Team building is not an easy process as it is perceived by many. It is more than bringing different people together and making them work together. In team building, only hoping that the team would work together is not enough, there are efforts which should be taken to build a team. The team becomes effective when it is designed, developed and supported in the right manner.
Guidelines To Building An Effective Team
There are some guidelines which, when followed, will result in effective team building. Some of the instructions are as follows
Set goals clearly: Goal setting is a fundamental part of team building. Every member of the team should know and understand the purpose on which they are going to work. The results are the goals. To produce the results, the team member should understand the purpose well. The SMART goal should be designed. The acronym of SMART is specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound. The goal which is set should be accurate, it should be measurable, it should be possible, it should be relevant, and it should be time-bound.
Set objectives clearly: Setting a clear objective is equally important. The objectives are set to measure the effectiveness of the team. The objectives are set and used to achieve the goal. The objective should also be designed to be SMART. The objective should be written down. Writing down objectives is essential for communicating and discussing it with the team members.
Define mechanism and procedures: The mechanism should be defined for clear communication. The communication should be consistent among team members. The procedure should be defined for the team members to make decisions. Setting procedure is especially beneficial for solving problems.
Developing procedures of staffing: The procedures of staffing include recruiting, training, organizing and replacing. It is important to identify the roles which are required by the team to achieve the goal. The staffing procedure helps the new member of the team. It is to understand the purpose of the team and their role in the team.
Determine the time frames and membership: If there is a need for a time frame that is starting of the team and termination of the team, then it should be determined beforehand. To achieve the goal, the members of the team needs expertise, the expertise which is needed should be determined.
Assign the role of the leader: There are different roles a leader has to perform. Some of the roles are staffing the team members successfully, understanding the purpose of the group and the role of team members in it, utilizing the procedures in order to make decisions and solve problems, and many others. The role of the leader should be assigned for effective team building
Identify resources and their costs: To achieve the goal, the resources are needed. Some of the resources are training and other materials. The need of the team members should be identified to provide them with resources. The cost for training, consultant and other resources should be identified. The budget od resources should be developed.
Contact team members and plan activities for building trust: Each member of the team should be contacted. The goal of the project should be communicated with them. The team members should be explained why they were selected and what are their roles. Team building activities should be planned to build trust among the team members. It creates a good environment for the team
Monitor status regularly and support team members: The status of the team members in achieving the goal should be monitored regularly and reported. If the team member needs support or resources, then they should be provided. The team members should always be supported when they feel supported. They make an effective team.
Celebrate the accomplishment of team members: The team member should feel appreciated for their work. Every achievement of the team member, whether it is small or big, should be celebrated. The team members should feel acknowledged and encouraged.
Learning Style
The team is updated about the new concepts and technologies and disintegration in the business will drive a sustainable environment. Even though the companies can understand the importance of organizational and individual learning and even with the help of technologies, several companies are having difficulties in incorporating them into their learning structures or also coming up with the proper learning structure that will be open to including the external technologies. It can only be sorted out by leaders as they will be able to identify the ways that technology can have in influence over their learning and development programs. Most of the executive find their problems in the move towards these types of learning styles.
The learning style incorporated includes certifying the candidates to take up the test and learning and simple online courses with the collaboration of an external Institute. The end goal is to keep the employees updated so that the organization does not stay behind in the market position.
Accommodating Changes
When it comes to the real world, it would not be possible to accommodate every potential dimension on an equal basis. However, the company has to focus on the future performance of the team in the critical market and assess the values to come up with an original organizational design that is dynamic and frame with the help of priorities. When many companies can boast their strength regarding recruitment and performance management, the high-performance organizations are focusing on translating the business strategy into a people strategy.
In this fast-paced environment changes keep happening, and the ability to cope up with these changes is to be prepared of what is yet to come. With the economic issues hitting the industries, the companies must already have an incident response plan with a backup plan framed just in case the changes hit company negative. Only on a positive note, the difference would be technological. These changes must mandatorily be adopted by the company and be incorporated within the existing business systems to make sure they have a sustainable position in the market.
Conclusion
An effective team has excellent communication among them. They help each other grow in a group. Team members of a capable team are beneficial, and they perform better than disorganized teams. Team building brings many people with different skill sets together and creates a suitable environment for them to work efficiently and improve the productivity of the team.
