TeamResearch News

August 2003
Vol. 1, No. 2

TeamResearch News summarizes the latest information from studies or articles on business teams, along with guidance on how to apply that research in your workplace. It is published the first weekend of each month as a free service from TeamTrainers^TM Consulting (www.suddenteams.com), with announcements sent by e-mail to subscribers.

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Contents

Studies and Articles

• Job Control and Support Lowers Fatigue, Raises Motivation
• Process Involvement Raises Acceptance of Team Pay
• Team Approach Improves On-the-Job Training
• Business Success Stories can be Misleading

Team Problems Cause Unexpected Problems

Newsletter Information

• Subscribe/Unsubscribe
• Contact the Editor

Job Control and Support Lowers Fatigue, Raises Motivation

Study/Article: In a survey, 555 nurses rated:

• how hard their work was;
• how much control they had over their work;
• how much help they got from colleagues (bosses and coworkers);
• how motivated they felt; and
• how tired they were at the end of the day.

The harder the job, the more important job control was in keeping these nurses from getting tired. In harder jobs, either higher job control or higher support (or both) was a major plus for worker motivation. And feelings of high job support seemed to raise motivation, regardless of job demands or control, and may have reduced fatigue.

Application: Managers of workers under heavy workloads should give up as much control as possible over how the worker does the job, to reduce the mistakes, burnout, and productivity problems caused by fatigue and low motivation. The researchers suggest "giving groups...discretion over day-to-day operational decisions as well as input into the running of their groups"; giving workers say over their work situations, methods, and pace; and delegating authority for many decisions supervisors now make. At all job levels, improving teamwork and training workers about support systems (such as intranets or HR support) may help workers stay excited about their jobs.

Process Involvement Raises Acceptance of Team Pay

Study: Hong Kong researchers looked at the conditions that make it easier for workers to accept a system basing at least part of the workers' pay on team successes. They sent questionnaires to employees in Hong Kong and the United States of a petrochemical firm. Whether someone was comfortable with team pay was affected heavily by whether the person thought the process was fair and the team performance goals required to raise their pay could be achieved. Hong Kong workers were generally more receptive to team-based pay. Although the study was small (67 HK and 40 US respondents), its findings are in line with earlier research.

Application: Experts believe tying part of team members' pay to team success should help the team succeed, but how such a plan is implemented makes a big difference in whether it works. The more you can involve the team in establishing the process by which team pay is allocated and in the goals the team must achieve, the more likely each of those are to be perceived as fair. This in turn means the actual pay amounts are more likely to be seen as fair. In multinational teams, be aware that workers in an individual-oriented country like the United States usually resist pay for teaming more than others. Being upfront about this can reduce the odds of other team members seeing resistance as poor teamwork.

Team Approach Improves On-the-Job Training

Article: On-the-job training (OJT) is vital for training new employees, cross-training, and keeping skills fresh. This article stated that Diane Walter of Human Performance Applications (www.teamojt.com) has come up with a method she says is relatively inexpensive and much faster than having one or two subject-matter-experts (SMEs) handle the task. She says OJT can be more effective if training materials are created by a team. This also offers the benefit of addressing other performance issues that come up in the process.

Application: The basic steps the article outlines are:

• Break down each process or job into tasks, asking for each:
1. "What do you need to know to be able to perform this job task?
2. "Can you teach and can someone learn each of these tasks in a half hour?"
• Draft two-column modules, with the first column containing "an action word and object that describes what the trainee must do" and a column that "describes the when, where, why, and how you do it." Include enough details to help the trainees practice on their own.
• Try each module out on the job.
• When final, have it reviewed by appropriate SMEs such as the team manager and company's training coordinator.

Return to Contents

Business Success Stories can be Misleading

Study: Business success stories heard by word-of-mouth or through articles and presentations usually focus on successes instead of failures. Plus, these stories point out extreme successes and failures, as opposed to the majority of firms that perform well enough to survive (or don't) but not to the extreme that they gain special attention. Since you cannot observe the ongoing operations of a failed company, you cannot test theories about a failure yourself. And the techniques highlighted in the stories may not have had anything to do with the success or failure. In fact, "successful" techniques may have been highly risky and have failed in most cases. The researcher points out three popular management concepts that could be myths created by this bias:

• A company with a strong mission and values will succeed.
• Well-coordinated companies are more successful.
• Rapid, intuitive responses to the market ensure success.

Application: Although not mentioning teams per se, this study makes an important point about where and how you get the information you put to use in your workplace, including team information. If you are betting your team's success on a technique, you're better off using one that has withstood the tests of time and scientific questioning than the latest fad. See "About Business Stories" on the TeamTrainers Web site for questions to ask yourself when you hear or read these stories.

Team Problems Cause Unexpected Problems

Experts have found a wide range of business challenges that don?t seem team-related, yet are caused or can be reduced by improved teamwork, such as: low productivity and quality; low customer or employee satisfaction; and high costs, absenteeism, or turnover. If you aren?t positive your work group is as productive and cost-effective as possible, you may be throwing away money for no reason. Contact TeamTrainers today to find out.

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Contact the Editor

Your questions and suggestions are always welcome. Contact:

Jim Morgan
Head Coach, TeamTrainers Consulting
(425) 823-5082
jim@suddenteams.com
www.suddenteams.com