{"id":941,"date":"2021-04-02T15:45:00","date_gmt":"2023-10-18T15:45:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/?p=941"},"modified":"2023-10-18T17:35:29","modified_gmt":"2023-10-18T17:35:29","slug":"3-ways-to-set-rules-when-collaborating-with-coworkers-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/ca\/blog\/3-ways-to-set-rules-when-collaborating-with-coworkers-2\/","title":{"rendered":"3 Ways To Set Rules When Collaborating With Coworkers"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

It almost sounds like a riddle: When people have to work together, the first thing they need to do is figure out what works. <\/p>\n

Whether employees are sitting next to each other or dialling in from home, in other words, nothing will get accomplished unless everyone is crystal clear on the expectations, the processes and the timelines of each project or task.<\/p>\n

Sounds like common sense, right? If only it were more common within companies. <\/p>\n

Though lots of businesses provide training to their employees on their HR policies, and the basic tools they\u2019ve given to do their jobs, they don\u2019t always think through the ideal approach to collaboration<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Instead, employees often develop habits or approaches that work well for them, not a group of other stakeholders. They might have common ways to format a document, for instance, a place they always store files and tools they prefer to share and edit content. <\/p>\n

The picture might look entirely different for others in the business, even if it\u2019s not a large business. Those individual approaches can work well, but when people have to begin sharing information and making decisions as a team<\/a>, problems can emerge. <\/p>\n

Sometimes these are innocent misunderstandings. A sales rep might let leads generated from sales pile up because they prefer to qualify or score them at the end of the day, or even the week. The marketing person might not know that, and wonder why their leads aren\u2019t being followed up. <\/p>\n

In other cases employees might steam ahead with a project or task because they don\u2019t want to take the time to collaborate. A marketing person could decide to go ahead with posting something on social media without running it by their manager or the company\u2019s owner first. This could lead to misinformation, errors or worse. <\/p>\n

Rather than allow these issues to get in the way of what you\u2019re trying to accomplish as a team, have a discussion early on so that everyone\u2019s on the same page. <\/p>\n

The advantage of working in a small and medium-sized business is that there may be fewer parties involved. But still:<\/p>\n

1. Determine who needs to know \u2014 or be consulted<\/h2>\n

Sometimes email and other forms of messaging can become overwhelming. People feel like they can\u2019t keep up with it all. The danger is that they tune out completely, or at least miss out on what\u2019s relevant for them. <\/p>\n

This often happens because people make assumptions about who should or shouldn\u2019t be involved in a project or task. Take a few tasks that crop up often in your business \u2014 such as purchasing equipment, creating a custom offer for a customer or producing a marketing asset \u2014and determine:<\/p>\n