Tips for HR Managers to Develop an Effective Team - There are three aspects must be focused. First, antecedent conditions will be described in terms of the structure of the organizational environment. Second, individual contributions to teams will be summarized as another antecedent condition. At the third level of analysis, team processes will be described in terms of their ability to maintain the functioning of the team. Those three aspects described as follows:
Clarify the common goals and purposes
Make the team’s purposes clear. It could be conducted by taking the time to articulate the team’s performance goals and how the team contributes to the company’s success. Even a work group that has existed for some time may never have done this. In any case, the purposes and conditions change over time. If you are a new boss, you will be putting your own stamp on the group’s common goal.
Put team members in touch with the people who use what they do
Confirm the needs of the team’s external or internal customers or clients on an ongoing basis. Implementation example, “Jack, be sure to talk with both Materials Management and the folks in Production to make sure they’re aware of the changes we’ve planned. Our changes could affect their work if we’re all not in sync.”
Clarify each person’s role in achieving the common purpose
Define each person’s job in terms of its contribution to the group’s and the company’s overall goals. This must be done in specific terms, not in vague generalities. For example, “We’re working under very tight timelines. Jack, you’ll be in charge of overall project coordination, so you will set the timetable for each project phase. Betty, can I ask you to take responsibility for writing the brochures and getting them printed? Maribeth and Scott, I’d like you to work together on the transportation requirements, OK? Let’s meet again tomorrow afternoon at 3:00 for an update and a progress check. Does that work for everybody?”
Pay attention to conflicts when they arise
It’s natural for conflict to arise when people work in groups. Conflict, handled well, can actually produce constructive ideas. Sometimes team members will annoy each other, step on each other’s toes, or hurt each other’s feelings. Honest disagreements can become personal and heated. Work processes that seemed efficient can break down. It’s important to recognize that some degree of conflict among co-workers is normal. Let problems come to the surface. Avoid the impulse to demand that your employees “drop it,” “forget about it,” or “just cut it out.” Also, anticipate that more conflicts may occur whenever there are changes that affect the team’s membership or goals.
Work out ways to resolve conflicts
What works as an effective style of conflict resolution varies from team to team, and may vary over time on the same team. Teams whose members all have similar experience and seniority may be able to settle problems more informally, for example, than a team with more diversity. Here are some ways to successfully resolve conflicts:
Make sure team members interact at meetings
Do team members mainly address their questions and suggestions to you, or do they interact directly with each other at meetings? Encourage team members to ask each other for help and to offer it to each other, without channeling it all through you. Synergy on teams is achieved when team members feel comfortable speaking up with suggestions that build on the creativity of other team members. This requires collaboration not competition. Dominance of a group by a manager or supervisor can limit the chances a group has to achieve real synergy. Also, competition within the team may increase as members vie for the manager’s attention.
Keep in mind your leadership role
While you need to encourage your employees to feel a healthy “ownership” of the team’s work, you need to avoid trying to be “just one of the team.” You -- not your team -- are the one accountable to your own boss for the team’s results. You’re expected to get results through your people. Hold each employee responsible for meeting goals and for solving or helping to solve problems.
Allow team members to have input into their jobs
When you can, give your employees flexibility on how they meet their work goals. Encourage employees to make suggestions about changes in what they do and how they do it, based on their direct and daily experience of what works, what doesn’t work, and what could work better. Of course, the only way to encourage employees to make suggestions over the long run is to show them that you will act on some of their suggestions.
Make sure there is room for minority or unpopular views
Teams can easily slip into “group think,” especially when they are successful. Those who see flaws in the way the group does things, or who see improvements that could be made, may be politely ignored or even treated with hostility. Teams where this happens can fail when their environment or requirements change and they can’t adapt. Effective managers build team trust by encouraging a diversity of opinion. Ask, specifically, for other viewpoints. Inquiring into views that may not have been spoken can allow better team performance. By asking the team, “What else do we need to consider here?” you allow perspectives not yet considered to be put on the table and evaluated. Those in the majority must be able to trust that those who disagree do so honestly and with good intentions. Those in the minority must be able to trust that they can speak up without being punished or left out.
Appraise and reward the team as a whole and reward each employee individually
As with an individual performance review, compare the team’s performance to what was expected of it. Plan small celebrations of the team achieving important milestones. As members of a team, the expectations and criteria for their performance include showing a spirit of cooperation, developing conflict-resolution skills, engaging in good communication with others, and being willing to help others solve problems or get through crunch efforts. If feasible, encourage all team members to provide meaningful feedback to one another. Be sure to give each team member specific feedback about his or her strengths and any unique role that the person served on the team rather than just focusing on problems or performance gaps.
Communicate team successes
- Organizational structure; many theorists offer recommendations about the structural characteristics of teamwork, by referring to relatively stable procedures of coordination and control. Seven of the most commonly described structural characteristics include a clear purpose, appropriate culture, specified task, distinct roles, suitable leadership, relevant members, and adequate resources.
- Individual Contribution; the literature highlights different levels of individuals’ experience and skills within teams. Although individual contributions are not normally considered antecedent conditions, they can be perceived as pre-requisite characteristics of effective teamwork. Establishing and managing relationships between individuals who have a variety of personalities and a range of professional and non-professional experiences is a critical component of teamwork (Brill 1976). At a minimum, individual participation in teams requires self-knowledge, trust, commitment and flexibility.
