Teambuilding and operation of work teams

TEAM OPERATION: This article will talk about the creation and operation of work teams and the concept of teambuilding as a strategic and necessary function of teamwork.

1. Objective

The goal of teamwork techniques (teambuildin g) can be one, several, or all of the following:

Develop the culture of the organization in which teams must operate Decide on the composition of specific teams by hiring and managing the people who form them to ensure an appropriate mix of skills and experience Work with a team to improve trust levels, cooperation and understanding regarding the tasks to be carried out.

2. Global description

Teams can be distinguished from groups, commissions, departments or individuals by observing the following aspects:

The way of making decisions and taking actions Where the loyalty of the group is directed Responsibilities, commitments, who owns the problems, etc.

Teams are expected or required to display independence and self-control. The work activities of the teams can be planned by a management department or they can be planned autonomously by the teams themselves. Teamwork recognizes that bureaucracy can "hamper" individual initiative and become ineffective, especially during periods of uncertain or rapid change.

Team-building techniques aren't just used to build more effective project teams. They are also useful in helping role-structure organizations become more effective, encourage cross-functional work, and establish business process thinking.

Although military operations in peacetime are always organized in a bureaucratic way, at certain levels and at certain times (that is, in wartime), some small groups must function as autonomous teams. Similarly, business organizations typically work according to a command and control hierarchy, but in reality there is an informal organizational structure that helps perform certain jobs that do not have formal representation. There are special types of teams for specific types of situations (for example, specific teams or negotiating teams, quality teams, process improvement teams, innovation teams). These types of teams change the way the organization works. Other types of equipment (for example, maintenance equipment,autonomous workgroups) solve problems and perform tasks that help the organization complete its day-to-day operations.

Team operating techniques are related to good management at all levels. Obviously they will be the responsibility of the "human resources managers" (in organizations that use this type of term), although it is a diffuse responsibility.

Teamwork is very relevant to technology management, as the design of technology systems is crucial to how people will use them. Likewise, it is relevant for technology management because it relates to the way the organization exploits the knowledge base ("technology") and how it develops strategically, in short, with how the organization "learns".

The composition of teams is often decided by analyzing the professional capacities of the people (skills, knowledge, qualifications, experience) and understanding the needs of the project and the tasks to be carried out. More and more companies, especially as businesses are based on knowledge, whose technology is imbued within the composition of their teams and in the structure of the activities assigned to them. Many managers believe that team building can be organized simply by training individual individuals. In this sense, although training techniques such as role playing, simulation or other activities can be used,It should be clear that team building is an ongoing activity that goes beyond the simple decision to send a series of people to a course. No method of team operation guarantees success. Furthermore, circumstances change enormously, over time, from one company to another and from one situation to another. Perhaps a practical first step in deciding the best way to build teams is to understand:

Why it would be desirable Why it doesn't exist yet What kind of equipment is needed

It is important to develop the right competence for future teams. If the formation of a team has been a success, then you have to keep the group work. Analogies with other situations may also be helpful, for example, thinking of an ambulance crew, a fire brigade, an airplane crew, a racing yacht, a dentist and their support staff, a group of industrial designers, or the team assembling an engine. Taking into account the design requirements of these teams, questions arise that can help improve the formation of a team in the personal situation of each one, such as: is there a leader? Can all members of the team do all the jobs? team or is the combination of competencies important? Should all members receive the same consideration?

Are some members only needed once in a while? In Europe, especially comparatively

With Japan, it has been culturally difficult for managers or engineers to admit openly and within a team what they did not know, and yet it is imperative for the success of concurrent engineering.

