As an employer, you’ve undoubtedly wondered how you could encourage your employees to work as a team. If your employees can learn to work as a team, their productivity will rise exponentially. A rise in productivity often leads to great profits, which is ultimately why you started your business in the first place. Here are five ways that you can encourage teamwork in your office.

1. Utilize File Sharing

Collaboration is an essential part of teamwork and it’s up to you to make it easier for your employees to work together. By utilizing a file sharing site, you can give your employees access to important information no matter the time of day, allow them to collaborate with each other virtually and make their task more enjoyable. File sharing allows your employees to collaborate and complete projects much more quickly than trying to schedule and attend frequent face-to-face meetings.

2. Join the Team

You may be the boss, but you’re still part of the team. If you lock yourself away in your office all day, you’ll never be able to encourage your employees to work together. Instead of sitting behind a closed door, get out on the floor and circulate. Find out if your employees need help with anything and encourage communication with yourself and among your workers.

3. Open Communication

Speaking of communication, make sure that your employees know that you are approachable. Let them know how you prefer to communicate: memos, phone calls, emails or even via video conference. If you keep the lines of communication open, your employees will feel valued and will trust that you are invested in their work. When employees feel valued, they are much more likely to work as part of a team.

4. Team-Building Exercises

You can find books and seminars filled with team-building exercises to utilize in your office. While your employees may be hesitant to take part in silly games, they’ll quickly warm up when they see how effective these activities can be. Spend time researching these activities and implement them at your staff meetings. You’ll soon find that they have a positive impact on the culture of your office.

5. Have Fun

One of the easiest ways to build a great team is to have fun at work. No one wants to come to work for eight or ten hours, sit behind a desk and feel as though they can’t crack a joke or cut up. As long as your employees are getting their work done, allow for a bit of fun and lightheartedness in the office. Employees that enjoy their jobs are more likely to socialize with each other and work as a team.

Teamwork is the key to any great office environment. If you are struggling to get your employees to work together, ask yourself what you could be doing wrong or what you could improve upon. Start utilizing team-building exercises, open the lines of communication and lead by example; you’ll soon hear the happy hum of co-workers collaborating with one another.

Sisily West writes for tech blogs where you can read about using computers to build team work.