there are program KPI’s that measure more directly the impact of collaboration interventions. Collaboration outcomes such as No of new products, reduced cycle times etc. or collaboration process No. of active communities, no of information entries etc.

8. Understand current collaboration maturity: Allows focus on interventions and program activities to match organizations learning level/Maturity.

9. Create an OD change program enabled by IT: This is a change management exercise with huge potential benefits and we know changing people’s behaviors and the way they work need careful facilitation

10. Make collaboration a core cultural value: a central behavior and” way we work” value that is rewarded.

COLLABORATION MATURITY INDEX

The Collaboration Maturity Index is a specific Maturity Reference Model based on The Organisation Capability Maturity Framework (OrgCMF™) and underpinned by Dynamic Systems Maturity Theory (DSMT). It is specifically designed to support organisations’ identify all aspects of their Collaboration Maturity Levels & Culture and provide guidance on how to build and improve an organisations performance through improved Collaboration Maturity while leveraging existing and emerging Digital Technology and Social Collaboration Platforms.

There are 4 key organisation Dynamics (forces which influence collaboration maturity) and 20 underpinning Constructs (Building Blocks) which can be scientifically measured for their maturity levels and each has a roadmap to build their maturity towards ‘Leadership’ levels of maturity.

Interpersonal Dynamic

• Trust (Construct):- the willingness of one party (trustor) to rely on the actions of another party (trustee);

• Sharing of Aims:- common goals between individuals and groups

• Collective Responsibility: - The concept of the level of willingness that individuals and groups will be held responsible for the actions of others with who they engage.

• Competence Confidence: - The confidence and individual and/or group have in the competence of others they engage with.

• Culture: - The values, norms, style and behaviors that exists in an organization at an individual and group level.

Organization Dynamic

• Management Involvement: - the level of engagement of managers and leaders with individuals and groups and the type of engagement.

• Self-Organization:- the level which individuals and groups determine, plan and execute activities based on their own interaction without the involvement of management.

• Communications: - the level, style, media, language and messaging that occurs in the organization between individuals and groups, including the enablers and barriers.

• Boundaries: - the definition and articulation of task, procedure and relationships that individuals and groups must conform to.

• Business Process: - The level by which business processes within and across work activities and functions are understood, adapted, and conformed to.

Work Dynamic

• Autonomy: - The capacity of individuals and groups to make informed un-coerced decisions which they take responsibility for.

• Feedback: - The capacity of individuals and teams to give and receive negative, and positive feedback both constructive and destructive.

• Goals: - The level and quality of individual and group goals implicit and explicit.

• Motivation: - the relative level of intrinsic and extrinsic incentive or disincentive to take action by individuals or groups.

• Attitude to social media:- the extent to which individuals and groups engage with new collaborative technologies

Customer Dynamic

• Results: - The extent to which the internal/external customers believe that individuals and/or groups have met or exceeded their commitments.

• Engagement: - The level to which individuals and/or groups (internal/External customers) trust and depend on each other.

• Connectivity: - The level to which individuals and/or groups (internal/External customers) have integrated interactions, behaviors and outcomes.

• Satisfaction: - The level to which individuals and/or groups (internal/External customers) fulfill the wishes, needs and expectations of each other and the pleasure or dis pleasure derived and articulated.

• Communities: - the level and inertia that exists between individuals and groups internally and externally to form and activate communities.

To request more information on the Collaboration Maturity Index email collaboration@orgcmf.com.

To request a Collaboration Maturity Assessment Click Here and complete the short form.