How to Promote Teamwork Within an Organization

It goes without saying it’s important to learn how to promote teamwork within an organization.  Though the word “teamwork” is sometimes treated in conversation more like a buzz word than a valid business concept, teaching staff to operate as cohesive team can increase personal and business success.

An organization should have an in-house training program which gives staff the knowledge they need to do a good job.  The training program should cover a lot of areas such as communication and marketing skills.  One of the core components of any staff training program should be the promotion of teamwork.

Finding the “We” in the “I”

Having a staff that works together as a team is important for many reasons.  When employees are concentrating only on themselves the results are obvious.  There will be higher turnover, less productivity and too much conflict.  That’s because the employees have a personal agenda that does not incorporate the values, culture and goals of the company.

Having personal goals as related to a job is important, but those goals should incorporate the good of the company.  That is where teamwork takes on its importance.  When the staff have shared goals, they will work towards company success and not just personal success.

Everyone who works in a business environment knows of a situation where a staff member operated alone on a project and caused more problems than necessary by excluding other staff.  The lone staff was concentrating on personal goals and success at the exclusion of everyone else.  This is not effective performance and can lead to many different kinds of problems from miscommunication to lack of creativity.

Changing “I” to “we” is the goal of teamwork training.

Team…Works

When company employees function as a team, the company will experience a number of benefits.

* Increases operational efficiency
* Improves work quality
* Reduces staff competition
* Enhances ability of company to respond to competition
* Encourages creativity
* Makes employees feel as if they are making a significant contribution to business success

There is a reason why sports teams celebrate so vigorously together after a win.  They played as a team and celebrate as a team, because each member contributed to their success.

Working the Teams

There are many ways to promote teamwork within an organization.  A professional trainer is experienced at designing team exercises that encourage staff to work together, but in an inspiring manner.  The exercises may be real life scenarios that replicate what staff experience on the job, or they may simply be fun exercises that effectively deliver a lesson.

Teamwork training has been embraced by companies around the world, because it works.  Teamwork exercises include both managers and their staff.  The goals are simple.

* Improve communication between staff members
* Develop common goals as related to the business
* Improve time management
* Reduce management and staff conflict
* Teach employees how to get ahead by being a team player

Teamwork builds trust between staff members.  Staff members learn to trust each other to do the best job possible while keeping the common goals in mind at all times.  Developing good communication between staff members is crucial to a company’s success, and that’s exactly what teamwork accomplishes, and the best way to create a sense of “team” is through specialized training.