Tips for Effective Teambuilding

Most organizations rely on employees working well together to maximize efficiency and productivity. After all, teams—both formal and informal—are often the backbone of the organization. When teams don’t work well together, entire projects can fall apart. Conversely, when a team is cohesive and efficient, it can propel their project to faster and bigger success. Teams can often outperform individuals simply by the synergies created and the fact that multiple ideas and perspectives are brought together.

So, how can employers build their teams to help ensure the highest productivity? Can an employer truly influence how well a team works together? Thankfully, the answer is yes. Let’s take a look at some tips for effective teambuilding and team productivity.

Pointers for Effective Teambuilding and Team Productivity

Here are some tips:

• Identify the skill sets needed on the team and match those skills to employees who have them.
• Think through which personality types will work well together.
• Consider varying perspectives. Be careful not to simply put people together who are all alike. By putting multiple perspectives together, often you can achieve a better outcome. You’ll have more diverse ideas and more approaches to problem solving.
• Represent all stakeholders on a project and every group that will be involved in its creation. Don’t forget the end users of the product or service—even if they’re not directly on the team, they should be able to give input.
• Ensure that the team goals are clear to everyone involved and that each person on the team knows his or her role in the team’s success. They should understand why they’re participating on this team and what the team needs to accomplish. There should be buy-in from the group; agreeing that the goal is important will help to ensure that they have a sense of ownership in the outcome.
• Lead the team as needed. There should be a clear line to leadership—the team should know who to turn to with questions and who is ultimately responsible for the outcome.
• Ensure that the team members have the power and authority to get their task completed. They need to have access to resources and need to have the power to create changes in the organization if required.
• Encourage good team behaviors, such as:
• Communicating clearly,
• Sharing information,
• Allowing everyone’s opinions to be heard,
• Using good idea generation techniques,
• Employing conflict resolution techniques as needed,
• Building consensus, and
• Setting ground rules.
• Have mechanisms in place to ensure that the team gets recognition when appropriate. This will encourage better teamwork over the long haul. Foster an environment where team successes can be celebrated.
• Don’t forget to give recognition to individuals separately for their ability to work well on a team.
• Have mechanisms in place to monitor the team without micromanaging. Give the team the chance to internally resolve conflicts, but also provide assistance when necessary.

As you can see, building an effective team is possible, but it requires a lot of work and planning. Thankfully, it’s worthwhile in the end. The company not only benefits from efficient and productive teams but also can foster higher levels of employee satisfaction and create a sense of accomplishment.

**This article does not constitute legal advice. Always consult legal counsel with specific questions.**

About Bridget Miller:

Bridget Miller is a business consultant with a specialized MBA in International Economics and Management, which provides a unique perspective on business challenges. She’s been working in the corporate world for over 15 years, with experience across multiple diverse departments including HR, sales, marketing, IT, commercial development, and training.