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Many a company refers to its employees as a team, but not all are getting the name exactly right. The concept of a team is a group of people who are working together toward a common goal. This means a lot of collaboration, testing, measurement, adjustment and reward. Far too many companies are failing on the collaboration and reward side, making it difficult for everyone to work toward a common end.

When workforce optimization software is implemented as a way to inspire better collaboration and performance, however, the outcome is good for all involved. A recent Business2Community piece highlighted how creativity can flourish when employees are free of conformity. Companies tend to be hungry for engagement among their staff, and yet struggle to figure out how to achieve it.

The challenge to overcome is that too many companies practice talent management processes that actually support and enforce conformity, make mediocrity legitimate and failed attempts at innovative thinking are penalized. Deloitte (News - Alert) LLP discovered a way to change this standard into something better, forming smaller teams among their groups of employees and asked them to develop solutions to a wide range of business problems.

By developing these smaller teams, they were able to promote collaboration. Each team consisted of four members. This minimized the potential for free-riding and allowed for conflict resolution that was constructive and effective. And, teams could focus on any business problem they wanted to solve. Thinking that was original and challenged accepted wisdom in key areas, motivating team members to raise their level of contribution.

Still, the contest wasn’t designed as another task for work, or no one would be excited about participating. Instead, it was playful and gave participants the opportunity to engage and experiment. Plus, among the teams, the regular management hierarchy didn’t exist as reporting managers and supervisors were not included on the teams.

Companies implement workforce optimization software as a way to impact overall employee culture for the better and produce positive outcomes. The same is true for contests like these that encourage participation, creative thinking, problem solving, collaboration and rewards. For Deloitte, the process not only improved the team and reinforced the brand; it also gave the company the opportunity to recruit exceptional talent.

If you’re looking for a way to promote better engagement within your team environment, it may be time to shake it up a bit. Implementing workforce optimization software is a great start, but get fun with it and implement something that gives employees an opportunity to take ownership of creativity and improve outcomes overall.