Organisations and the need for effective team building

Teamwork, effective work teams, and team building are popular topics in today’s organisations. Successful teamwork fuels the accomplishment of your strategic goals. Effective work teams magnify the accomplishments of individual employees and enable you to better serve customers.

If you’re experimenting with ongoing teams, start with a few to determine what team activities your organisation can support. Teams require resources, and especially, time.

Your work teams are most effective when a diverse group of employees is able to participate, you limit the number of teams on which any one employee may participate the teams establish a regular meeting schedule, you require periodic team goal setting, minutes or notes are posted from team meetings or projects, and teams self-perpetuate by regularly adding newer employees.

There are five work teams that every organisation needs. I’ve seen many different approaches to team roles and responsibilities. Different organisations may also group responsibilities differently.

Leadership Team

Often an organisation’s senior managers or department heads, the leadership team is the group that must pull together to lead your organisation. Also leadership team is responsible for the strategic direction of your organisation and leadership team plans, sets goals, provides guidance to, and manages your organisation.

Motivation or employee morale team

Known by different names in various organisations the employee morale team plans and carries out events and activities that build a positive spirit among employees.

The team’s responsibilities can include activities such planning company picnics, fund raising for ill employees, and fund raising for philanthropic causes. The team leads the celebration of company milestones. You can have fun with this team as the team’s only limit is the imagination of the team members.

Safety and environmental team

The team ensures the safety of employees in the work place. The team takes the lead in safety training, monthly safety talks, and the auditing of housekeeping, safety, and workplace organisation. Recycling and environmental policy recommendations and leadership are provided by the team as well.

Employee wellness team

The wellness team focuses on health and fitness for employees. Most popular activities include walking clubs, running teams, and periodic testing of health issues such as high blood pressure screening. The wellness team can sponsor whole person wellness activities such as how to make a budget or lunch and learns about investment products – not investment advice.

Culture and communication team

The team works to define and create the defined company culture necessary for the success of your organisation. The team also fosters two-way communication in your organisation to ensure employee input up the chain of command. The team may sponsor the monthly newsletter, a weekly company update, quarterly employee satisfaction surveys, and an employee suggestion process.

Start several company teams, such as these, and nurture their success. When employees see successful teams, more employees become interested in serving on the teams. The teams make the company a better place to work and provide the opportunity for real employee involvement and commitment.

Teams create a difference in the workplace whether they are ongoing teams or a team that was formed to accomplish a single purpose. Successful teams help you build a true sense of teamwork across your organisation. Start with these for awesome success.

Article by Susan M. Heathfield