How to Make Workplace Collaboration Suck Less (and Actually Work)
Collaboration is a fancy word for “trying to get Steve from Accounting to answer an email before the fiscal year ends.” Everyone says they want more of it, but most of the time it’s like planning a group vacation—too many opinions, nobody agrees on the Airbnb, and someone inevitably forgets the sunscreen.
At Towner, we’ve sat front row to the chaos (and occasionally refereed it). The good news? Collaboration doesn’t have to feel like a corporate trust exercise gone wrong. With the right mix of clarity, tools, and actual recognition, teams can stop tripping over each other and start building something that works.
1. Set Clear Goals (But Skip the Soul-Crushing OKRs)
You know what kills collaboration faster than a “Reply All”? Vague goals. If your team doesn’t know where the finish line is, they’ll wander around like it’s a corporate escape room with no exit.
Instead, be weirdly specific. At Towner, we work with clients to define outcomes that don’t require a decoder ring. And it’s not just us saying it—Gallup found that engaged teams (driven by clarity and expectations) see 23% higher profitability and up to 51% lower turnover. That’s more than a good feeling; that’s math.
2. Build Trust (Without the Ropes Course)
Trust isn’t built by falling backward into a coworker’s arms at a mandatory retreat. It’s built when people show up, do the thing they said they’d do, and don’t ghost you mid-project.
Gallup puts it plainly: high-performing teams are characterized by high levels of trust. We’ve seen hybrid teams thrive simply because they practice radical reliability. Turns out, it’s not rocket science—it’s just being dependable.
3. Use Tools to Strengthen Workplace Collaboration
Stop emailing spreadsheets named final-FINAL-v7.xlsx. Please. We beg you.
Collaboration tools are supposed to make life easier, but the reality is app sprawl. By 2021, 80% of workers were using collaboration tools (up 44% from 2019), and almost half report irrelevant notifications—classic digital friction.
And if you’ve ever lost half a day hunting down a doc, you’re not alone. McKinsey estimates knowledge workers spend ~20% of their week just searching for information. That’s a full workday gone. We help clients kill that wasted time with unified tools like Microsoft Teams and Elevate, so “Where’s that file?” stops being a department-wide sport.
4. Recognize Contributions (Not Just With Sad Pizza Parties)
If your recognition strategy is “Friday pizza and a Slack shoutout,” congratulations—you’ve hit the bare minimum.
Recognition done right is retention strategy. In a longitudinal study of 3,447 employees, high-quality recognition reduced voluntary turnover by 45%. And across massive datasets, highly engaged teams show 78% less absenteeism.
Translation: “thank you” isn’t just good manners—it’s ROI. Bonus points if it doesn’t involve lukewarm Little Caesars.
5. Encourage Cross-Functional Projects (When Marketing Actually Talks to IT)
Here’s a secret: innovation doesn’t happen when everyone in the same department keeps recycling the same ideas. It happens when Marketing finally talks to IT… and maybe even invites HR to the party.
The messy hybrid years proved it: productivity depends less on where work happens and more on how it flows across functions. We help clients break down silos with tools that make conversations feel less like carrier pigeons and more like teamwork.
6. Provide Training That Doesn’t Feel Like Detention
If you roll out new tools and say, “Good luck,” you’re not fostering collaboration—you’re starting a Darwinian survival test.
And the data backs it: only 44% of managers receive formal management training, and manager engagement dipped to 27% in 2024. Training and frequent, meaningful conversations are what keep teams engaged. At Towner, we deliver enablement that feels empowering instead of detention with a login screen.
7. Measure Success (With More Than Just Good Vibes)
Collaboration isn’t a “trust your gut” thing—it’s measurable. Look at KPIs like project turnaround time, employee engagement scores, or client response times.
Gallup’s meta-analysis shows engaged teams deliver 18% higher productivity, 23% higher profitability, and 10% more customer loyalty. Those aren’t “good vibes”—those are hard outcomes.
We coach teams to track what actually matters. Because “I think it’s going well” isn’t a strategy—it’s denial.
Workplace collaboration doesn’t have to feel like juggling flaming chainsaws on Zoom. With clear goals, dependable people, the right tools, and actual recognition, your team can move from chaotic energy to productive synergy.
At Towner, we don’t just talk about collaboration—we live it. We’ve helped hybrid teams across Missouri, Kansas, and the broader Midwest find their rhythm without adding yet another app to the pile. And if we can make collaboration work across time zones, personalities, and that one guy who still uses Internet Explorer… we can help your team too.
