Working in teams has become the norm in work environments today.
Some reports indicate that as much as eighty percent of U.S. organizations utilize teams
to some degree.
But what exactly is a team?
And how to they benefit organizations?
Although definitions vary, teams can be defined as a collection of individuals who work together
towards a common goal and are dependent on one another to achieve that goal.
For example, in a manufacturing setting one employee may perform several tasks and then
send the product to another employee who performs another set of tasks.
The second employee is dependent on the first to accurately accomplish there tasks, not
only in terms of quality but also time.
And the employees are collectively responsible for the final product.
Working in teams provides several benefits to the organization, including but not limited
to: better decision-making, improved employee satisfaction, increased productivity, better
product and service quality, and improved customer satisfaction.
Much of the benefit of using teams stems from the number of employees involved.
It provides the group with a variety of different perspectives and knowledge bases to pull from.
This ultimately leads to better decision-making overall as individually we're limited to only
our own experiences and perspectives.
Likewise, teams have proven to be beneficial when creating products and services.
Many product-oriented companies utilize cross-functional teams, which pull employees from various functions
like finance, marketing, and even operations, in the development of new products as they
allow these departments to weigh in on the product features prior to production.
These teams are often responsible for the performance of the product, and thus have
a greater sense of ownership over its creation.
This establishes task identity and task significance, which according to the job characteristics
model, have a significant impact on how satisfying jobs are in the workplace.
Teams also result in greater employee job satisfaction.
By working in teams, employees have the ability to participate in cross-training, job rotations,
and other forms of job enlargement that allow employees the opportunity to learn and perform
a greater variety of skills.
Looking again at the job characteristics model, we know that jobs that require employees to
utilize a variety of different skills tend to be more interesting and satisfying than
those that require the use of a small number of skills.
An additional benefit to the employer is that employees are more versatile and can fill
in for other employees who are sick or leave the organization.
An increase in employee satisfaction also has an impact on productivity.
According to a meta-analytic study conducted by Judge, Thoresen, Bono, and Patton, employee
satisfaction was found to have a significant affect on overall job performance.
Several studies have also linked employee satisfaction to shareholder returns as well
as overall organizational effectiveness.
In a manufacturing setting, researchers have also shown that organizations see productivity
increases when instituting teams in the workplace.
Each of the benefits that we've established ultimately leads to improved customer satisfaction,
which is a large determinant of long-term organizational success.
Although teams don't work in all situations, like when a quick decision is needed or when
an individual expert is more qualified to make a decision, they certainly provide positive
returns to organizations that utilize them effectively.
Thank you for watching this video on the benefits of teams.
For questions, please leave them in the comment box below and I'll do my best to get back
to them in a timely fashion.
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