Types of Collaborative Working
1. Team Collaboration
This is one of the most common types of business collaboration in the workplace. In this version, all the members of the group know each other. Each person knows what their role on the team involves and how it impacts other team members. There are set deadlines to get tasks done within a set time to reach the team’s goals.
With this type of collaboration, there is often a team leader who is in charge of supervising the other team members. The team members collaborate on an equal basis to complete their tasks. Once the tasks are completed as set out at the beginning of the project, the entire team generally receives equal recognition for reaching the stated goal.
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2. Community Collaboration
In a community collaboration, the participants share an interest. The goal is often to share knowledge and learn, as opposed to completing a task together. Community members may share concerns by asking questions and getting advice. Upon receiving the advice, the members return to their offices and share it with their teams. This practice is an ongoing one.
In this type of business collaboration model, members may be at the same level. However, experienced members of the group may have more status with junior members. Group members are expected to help each other out, but there is not necessarily a one-to-one reciprocation of advice between members. The idea is that eventually all members of the group benefit from their association with each other.
3. Network Collaboration
Network collaboration differs from the types of business collaboration listed above. It starts with individual people taking action in their own self-interest. They start contributing to the network to make themselves and their area of expertise known to other members. Probably everyone in the network doesn’t know each other. They rely on referrals to find out who they should be collaborating with among network members.
Social media tools are an example of network collaboration where the network members collaborate virtually without necessarily knowing each other personally. Members may post links to websites they find helpful using a social bookmarking tool. This information may be helpful to network members who are looking for information on the same topic. As that team works on the topic, they can post links to helpful websites for other network members who may need them later.
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4. Cloud Collaboration
A list of the different types of collaboration tools would be incomplete without mentioning cloud collaboration. This method of collaboration allows more than one user to access, read, and edit documents in real-time. With documents stored in the cloud, all users with access see the latest version and can see the changes as they are being made.
Cloud collaboration can be used in organizations where teams are expected to collaborate remotely, such as a company with one or more satellite offices. Remote employees working on the same documents can share them easily without having to worry about whether they are looking at the latest version.
The cloud is an especially effective method to use for large files. E-mail servers are only meant to handle documents a few MB in size. Once an attachment gets larger than that, the e-mail program will refuse to send. A cloud-based collaboration tool doesn’t have the same limitations and can accept these large files for transfer.
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5. Video Collaboration
Video collaboration is one of the most common types of online collaboration tools being used today. Cloud-based services like Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace have virtual conference rooms where meetings are held. Guests are given invitations to join the meeting using their desktop or laptop computers. They can also join the meeting using a mobile device. Most cloud-based services offer guests the option of joining the call through their web browser; there is no requirement to download software.
Participants in a video collaboration can be located in the same office, across the street, in a different region, or halfway around the globe. Team members can talk in real-time, view the same computer screen as a colleague, and ask questions by phone, chat, or through a specialized headset.
6. Internal Collaboration
Internal collaboration can include several types of collaborative strategies, depending on what your medium or large-sized business wants to accomplish.
Discussion forums (or bulletin boards, as they are sometimes known) have been used for some time. They are still an effective way to share ideas about a particular topic. The disadvantage with forums is that they can be challenging to search when a participant is looking for specific information.
Microblogging can be an effective strategy for sharing messages within the company. This can be compared to using Twitter internally. It is not meant for complicated discussions but should be reserved for brief messages. Team members can start and participate in discussions by making their points quickly.
A wiki can be developed to manage information within the company. Multiple participants can contribute to the articles and keep them updated. This type of server program will likely need someone to ensure that the information is accurate.
Look here for a list of the best internal communication tools
7. External Collaboration
When you think about types of collaboration spaces, don’t forget about external collaboration. This term covers knowledge sharing that occurs outside the company. An example of external collaboration is the interaction between a brand and its presence on social media. The brand is collaborating with social media users when it asks for opinions and feedback using quizzes or discussions. The answers are analyzed and ultimately used to decide whether the brand is interacting well with its audience or if it needs to tweak its message.
A blog is a way for your company to have a “face.” Customers may find it easier to ask questions and make comments in that space than to contact the company head office directly. These questions and comments are powerful. Make note of what people are saying and apply the messages when you can. Customers are sharing what they think, what they want, and how your company can keep their business.
8. Strategic Alliance
A strategic alliance is a common form of collaboration between companies. These agreements are commonly between two or three businesses in which they agree to combine their efforts and resources temporarily to reach certain goals.
These types of business strategies can work out quite well. The companies involved in the strategic alliance will each bring something to the table that the other ones lack. For example, a company may be looking for help in reaching new markets or with customer service. In that instance, it will look for a company with expertise those areas.
Companies that can manage these types of relationships successfully will be considered “partners of choice” by more companies looking to develop similar relationships in business. With all good relationships, it is important to establish clear goals, practice good communication skills, and be respectful of others. The best strategic alliance partners also invest in the necessary personnel, tools, and processes to reach the stated goals.
