By Andrea Bankier

As businesses transition from the recovery to rebuilding post-earthquakes, many strategies and creative ideas are being used to get people back at work, and get work done. But could these strategies be having a negative effect on team performance?

In talking with business owners and managers, we are hearing many examples of the following impacts on teams since the September, February and June shakes:

• The need to form new teams quickly, as more people, new roles and greater capability are needed to meet business goals.
• Rapidly changing composition of teams as new or additional staff join existing teams.
• Roles changing in the short term with staff undertaking tasks and activities vastly different from previous roles, often as a response to the need for “all hands on deck”, or where previous roles are no longer needed.
• Changing business direction as businesses shift to meet emerging demands.
• Different delivery models with teams needing both the capability and agility to respond, as seen in learning institutions needing a rapid change from face-to- face to online learning delivery to students.
• Relocation of businesses to new premises resulting in longer travel times as people work much further afield now (to Lincoln for some businesses), and more challenging physical surrounds and office set-ups (warehouses, old butcheries, trestle tables and more are all being put to good use).
• Teams no longer located together, with members in several sites or working from home (who knew how versatile the dining room table could be!).
• The uncertainty of restructuring as businesses look to both recover and survive.

Any one of these changes could affect team performance; add in several changes plus the challenging personal situations people are experiencing and the ongoing challenge of aftershocks, and teams are more likely to shift from performing as a stable, cohesive unit (soaring), to performing as a still-developing team – the phase of team development often called spinning.

While teams go through natural stages of development to achieve peak performance (Figure 1), this is neither a fixed process, nor a process that only moves forward.  Teams can and do move back and forth across these stages, and while these fluctuations are normal, life in a Canterbury business right now is seeing some teams move back towards ‘spin’.

The ‘spin’ phase of a team is characterised by any of the following (and these are things we are seeing and hearing from businesses across Christchurch):

• staff needing more direction, asking more questions;
• role confusion and uncertainty as to who is responsible for what;
• delays in making decisions;
• greater frustration, especially when processes are slow or things take longer than planned;
• distracted staff;
• changes in responsibilities as people step into roles that are new to them, particularly leadership roles with team responsibility.

With this spin comes a decrease in productivity and performance, and staff whose personal circumstances are impacting on their work focus, engagement at work, and performance.

So what can organisations do?

Team development is not a goal in itself, rather teamwork is intended to achieve organisational goals and better team results. Research has shown that targeted team development can positively impact on both business performance and quality of working life². Team development that targets the factors that make teams successful is likely to have the greatest impact. These Team Success Factors describe the practices needed for teams to perform to a high level.

• Results — A clear focus on the team’s purpose and goals, connection between own work and business outcomes, accountability.  This focus needs to be on both the immediate and short time goals, and the longer-term horizon. Setting and reaching team goals requires collaboration and influence, the ability to reach agreement, review progress, and sometimes manage conflict.
• Commitment — Team members show their full commitment by being willing to take risks and make the difficult decisions necessary to achieve high levels of performance. Doing this well requires the desire to be involved, the willingness to accept accountability, and the skills to make decisions and take action.
• Communication — Exchanging ideas and feelings based on mutual respect, connections and relationships within team and with other teams in business.  These internal relations have consistently been identified as crucial to team performance². Clarifying what leaders are saying to staff – how are they describing the new or changed direction?
• Process — The way a team gets things done, new ways of operating in new work environments, and the processes to complete tasks, identify problems, and reach agreement.
• Trust — To inspire trust and be able to trust others, team members must be able to admit mistakes, ask for help, share openly, and live up to their agreements. And to know you can rely on fellow team members when you need them.

Tips to strengthen team performance

There is urgency to build robust performing teams that demonstrate agility and flexibility, focus, resilience, willingness, and the ability to adapt to change (a team that soars, not spins). There is also a need to rapidly build leader capability – leaders that can work with teams through the spin.

Tips to strengthening performing teams at this time:

·       Develop short term goals with your team, as well as focusing on longer-term goals to achieve business direction.  Short-term goals often feel more achievable for staff and generate results more rapidly.  In turn, this builds team confidence.

·       Joint approach to problem-solving – involve staff in solving problems, seek their opinions and suggestions before making critical decisions.

·       Communicate directly to your staff – they need to hear about new or changing directions and other key messages from a credible source. The most credible source is their direct team leader – you!

·       Work with staff to identify the connection between their role and the business direction, particularly if their role has changed or is a new role for them.  This will assist them to understand how their role and contribution fits, how they are making a difference and contributing to the business direction, and what their responsibilities are.

·       Team support is vital at this time – the connections between staff and their peers and colleagues. Schedule team meetings and get-togethers to provide some regular contact and communication as a group. This time together to discuss what is happening and how they are travelling is a strong support mechanism.

·       Understand what is going on with your staff – check in with them individually (one-on-one conversations), find out what their situation is at home, how they are managing at work, what else they need to be able to contribute well.  Without this information, it is difficult to empathise, connect and recognise problems early on.

·       Build leadership capability – support your team leaders and managers in the development of people management skills.

References:

1.      Davis, J. (2009). ‘Developing a High-Performance Workforce’. Development Dimensions International Inc. (Sheffield is the exclusive licensee for DDI in New Zealand)

2.      Kuipers, B.S. and Stoker, J.I. (2009). ‘Development and Performance of Self-Managing Work Teams: A Theoretical and Empirical Examination’. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 20, 2, 399-419.