With a new generation comes a new world – a distinctive compilation of tastes, fads, and preferences that play out in the workplace. By 2020, Millennials will make up 50 percent of the workforce, and their preference for a collaborative work environment will change the nature of the work place.

In fact, 88 percent of Millennials prefer a collaborative environment over a competitive one. What exactly defines this style of working? Modern-day collaboration involves team workspaces, project management, group chat, social intranets, and video conferencing. Fortunately, this new technologically savvy approach to the business day works for organizations looking to improve their productivity and communication.

There has been a fairly established flow of management in the business world, especially in corporate America. The boss makes the rules and decisions that trickle down to the subordinate team members that make it happen. Whether or not everyone agreed with the final call, it was still executed throughout the chain of command without much discussion. This is very different from the collaborative model.

Regardless of physical location, people from all over the world can come together to work on a project. Each person that comes to this virtual boardroom has completely unique skills, background, knowledge base, connections, and most importantly, a different perspective. The following benefits result from a collaborative environment:

Efficiency: Two minds are better than one, so imagine if you have twenty. Yes, the conference may take much longer to give everyone a turn on the stage, but think about how much time is saved in the long-run than if you individually approach these twenty people with a single idea. Suddenly, the one big great idea comes into focus much more quickly – with a lot more champions behind it.

Inspiration: Again, with more minds and more stories, the well of inspiration runs deep. A quick comment from a colleague can be the match you need to light the fire of a campaign that will soar.

Loyalty: When you are in the concept trenches with your colleagues, amazing bonds can form. You become invested in the ideas and the people, deepening the team connection and loyalty to the organization.

In her “Why Collaboration Wins Over Competition” Inc. magazine article, Laura Montini looks more closely at this emerging market and includes one especially powerful statistic comparison.

The collaboration market was $21.7B in 2014 – a figure that is projected to jump to a staggering $33.8B in 2018. By 2018, it’s projected that 35% of collaboration services will be delivered via the cloud. To add context, 85% of North American users across organizational levels will connect with peers utilizing video technology.

In this equal footing kind of environment, the idea of one set leader becomes pretty outdated since all members in the meeting are collaborating with each other. According to this article, the collaborative working environment can boost innovation and creativity by about 35%. Not to mention slicing the lead-time for multiple approval levels and getting products to market faster.

Instead of having lengthy meetings in the office, or flying employees in from all parts of the country to discuss an agenda item, see if you can bring the collaborative working environment into the seams of your organization. If you think employees may have hesitation on this new working style, let these statistics lead the way to a new and improved way to do business.

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References:
http://www.inc.com/laura-montini/infographic/how-teams-drive-innovation-productivity-and-growth.html