Why collaboration is the key to success

I often get asked what I believe is fundamental to success in business. We all know that investing in the right team and arming them with the right tools and support to get the job done are essential, but there’s another aspect of business that I believe plays a bigger part in the overall productivity and success of a business... and that’s collaboration.

We started Motionlab twelve years ago and as we outgrew our original premises, we made a conscious decision to move to a new building that was not only bigger, but that was open plan.

The open plan layout allows us to deliver campaigns in a fully agile way. Our PPC managers sit alongside our SEO, content, social and email teams, our creative team sit alongside our software and web development teams. Heads of department have full view of a client’s campaign across all of these channels. It allows us to be proactive and reactive at the same time.

By segregating your staff, you can create extra barriers for internal communication and deter knowledge sharing and collaboration across the teams. The open plan environment allows for free flowing communication. We have breakout rooms, but these are used by various members from across all of the teams. There’s no whispering behind closed doors, we operate in a transparent way which means staff know what is happening across the business.

Lastly, it’s more fun. I don’t want me or any of the directors to be siloed off from the heart of the agency. I absolutely thrive off the team we’ve built at Motionlab. I sit in the thick of it and this means that I can learn and take inspiration from the team around me, as well as offering my knowledge and experience where needed. I can also keep a close eye on the overall output of the agency - this insight means that I can speak to each and every client about the latest campaigns that we are delivering for them. Open plan and collaboration have been fundamental to Motionlab’s success.