Wednesday, November 28, 2007
Is Team Building Dead?
A colleague and I were discussing the topic of team building recently and he said, “Companies have been building teams for years and it doesn’t seem to help them. They might as well just forget about it because people will always have issues.” I agreed that people will always have issues, and disagreed with the notion that team building doesn’t really help an organization.
The challenge for any organization is to get the executive staff working cohesively as a team unit. Our logical brain tells us that if the top level is not role-modeling team behaviors then they will not see it elsewhere in the company. When top management puts consistent energy into teamwork the entire organization will know that it is important and measured.
And, there is the added difficulty—how do you measure team building? What is the ROI (return on investment) for what many think of as “touchy feely”?
A good place to begin tracking concrete data is in the following areas:
* absenteeism trends
* increase in stress-related health care costs
* employee turnover (generally and then specific to a department and/or manager)
* time-to-hire for open positions
* frequency of employee lawsuits
Good team building provides organizational value by helping reach strategic objectives and increases productivity. It is the one thing that can differentiate you in a highly competitive marketplace. Functioning teams improve morale—and that is what your customer will notice.
So, if you thought that team building wasn’t worth putting effort into, then think again! Team building is far from dead though your organization may need to revive and rebuild the concept within the workforce. There are plenty of resources available and your bottom-line will appreciate the effort.
Until next time...live like you mean it!
Marjorie