From the design stage to completion, collaboration across the construction industry must be a central focus on every project. When communication and collaboration is strong, team members pool their experience for effective results – all while improving their own skills along the way. On the individual level, effective collaboration can also help you achieve your long-term goals and potentially help you build skills to achieve high-level positions.

Here are three clear ways that collaboration can help improve your work on the jobsite.

Time efficiency and task effectiveness

Collaboration on a project or task can help alleviate either the physical strain or the time needed to complete a task: as the old saying goes, two hands are better than one. Instead of taking on the pressure of a job by yourself, always make sure to ask for or offer help when and where it is needed. The main goal is the finished project – and by working together, you can ensure it is done effectively and efficiently.

Improving skills

Sharing your construction knowledge with other people, and in turn listening to their experiences, can help you build the skills needed to succeed on the jobsite. Your colleagues may approach the same task with a different strategic approach, for example. And by collaborating, you can continue to learn and develop new methods of your own.

Team building

Learning to collaborate and learn from your fellow workers can help you to develop team-building skills for high-level positions. In the construction industry, building a reliable team is one of the most important skills you can have: according to an Autodesk and FMI report, almost half of all rework is rooted in poor communication among project stakeholders and poor project information. In other words, clear and consistent communication doesn’t just help you make new connections – it also helps deliver projects on-time and on-budget.

It is important to remember that in the wake of COVID-19, you or your peers might feel uncomfortable with working closely to individuals. Although there are currently no state-mandated ordinances for social distancing or wearing a mask, always be sure to communicate with workers on the job site about boundaries.