In-School Productivity Campaign | Collaboration is an important driver of productivity

Collaboration is a function of people being able to loosen up on 'turf-holding' and capitalising upon the strengths and contribution of others. In a society that glorifies competition on all levels, it will take great humility to begin to relinquish our earned right to shine, for the greater good of team work.

It is often said that Jamaicans have not mastered the art of working together to achieve a common goal, but instead, have continually displayed a mentality of self-sufficiency and self-reliance, despite facing enormous challenges that could be circumvented had a more cooperative approach been taken.

The individualistic approach is referred to as the 'silo mentality' - defined by the Cambridge Dictionary as "... a part of a company, organisation, or system that does not communicate with, understand, or work well with other parts".

Though, as a country, we may struggle to streamline our business services, we have made strides in recognising that collaboration is important and have moved ahead into forging various public-private partnerships that have reaped benefits over the years.

Becoming all things to all men is yet an impossible task and so we at the Jamaica Productivity Centre recognise that in order for public and private businesses to be sustainable, they must begin to talk with each other, and work with each other, to accomplish similar mandates.

Also, from a micro-level perspective, organisations must develop a culture of intra-organisational collaboration to reduce the waste of resources and the duplication of work. Here are three ways to overcome the silence of the silo:

BEGIN AT THE TOP

'Silo-ing' within any organisation is usually as a result of inefficient and ineffective leadership. It is the responsibility of the company executives to identify the need for cross-functional work and to ensure that it is streamlined for accuracy and efficiency. Train the staff appropriately and ensure that the strategic objectives and operational plans do not support the overlapping of roles and responsibilities as this usually creates a tug of war for resources.

COMMUNICATE

Communication is understood to be one of the big drivers of productivity, but is often talked about rather than demonstrated. Create an environment of transparency through open communication so that all individuals and companies involved will be aware of what is expected and the limitations that exist. This will build a state of trust among the players and reduce antagonism as well as hostility, especially when expectations or perceptions do not corroborate with actual responsibilities and outcomes.

INCENTIVISE TEAMWORK

If workers can feel that they do not need to compete with each other to shine in the organisation, they will begin to appreciate teamwork. Reward work efforts by units or departments and reduce the individualist approach. Motivate the staff as a whole and give them reason to work together, to speak with each other, to utilise each other's strengths to accomplish tasks and projects. This will help them not to attempt to step on each other's necks in a bid to be recognised and rewarded for their personal accomplishments. Create an environment of equal opportunity.

- Sandrea Dennis Plummer is a communications specialist at The Jamaica Productivity Centre.