In general, teams have enough autonomy to decide the best way to organize work based on the skills of team members, but they often have no control over what work is to be done. When the team is organized for an R&D or innovation project, these criteria are sometimes relaxed a bit. In this type of equipment there may be a combination of routine and non-routine tasks. Entrepreneurial behaviors may need to be encouraged within these groups, and allowing the team to operate with a certain level of 'underground' may be one method of encouraging them. "Democratic" processes can be put in place regarding project completion and selection of future projects, as perhaps only the team knows enough to make such decisions.This leads to the use of the "learning organization" philosophy. Within this approach, the way new information is received and used (used by the team) is systematically analyzed so that the team can learn to be more effective. Before the 'learning organization' approach was so widespread, these behaviors and processes were studied and explained using concepts such as guardian of technology and champion of product or champion of innovation.Before the 'learning organization' approach was so widespread, these behaviors and processes were studied and explained using concepts such as guardian of technology and champion of product or champion of innovation.Before the 'learning organization' approach was so widespread, these behaviors and processes were studied and explained using concepts such as guardian of technology and champion of product or champion of innovation.

3. Specific techniques

The following team classification can help managers understand how and why you need to form a team. They may be:

Fixed stable teams Spontaneous teams Project teams Frequently changing teams Dispersed work groups Problem solving teams Quality improvement teams

Communication systems will have to be considered and with it the implications of IT. The architecture of buildings is important, but the relationship between architecture and creative work is not yet fully understood. It may seem that teleworking and flexible hours, and the needs that many people have to work alone, or away from the company (for example, supporting the client) make it more difficult to achieve and maintain teamwork, but paradoxically this can also facilitate teamwork. In recent years, the needs that dispersed teams may present in relation to fax, telephone, email and videoconferencing have been studied. It is generally believed that high-performance teams need relationships with greater frequency and intensity,and that they will use a greater variety of systems to help them do so. Therefore, in practice they use a larger and more varied combination of fax, telephone, email and video conferencing.

Creative techniques such as brainstorming, and design methods such as QFD can be used as catalysts to facilitate teamwork. Psychometrics can be helpful (for hiring, career planning, making promotion decisions, etc.).

There are other methods of team building:

Careful selection and hiring of team members Pay attention to the roles of different people Pay attention to the incentive system Work design and rotation Avoid conflict between teams with members of various functions and functional departments.The learning of actions. The courses with outdoor activities. The structuring of the experience that people have in projects.

The following factors also need to be addressed:

Advise on the overall balance of teams and suggest how responsibilities can be distributed Provide people with guidelines and orientations appropriate to their work style and personality Self-knowledge, report on how the rest of the team sees each member of the team Assigning jobs, helping make job assignment decisions, reducing the chances of choosing people who don't fit in, and informing team members about the upcoming project and possible expectations and proposals Assessment, discovering special behavioral talents. Train managers, increase managers' understanding of different human behaviors in the workplace. Career development, find the jobs that best suit a person.

4. Benefits

Teamwork helps create an effective organization based on cooperation between employees. The contemporary management philosophy that promotes the values of teamwork is based on the recognition of the need for quality, reliability, flexibility and responsiveness to at all levels, but especially in ensuring that the organization offers a satisfactory service to its customers The need for businesses to innovate faster and with greater reliability (and therefore their need to work in networks) has increased the need for work as a team in organizations. Teamwork is especially beneficial for activities that take place in various locations where it is desirable to apply concurrent engineering techniques.Design a business according to its processes,Rather than depending on functional specialization, it is fundamentally dependent on a teamwork culture in place. Some managers have chosen to form teams to reduce absenteeism, illness, or staff turnover.

5. Resources and implications for business functions

Teamwork must become part of the culture of the organization. It can be promoted as a matter of policy by an experienced leadership and can be implemented at the functional or department level. Obviously, when there is a human resources manager, it is their responsibility to explain, facilitate and support teamwork. Teams are necessary at all levels of an organization. The more a company is based on hierarchy or functions, the more desirable it is to form teams, but it is also more difficult to implement them. Managers can first consider whether other approaches are needed before they can form a team: business process engineering, networking, interface management, etc.Teamwork is of special relevance but particularly difficult when it is used to integrate people from different areas of the organization, such as marketing, production and R&D.

