Teamwork Enhancement in the Workplace
Teamwork is what holds organizations together. A strong organization is a result of employees complementing each other as they all carry out their individual responsibilities. Cohesiveness ensures that the organization gains competitive advantage as everyone works towards achieving common goals and objectives. Every organization should have teamwork enhancement programs to boost unity among employees and managers too.
Teamwork skills are vital for every individual seeking employment within an organization. The ability to work effectively in a team is in fact one of the criteria that human resource managers use during hiring. Employee psychological assessment also looks critically into teamwork ability. Many employers are unwilling to bring onboard people that lack teamwork skills.
There are fundamental ways that organizations can enhance teamwork:
Cultivate respect, trust and open communication
Employees must all respect and trust one another for there to be good teamwork. Everyone should have an opportunity to speak up and share ideas and opinions without fear. Respect, trust and open communication needs to be observed among employees as well as by managers towards employees.
The management of an organization must be keen to mediate conflict fairly and promptly. Leaving issues to fester is demoralizing for employees particularly those that feel aggrieved. Teamwork enhancement requires an environment of fairness. Managers should not show favoritism because it would lead to sabotage. Ultimately, everyone needs to work together on a level playing field to achieve personal career goals and organizational goals.
Highlight a common goal and motivate teams towards it
Healthy competition within the organization boosts overall performance. It should be clear to teams that as much as they are competing, they are all working towards a common goal. The goal could be an increase in sales or to bring in new partnerships with other organizations.
Teams need to feel that their effort is recognized and rewarded. Organizations can establish a reward scheme for the best performing teams. Managers should also offer praise openly within the team and the entire organization. Team members will be encouraged to work harder and also support each other to achieve greater success.
Invest in teamwork enhancement tools and resources
Organizations need the services of a psychology institution like Intrapersonal Health (Visti:http://www.intrapersonalhealth.com for more information)to devise ways of team enhancement. The institution offers a range of resources including corporate psychosocial support services.
Professional psychologists have the knowledge on how to shape and refine behaviour in individuals and groups. They also use scientific methods of motivation, which would be applicable in promoting teamwork.
Working with a psychology institution on a regular basis helps to unearth issues and concerns among employees that management may not be aware of. In addition, it would help with dealing with problems before they escalate and threaten the cohesiveness of the organization.
Teamwork enhancement is a continuous effort. Managers should lead by example and carry out their roles and responsibilities diligently. Employees that want to remain valuable within the organization should work towards continually improving their teamwork skills. Incorporating some fun into the workplace goes a long way to enhance teamwork. Consider celebrating milestones and having team building activities to cultivate healthy interactions within the organization.