Below is a simple diagram of the difference between a team based department or organization verses letting the associates drive the structure. I have witness both environments. Team is not a corporate buzzword, it is a key ingredient to successful company growth. Large teams consist of teams within a team.
Team Based
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Individual Based
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Develop Leaders
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Anarchy
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Staff Growth
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Power Struggles
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Member Contributions
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High Turnover
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Self-sustaining
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Stagnant
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Why Teams Fail
Lack of Management Support
Wrong member make up
Lack of correct tools to succeed
These elements are tried and true team based analysis and experience. Let me focus on the Team based structure, as the Individual based structure is counter-productive.
Teams can be functional or cross-functional:
- Functional - Specific expertise
- Cross-functional - Project driven areas
The goal of both teams is goal setting, process improvement, trends sharing, and subject matter collaboration. This list is by no means inclusive of all team elements.
The Key Performance Indicator (KPI) is streamlined operations or process efficiencies. Remember the profit equation contains two sides revenue and expenses. Although a department may not be revenue generating, it can add to the bottom line with performance efficiencies by having less overhead costs, i.e. fewer associates required output the current workload, or handling more workload, contributing to the revenue side of the profit equation.
I hope this blog entry will encourage you to recognize the benefits of a team base structure or review your current teams’ structure.