Teaming is not done just to create more effective project teams. Teaming is also used to help role-based organizations act more effectively, encourage cross-functional work, and elicit process business thinking.

6. Beware of…

There may be managers who wish to encourage team functioning in order to hide shortcomings in other areas. They may attempt to blame individual employees, or employees collectively, for the poor performance of a project or business or for poor functional integration. They may see teamwork primarily as a method of reducing absenteeism levels, ill staff turnover. But perhaps they should first study why such problems exist in the organization. Individuals with strong personalities and managers with high levels of dynamism and charisma can be vital to the organization, but difficult to combine into teams.Understanding how different people need to work and how they actually work can be helpful before starting team-building exercises.

CHANGE MANAGEMENT

1. Objective

Putting change into practice in the company in a structured way, provided it involves an organizational transformation of the way the company does things.

2. Global description

Use this tool

This section provides a step-by-step process for managing change. This is not a mandatory process; Every business faces different challenges, but there are some helpful guidelines to help you move forward.

Manage change

Businesses often need to change. This requires radical transformation from time to time, but typically the change consists of incremental improvements or small initiatives to improve products and processes. Technology is the engine of both radical and gradual change. Remember when your company started to stop using its manual back-office systems and replace them with computers? These new technologies for electronic data processing gave him the opportunity to better manage information, at a lower cost and more quickly. But there were many questions and difficulties, such as: what technology to use? How to manage systems change? And how to change people's behavior? Much has been learned about how the probability of successfully managing change can be increased.As you improve your change management skills, you enable your business to solve problems and take advantage of new opportunities and technologies for the benefit of customers, shareholders, and often employees. Sometimes the change is driven by technology, other times there are other factors that promote the change. But regardless of the need for change, the principles are the same. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have many advantages when it comes to implementing change. They can react quickly, their owners are determined people and the staff are often very loyal.and often from employees. Sometimes the change is driven by technology, other times there are other factors that promote the change. But regardless of the need for change, the principles are the same. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have many advantages when it comes to implementing change. They can react quickly, their owners are determined people and the staff are often very loyal.and often from employees. Sometimes the change is driven by technology, other times there are other factors that promote the change. But regardless of the need for change, the principles are the same. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have many advantages when it comes to implementing change. They can react quickly, their owners are determined people and the staff are often very loyal.its owners are determined people and the staff are usually very loyal.its owners are determined people and the staff are usually very loyal.

However, it is not easy to manage change. Here is an example: Pierre Jerard, a businessman from an industrial city in northern France, built a real estate company that was prosperous for 20 years. He bought houses when prices were low and rented them. He owned 350 homes and hired 11 people, but in 1996 profits started to fall and he had too many vacant homes waiting for tenants. Even more troubling was the fact that most of the people who wanted to rent their houses were often homeless, without resources, or unwilling to accept basic responsibilities. There were frequent parties where he ran alcohol, took drugs and fights, all in neighborhoods that until recently had been respectable. Pierre tried everythinghe knew how to manage difficulties. He had a clear goal: he wanted to rent more than 95% of his properties to respectable and responsible tenants.

He kicked out staff, set goals, did a lot of publicity, analyzed trends, etc. But everything failed! He knew he had to change the way he ran his business, but he couldn't decide what to do. One day Pierre talked about his business with Henri, an old friend who said to him: “You know, Pierre? You are a great entrepreneur, but a mediocre manager. You are not qualified to run a mature business. You yell at the staff, you try to do everything yourself and it doesn't work anymore. You need a professional manager to run your business. Pierre reflected for several days, realized that what his friend said was true, and hired a manager. In a matter of a few months the business was under control, the rents were over 95% and Pierre was going back to sleep at night.

What can you learn about change management from that story? Most importantly, to change from an entrepreneurial type business to a well-run business, it was necessary for the owner to change his basic way of thinking. Pierre was the biggest advantage, but also the biggest disadvantage of the company.

