- Collaborative skills are shaped by doing, not just discussing
- Trust and teamwork grow when people solve problems side by side
- Better outcomes follow when collaboration is deliberate and embedded
Building stronger team collaboration through business simulations
For L&D managers turning siloed teams into ones that decide and deliver togetherFrom working together to thriving together
Great teamwork doesn't just happen - it's built through understanding, communication, and shared purpose. For L&D managers comparing collaboration training options, the strongest results come from practising real decisions together, not from a workshop about collaboration. When people collaborate well, they make better decisions, support each other's efforts, and adapt more effectively to change.
Why collaboration is critical in today's workplace
"If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together." – African proverb
In today’s complex and interconnected world, collaboration is no longer optional - it’s essential. People need to work together effectively to deliver value, across teams, departments, or time zones. Yet many organisations still face barriers that limit true collaboration, leading to frustration, misalignment, and lost productivity.
- 42% of the average working day is spent collaborating with others
Source: Gensler Global Workplace Survey - Highly engaged teams are 21% more profitable
Source: Gallup - 64% of employees lose at least three hours of productivity a week due to poor collaboration
Source: Alludo State of Collaboration Report
Practise real collaboration in a risk-free setting
Business simulations offer a unique way to develop collaborative skills through experience. In Consortium, teams from rival businesses must cooperate to deliver a shared project while protecting their own interests. In Compete, teams balance rivalry and cooperation while crafting strategy and pricing. The same collaborative pressure runs through Cruise, where a team runs a cruise ship together, and Dilemma, where teams navigate shared business dilemmas. Participants work together to solve complex challenges, reflect on outcomes, and adjust their approach, all within a safe environment that encourages experimentation and learning.
- Realistic scenarios that bring collaborative dynamics into focus
- Structured learning that encourages dialogue, feedback, and teamwork
- A space where it's safe to try, fail, learn, and improve
Collaboration capabilities developed through simulation
- Aligning team goals and understanding your shared purpose, navigating collaboration and competition
- Strengthening negotiation and relationship-building skills
- Managing identity, reputation, and influence in group settings
- Applying collaboration models and frameworks effectively, assessing quality and impact
Why organisations invest in collaboration simulations
These hands-on experiences go far beyond theory. They help participants see how their behaviours influence others, develop mutual understanding, and build habits that lead to better teamwork. It’s not about being told how to collaborate — it’s about discovering what works.
It was powerful to see collaboration in action — testing decisions, seeing the outcomes, and learning from them in real time.
Louisa Hogarty, Group HR Director, Noble Foods
The facilitators delivered key lessons with clarity and energy — their approach really brought our coaching objectives to life.
Billy Glennon, Coach at St Judes Gaelic Football & Hurling Club
A rich, energising experience that not only received enthusiastic feedback, but led directly to behavioural change and results across the organisation.
Craig Thielen, Global Head, Expleo Business Agility
Team collaboration training: your questions answered
What is team collaboration training?
Team collaboration training builds the skills that let people from different roles, functions, or departments work well together: shared purpose, trust, communication, and the ability to make decisions jointly rather than in silos. Our business simulations deliver this as a learning intervention rather than a lecture, putting a team through a realistic scenario where collaboration has a visible, measurable outcome.
How does a business simulation build collaboration skills?
Participants work in teams through a live, in-person or virtual scenario facilitated by our experts, making real decisions with real consequences. Because the pressure is genuine, so is the collaboration: teams have to align on goals, share information honestly, and resolve disagreement to succeed. The debrief afterwards turns those moments into lasting learning that transfers back to the workplace.
How is this different from typical team building?
A typical team-building day is enjoyable but rarely changes how a team works together once it is back at its desks. A business simulation is challenging as well as enjoyable: it puts the team's actual working patterns, including its silos and its blind spots, on full display, in a setting where it is psychologically safe to fail, learn, and try again.
Which simulation should we choose for collaboration?
It depends on the collaboration challenge you are addressing. Consortium is built specifically around cooperating with rivals to deliver a shared project. Compete and Dilemma test collaboration alongside strategic and financial decision-making, and Cruise applies it to running a complex operation as one team. Tell us about your teams and we will help you choose.