Teams: What You Measure Is What You Get (page 2)
Continuous
Measurement for Continuous Improvement
Effective workplace teams,
like effective sports teams, go through a process of learning and change that
causes them to become effective. This process can only occur with feedback
on progress and outcomes. Teams that do not receive this feedback will stagnate
and lose energy. (See figure below.)
Teams
must receive answers to these critical questions to avoid becoming stagnant.
• What
are our team goals?
• Do we have the right people and skills to achieve our goals?
• Are we making progress toward our goals?
• Does the structure of our meetings encourage honest interaction and
cooperation?
• Do team members feel respected and trusted?
• Do team members believe that they can take risks and make mistakes without
penalty?
• Are team members receiving the recognition and reward they deserve?
• What have we accomplished as a team?
• What must be changed for us to become more effective as a team?
• How do we compare to other teams?
Data on team progress and outcomes can be collected in many different ways. The most common method is a paper-and-pencil survey of team members. Other potentially more useful methods include:
- Individual, face-to-face interviews of team members and people who interact
with the team;
- Group interviews of all or part of the team;
- Structured observations of team meetings;
- Surveys of the team’s customers;
- Telephone or computer-aided interviews of team members; and
- Analysis of performance indicators as reported in company records.
The data gathering should be appropriate to the situation and allow for collecting and reporting the kind of information needed by the particular team. For example, if you want to find out member attitudes toward being on the team, interview or survey team members. If you want to know about progress in team development (i.e., team formation, communication among members, meeting dynamics, problem-solving, decision-making, and rewards and recognition), observe the team in action and check your observations against the observations of the team leader and other members. If you want to know the impact of the team on the organization, survey the internal customers and examine indicators of team output.
The real value of continuous assessment of teams is in using the findings to improve development and increase impact. Teams must be helped to understand the data and to use the data for planning purposes. What does the data say about the team’s resource needs? How should the team change the way it functions? How can the team ensure that its goals are met? What information should be communicated to the wider organization?
Teams can play the game, but unless they listen to the coach, get immediate feedback during practice, know their stats, and know the score, they won’t know what they have to do to be successful.