How to Optimize Team Collaboration and Boost Bottomline
How to Optimize Team Collaboration and Boost Bottomline Minal Joshi Jaeckli August 1, 2025 1. The Game Changer: Systematically Select Great People for YOU to Improve Team Collaboration and Boost Bottomline We’ve all encountered people who are difficult to work with and whom we try to steer clear of. And thankfully, we’ve also worked with great people. Those who help us get things done without any drama. Having these great people on board is good for your bottom line, targets, bottom line and peace of mind. And importantly, these are also the people you actually have fun working with. They play a big role in team collaboration and boost bottom-line success. Don’t you wish you had more of these people? Wouldn’t you love to be able to easily identify them in your organisation? And how much easier would your life be if you could figure that out before you hire, before you make an offer, instead of the usual 3 weeks after onboarding? 2. The Global Employee Engagement Opportunity and Its Impact on Team Collaboration and Boost Bottomline You are most likely familiar with the term employee engagement. Engagement is the emotional connection an employee feels toward the organization, and it greatly influences behavior and level of effort. The alarming fact for business leaders is that, according to Gallup, only 15% of employees are truly engaged around the world, costing us $7 trillion in productivity each year. Team collaboration and boosting bottomline results are directly affected by this lack of engagement. The US stands out at 33%, especially when you contrast that with the UK at 8%, Japan at 7%, and France at an unbelievable 3% (partially due to deep-rooted cultural dynamics at play here)… Considering such low single-digit numbers in developed countries, there is a lot of room for upside. Imagine what just a few percentage points increase could mean in global economic terms—or for your company. 3. The Measurable Benefits That Help Team Collaboration and Boost Bottomline Low employee engagement leads to high employee turnover. Disengaged employees—those who feel that they have a choice externally or internally—run away fast from an unhappy situation. Those who stay cost companies in terms of low productivity. And for those that leave, even a below average turnover of 10% (average is 13% in the US & Europe) is estimated to cost a 100-people organization $1.5 million… Here’s how you can estimate your turnover cost: COST OF TURNOVER = number of employees X turnover rate X average salary X 1.5 OR for the rough back-of-the-envelope estimate: COST OF TURNOVER = number of employees X 15,000 (*This assumes 1.5x the annual salary. Based on 2 methods: 1) According to Deloitte, the cost of losing an employee can range from tens of thousands to 1.5-2X the annual salary. And 2) the 1.5 years of cost to an organization, considering the 0.5 year (6 months) of employee disengagement prior to resigning while looking for another position + the 0.5 year (6 months) average time to fill the open position + the 0.5 year (6 months) average time to train the new hire.) FOR EXAMPLE: for a 100-person organization With 10% turnover (average turnover is 13%), With $100k average annual salary You get: COST OF TURNOVER = 100 X 10% X $100,000 X 1.5 = $1,500,000 This cost includes: errors & poor customer service during short-timer syndrome severance or bonus packages productivity loss during vacancy Loss of engagement from other employees Cost of hiring a replacement training & onboarding cost Even worse than seeing the magnitude of your past turnover cost is realising that at any given time—such as now—there are plenty of disengaged people who are on your team and on your payroll. The great news is that you can do something about it today—and in doing so, enhance team collaboration and boost bottomline outcomes. 4. The Drivers of Employee Engagement That Influence Team Collaboration and Boost Bottomline The drivers of employee engagement are clear. To quote Gallup, “Employees are more likely to be engaged if their basic human needs are met.” 5. Our “Basic Human Needs”—A “Core of Team Collaboration and Boost Bottomline There are several frameworks for understanding our basic human needs. You might be familiar with Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, Tony Robbins’ 6 Human Needs, Tony Hsieh’s Happiness Framework, Ikigai (Japanese for “a reason for being”), or even others. But while there are several frameworks, they all include the following four needs: safety, growth, connection, and meaning. Google confirmed this exact finding empirically with “Project Aristotle.” Google studied 180 teams, conducted 200+ interviews, and analyzed over 250 different team attributes to understand what successful teams have in common. The top four most important attributes are the SAME as our basic human needs! Of these four, the need for connection with the manager is the No.1 driver of employee engagement, and in fact, the No. 1 reason people quit their job is their dissatisfaction with their relationship with their direct boss. The relationship with the direct boss is SO important that engagement can vary by up to 70% from manager to manager in the same organization. While most people don’t know these statistics, everyone knows the tremendous impact of the manager from their own experience, and the strong influence on team collaboration and boost bottomline potential. 6. The Demand for Meeting Our Basic Human Needs is Increasing to Strengthen Team Collaboration and Boost Bottomline There are TWO reasons why the demand for meeting the four basic human needs at work is increasing. And it will keep increasing as we continue to have improved quality of life on a global scale, with individuals having more possibilities to bring their talents and more freedom to choose where they give their energy. The type of work required of employees has changed The work required of employees has changed from a demand for skilled work (e.g., blacksmiths, carpenters) to unskilled work focused on meeting efficiency quotas (e.g., production line workers) to the ever-increasing demand for innovation, creativity,