- Team Processes; Team processes describe subtle aspects of interaction and patterns of organizing that transform input into output. Team processes will be described in terms of some characteristics; coordination, communication, cohesion, decision making, conflict management, social relationships and performance feedback.
Clarify the common goals and purposes
Make the team’s purposes clear. It could be conducted by taking the time to articulate the team’s performance goals and how the team contributes to the company’s success. Even a work group that has existed for some time may never have done this. In any case, the purposes and conditions change over time. If you are a new boss, you will be putting your own stamp on the group’s common goal.
Put team members in touch with the people who use what they do
Confirm the needs of the team’s external or internal customers or clients on an ongoing basis. Implementation example, “Jack, be sure to talk with both Materials Management and the folks in Production to make sure they’re aware of the changes we’ve planned. Our changes could affect their work if we’re all not in sync.”
Clarify each person’s role in achieving the common purpose
Define each person’s job in terms of its contribution to the group’s and the company’s overall goals. This must be done in specific terms, not in vague generalities. For example, “We’re working under very tight timelines. Jack, you’ll be in charge of overall project coordination, so you will set the timetable for each project phase. Betty, can I ask you to take responsibility for writing the brochures and getting them printed? Maribeth and Scott, I’d like you to work together on the transportation requirements, OK? Let’s meet again tomorrow afternoon at 3:00 for an update and a progress check. Does that work for everybody?”
Pay attention to conflicts when they arise
It’s natural for conflict to arise when people work in groups. Conflict, handled well, can actually produce constructive ideas. Sometimes team members will annoy each other, step on each other’s toes, or hurt each other’s feelings. Honest disagreements can become personal and heated. Work processes that seemed efficient can break down. It’s important to recognize that some degree of conflict among co-workers is normal. Let problems come to the surface. Avoid the impulse to demand that your employees “drop it,” “forget about it,” or “just cut it out.” Also, anticipate that more conflicts may occur whenever there are changes that affect the team’s membership or goals.
Work out ways to resolve conflicts
What works as an effective style of conflict resolution varies from team to team, and may vary over time on the same team. Teams whose members all have similar experience and seniority may be able to settle problems more informally, for example, than a team with more diversity. Here are some ways to successfully resolve conflicts:
- Make sure each team member involved has a chance to explain the problem as he or she sees it.
- Establish clear ground rules so that people can have their say without being interrupted, rushed, mocked, or intimidated.
- Encourage employees to solve problems themselves when they can so that you aren’t always in the middle of every conflict between team members.
Make sure team members interact at meetings
Do team members mainly address their questions and suggestions to you, or do they interact directly with each other at meetings? Encourage team members to ask each other for help and to offer it to each other, without channeling it all through you. Synergy on teams is achieved when team members feel comfortable speaking up with suggestions that build on the creativity of other team members. This requires collaboration not competition. Dominance of a group by a manager or supervisor can limit the chances a group has to achieve real synergy. Also, competition within the team may increase as members vie for the manager’s attention.
Keep in mind your leadership role
While you need to encourage your employees to feel a healthy “ownership” of the team’s work, you need to avoid trying to be “just one of the team.” You -- not your team -- are the one accountable to your own boss for the team’s results. You’re expected to get results through your people. Hold each employee responsible for meeting goals and for solving or helping to solve problems.
Allow team members to have input into their jobs
When you can, give your employees flexibility on how they meet their work goals. Encourage employees to make suggestions about changes in what they do and how they do it, based on their direct and daily experience of what works, what doesn’t work, and what could work better. Of course, the only way to encourage employees to make suggestions over the long run is to show them that you will act on some of their suggestions.
Make sure there is room for minority or unpopular views
Teams can easily slip into “group think,” especially when they are successful. Those who see flaws in the way the group does things, or who see improvements that could be made, may be politely ignored or even treated with hostility. Teams where this happens can fail when their environment or requirements change and they can’t adapt. Effective managers build team trust by encouraging a diversity of opinion. Ask, specifically, for other viewpoints. Inquiring into views that may not have been spoken can allow better team performance. By asking the team, “What else do we need to consider here?” you allow perspectives not yet considered to be put on the table and evaluated. Those in the majority must be able to trust that those who disagree do so honestly and with good intentions. Those in the minority must be able to trust that they can speak up without being punished or left out.
Appraise and reward the team as a whole and reward each employee individually
As with an individual performance review, compare the team’s performance to what was expected of it. Plan small celebrations of the team achieving important milestones. As members of a team, the expectations and criteria for their performance include showing a spirit of cooperation, developing conflict-resolution skills, engaging in good communication with others, and being willing to help others solve problems or get through crunch efforts. If feasible, encourage all team members to provide meaningful feedback to one another. Be sure to give each team member specific feedback about his or her strengths and any unique role that the person served on the team rather than just focusing on problems or performance gaps.
Communicate team successes
Keep in mind, a work group begins to become a team when employees see their jobs not merely as what they are supposed to do individually but as contributions to the group’s overall success.
By following some tips for HR Managers to develop an effective team above, managers can develop effective team easily; build the synergy needed to move a work group to a new level of cooperation and productivity.