Change management principles

The most difficult thing about change is learning to think differently. This requires owners and managers to review their own ideas about the right way to run their business. All staff must then develop new ways of thinking and often new skills as well.

In total, there are eight key factors that can inhibit change in an SME:

Low vision of senior managers Lack of financial soundness Lack of adequate understanding of technology opportunities Structural weaknesses in the face of competition Poor competition management in critical areas Uncooperative staff Ineffective change management processes Lack clarity and willpower in the board.

Stepped process to change management

Although you seldom make a continuous change, it helps to move forward step by step. There are seven key phases to effectively managing a program change in an SME.

Find time. In SMEs, people are usually saturated with work. Managed change requires footholds, so the first step is to find time to research, evaluate, explore, think, learn, communicate, and experiment. Without a conscious investment of time, the chances of success are greatly reduced. This is especially important when introducing new technology. There is much to learn. You need to understand and evaluate the various competing technologies. All the implications of the change must be anticipated in as much detail as possible: the results will not be good if the change is planned with only a superficial understanding of its possible effects. Prepare a vision for the future.Please answer this question first; "Why change?" You will not be successful until you are clear about the benefits of the proposed change for your company, customers and employees. Benchmarking and comparison with the best in class are powerful tools to define what needs to be changed. Next, it is vital to answer the following question: "What will be different when the changes are applied?" You must give a detailed, comprehensive and exhaustive answer.

It is best to set a date (perhaps a year from today) and describe what the company will be like on that date. That will be your "vision of the future."

Identify the factors that can hinder change.There are always reluctance that can be annoying. Usually they have to do with people (for example when it can jeopardize job security, loss of rank, learning new skills, changing habits, etc.), but they can also refer to systems, processes, equipment or resources. It is helpful to make a list of all the factors that are impeding change and to assess the possible degree of resistance (1 = low, 2 = medium, 3 = high). The following questions should be considered: what do these factors imply? What can be done to reduce the negative effects? People are reluctant to change for various reasons. The greatest reluctance to change may come from middle managers, who sense a loss of power or rank or a lack of personal adequacy.If change requires changing technologies, it is vital to realize that people will have to behave differently. Not only will they have to learn new skills, but they will also have to forget some of the things they do now. Therefore, resistance is often encountered, perhaps driven by fear, but which can be reduced by finding a way to make people master new technologies comfortably.but that can be reduced if a way is found to make people master new technologies in a comfortable way.but that can be reduced if a way is found to make people master new technologies in a comfortable way.Sell the change.Everyone who can influence the success or failure of the change should participate. Top management must sell the need for change to encourage active involvement in change management in order to create the feeling that it belongs to everyone. The reason for the change should be: brief (one page should be enough), clear (you have to describe the reason for the change well), detailed (people have to know what is going to be different), employee-focused (you have to contemplate potential staff concerns), limited (changes must be made quickly), and dates must be set to achieve this. It is necessary to achieve the consensus of all employees. This requires the existence of a regular, open and frequent communication, flowing from the top to the bottom and vice versa.It is necessary and desirable to tell the truth. People have to trust those who are leading the change and it will upset them to feel "they don't know exactly what is going on" or that they are being manipulated. The management style most likely to be successful is open, honest and direct.Develop a plan.Quite often the changes are complex, you have to do many things at once. It is important to consider the company as a "system", with elements that are interrelated. You have to understand all the elements of the system and take into account their interactions. Coordinating multiple initiatives requires a plan, which must be developed as collaboratively as possible. You cannot, or should not, detail all actions, as staff must be creatively involved. The plan should identify the points to pay special attention and specify the steps for the key areas. Technological changes vary in scale (the scope of the change) and scope (the number of people and activities affected). As the scale or scope grows, the plan becomes more important.Often various levels of planning are needed and project management techniques will be required to coordinate all elements of the process. The most powerful tool to help manage a change process in an SME is learning. Sometimes it will be a structured training although training, experimentation and individual and team development are also very important. In addition, managed change requires an environment of experimentation that does not penalize "honest" failures. New technologies need to be explored and often played like a game, so that they are not too daunting. As people learn, their attitudes are unlocked and ideas are developed that push the change process forward.A cycle of "action - experimentation - review" should be developed. It is essential that the cycle is constantly repeated or else learning will not occur.Check the effectiveness. You need to set "milestones" to assess how things are being done. One way to evaluate it would be through the enthusiasm with which people are involved, but tangible results are needed. Once a change program is underway, actions are worth more than words.

