Not all collaborators get their start in the same way. Some get hooked after they stumble across it while working on an exciting project; others react after a dose of FOMO. Whatever the case, the evidence is clear: everyone is increasingly aware that collaboration is a factor that no enterprise can afford to ignore. The range of benefits it brings indicates that no professional, thinking worker would dare hope for the best results by ignoring collaboration.

Sincere thanks to those who have suggested articles for this edition of Roadmender Recommends.

Collaboration Could Be Your Most Powerful Marketing Tool

In a business climate that is cutthroat at times, we’ve often found that collaboration is the secret to success. And, without wanting to sound like a children’s television show, working together has been an asset to strategic marketing for us at eLearning Mind (ELM), a business dedicated to revolutionizing learning and development (L&D). By aligning with like-minded brands for events, communication, and even media publications, any company can reap the benefits of teamwork across the corporate divide…READ ON

10 Workplace Trends You’ll See In 2016

Every year I give my top 10 workplace trend predictions for the upcoming year. You can read my predictions from 2013, 2014, and 2015 if you missed them. These trends are based on hundreds of conversations with human resource executives and workers, a series of national and global online surveys and secondary research from over a 100 different sources. The major economic and business themes over the past year have been focused on companies doing more with fewer resources, the skills gap and further advances in technology that have given rise to security issues, yet productivity and health increases… READ ON

Collaboration delivers savings and benefits

The Otago Regional Council is working collaboratively with other regional councils and organisations over many issues, including dam safety measures. A recently tabled ORC report notes that central government has been promoting greater use of collaboration and sharing of services, to ”encourage greater cost efficiency in local government”. The ORC worked with the territorial councils within and outside Otago on ”various projects and initiatives”, and the report highlights cost savings and many other benefits, including high-level information sharing. The report aimed to inform the council of the collaborative work that was being done with others…READ ON

Collaboration is key

In the complex world of public education, personal and political tensions sometimes arise. We know we’ve seen our fair share of tension over the last few years, whether it’s related to testing, Common Core, or some other issue, as well as an escalation of the “Us vs. Them” mentality….READ ON

Collaboration is king, but ‘healthy silos’ may still have their place

There is a keen awareness in the public sector that agencies can no longer exist as islands, but significant groundwork must be laid down before bridges of collaboration can be built. And it must be remembered that while silos get a bad rap, there remains value in demarcation. Building the bridges of collaboration stronger and wider means building trust and sharing power through inclusive governance structures, as well as developing mutual commitment to shared purposes. But mandarins find it hard to share power and it takes time and effort to build trust and a shared language with other tribes. It’s much easier to just pull your own exclusive levers…READ ON

How to become a Collaboration Consultant

In the workplace, people learn continuously as a result of working in their teams. The advent of social technologies brings huge benefits to a work team, including the facility to improve communication, enhance continuous learning and performance improvement and capture organisational knowledge. This is known as social collaboration…READ ON