TORONTO--(Marketwire - Nov 2, 2011) - ESI International, the world's leading project management learning company, today announced the findings of a new study conducted to determine how successful organizations are in eliminating barriers to team collaboration such as hierarchies, silos and the wrong combination of training. The survey was conducted among industry professionals from the commercial and government sectors throughout Canada from late August to early September.

The findings show that, while the majority of organizations value high-impact team collaboration, less than one out of three organizations actually provide the proper framework for it. As a result, the skill gap widens while business performance suffers. Almost 81 percent suggest that poor communication lies at the heart of cross-team collaboration failure.

The study's major findings determined that:

• the majority of organizations, in fact, do not work collaboratively, despite the value that they realize would come from better teamwork.
• rigid work structures exist within companies that keep people from working together.
• organizations are not investing in the right mix of skills training needed to improve collaboration on projects and initiatives.

While 65.5 percent of respondents believe that their organization's project performance would improve if their teams worked more collaboratively, only 27.8 percent actually do.
"Businesses and public sector organizations have a proven best practice in using collaborative teams to drive improved performance and attain numerous other benefits, but the study results show the majority aren't taking advantage of the approach," said Glenn R. Brûlé, CSM, CBAP^®, Executive Director of Global Client Solutions, ESI. "Organizations that continue to conduct business in silos will be left behind."

The study validates the increasing need for business skills such as leadership and critical thinking amongst organizations today. Further, it suggests best practices for building collaborative teams such as more autonomy within projects, tearing down organizational roadblocks and providing the right mix of business and technical skills. These efforts can lead to more collaboration, better project/initiative outcomes and, ultimately, higher overall business impact.

To download the full study, "Tearing Down the Walls Blocking Collaboration and Better Business Performance", please visit: [ www.esi-intl.ca/teamcollaborationstudy ].

Survey Methodology
ESI International conducted an online survey of eight close-ended questions to project management and business analysis directors, managers and staff, and other professionals in Canada involved with their organizations' projects. The survey respondents represented sectors including, among others, government (32.3%) financial services (18.4%), IT (18%) and telecommunications (5.6%). The survey was conducted from August 23 - September 6, 2011. The number of respondents who took the survey was 895. Not all respondents answered every survey question. The survey was anonymous unless respondents wanted to receive the results, in which case they had to complete their contact details.

About ESI International
ESI, a subsidiary of Informa plc (LSE: INF), helps people around the world improve the way they manage projects, contracts, requirements and vendors through innovative learning. In addition to ESI's more than 100 courses delivered in more than a dozen languages at hundreds of locations worldwide, ESI offers several certificate programs through our educational partner, The George Washington University in Washington. Founded in 1981, ESI has regional headquarters in Toronto and Washington. To date, ESI's programs have benefited more than 1.35 million professionals worldwide. For more information visit [ http://www.esi-intl.ca/ ].