Leadership skills to manage change

Although the seven steps presented above provide a powerful set of guidelines for the process, special leadership skills are required to effectively manage the process.

The main skills required for management include:

Manage the learning process. There is much to learn. People are used to using the existing system and have their own routines. Change requires doing things differently. Old practices often have to be replaced. Some changes require a significant investment in structured training. It is always necessary to bring all the staff together and ask, "What is working well? What is not working well? And what have we learned so far?" Key questions include: What does top management need to learn in order to make effective decisions and manage the change process? What does the staff involved need to learn in order to fully participate in the change process? How can people learn? of your experience? And how much do you have to invest in training?Manage the display process. Top management must imagine what will happen when the change is complete. The 'visualization' process should involve as many people as possible and great care must be taken to ensure that the 'vision' is realistic and supported by the vast majority of staff. Key questions include: who should be involved in the forward-thinking process? How can the forward-looking vision be expressed so that it appears relevant and worthwhile? What needs to be done to convert the visualization of the future in strategy and tactics? And how can change be measured against the vision of the future? Manage the consultation process.Consultations are vital for two key reasons. First of all, the staff is a gold mine of good ideas; if ignored, the effort to change will be deprived of creativity and accumulated experience. Second, if staff are not part of the consultation process, their involvement is very likely to be low, and this would undermine any initiative. Key questions include: Who should be consulted? How can realistic expectations be conveyed to staff about the consultation process? How can staff ideas and reactions be recorded and evaluated? And what should be done? give feedback to those who have been consulted? Manage the change process like a project.It is useful to view an organizational change as if it were a project that requires all the skills of an experienced project manager. You have to break down the tasks into elements and assign responsibilities. You have to schedule work and allocate resources. Defined and scheduled formal evaluations should be conducted once progress can be analyzed. Key questions include: who is the project manager? Who is part of the project team? What project methodology should be used? And how can sufficient resources be allocated? Manage the consolidation process.Sometimes companies make a change and then staff gradually return to their old systems. Change must be reinforced through reward, recognition, and attention from managers. Making new practices "natural" takes time. Key questions include: How do you “measure” success? What will you do to reward those who support the change? What will be done if the change is not fully implemented? And how can you understand and communicate the benefits of change?

3. Benefits

Change is closely related to innovation. If you can't manage the change process, you won't be able to innovate. For this reason, change management tools are relevant to managing technology and innovation. This occurs when a company wants to introduce a new manufacturing process, or wants to optimize the development process for new products. The step-by-step change management process is a way to facilitate and smooth the change process.

4. Resources and implications for business functions

Change management does not succeed accidentally, nor does it happen effortlessly. Various types of resources are needed, and the extent to which they will be needed will vary depending on the type, size and scale of the project.

At the very least, some training is likely to be needed to help those affected understand why change is happening and equip them with the skills and knowledge to support the process. It might also require the function or role of a 'change agent', a person responsible for helping to facilitate change. It can be a person internal or external to the organization, but its function is fundamentally to help the change process, rather than its content.

5. Beware of…

Change management is not as simple as it seems. Although the standard follows a step-by-step approach, it will only work if there is real and ongoing commitment and support for the change process. Specifically, without the support and backing of senior managers, even a well-planned process will fail.

Another source of problems may be people outside the immediate scope of the project who may not have been consulted. It is important to check that they have been consulted. When planning a change process, a simple method is to ask three groups of people and make sure they have been consulted. The three groups are: