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Special Focus: Team Building
Choice of team building techniques is key By Marie Wood
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pending some time building a high-performing team is an investment that pays off in increased business results. “People underestimate the time and attention that teams need to be successful. You can increase the pace of results if you focus on building a new team at the beginning,” said Bonnie Bennett, principal at TurningPoint Management in Bonnie Bennett Mankato. With 25 years of expertise in human resources and law, Bennett specializes in building high-performing cultures. As a human resources leader for a Fortune 1,000 company, Bennett devised practices that found the balance between company goals and employee needs. “Teams need maintenance just like your car does,” said Bennett.
She advises clients to clearly identify the objective and the needs of the team. You may be starting with a new team, reinvigorating a team, or dealing with a team in conflict. “When addressing the needs of your team, choosing the right activity is very important, because it depends on the objective. Choice of activities will also depend on the people on the team and their learning styles,” explained Bennett. “Some people are more task oriented, others more people oriented.” Some people learn best by doing while others learn best from discussing issues with others, so Bennett advises a mix of tasks and discussion. Team building also can be coupled with industry trainings and seminars. For example, LEAN manufacturing principles or customer service tools can be imparted while also building teams at the same time. The content can be job related, but there can be creative ways of sharing the information, explained Bennett. MV
What works for Mankato Clinic?
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ankato Clinic, one of the 15 top employers in the region, has more than 725 employees in multiple locations. “One of Mankato Clinic’s core values is teamwork. Teamwork is an area that is important to Mankato Clinic as we feel it is needed at the department level, but across the organization as well, in order to best serve our patients and the community,” said Sara Will, human resources administrator. Mankato Clinic approaches team building from many angles:
• Community involvement - United Way Day of Action, Backpack Food Program, local walks for M.S., March of Dimes, Making Strides Against Breast Cancer and others • Social events - buses to Twins games, Moondogs games, holiday party, picnic
• Customer service trainings - continuously learning and working together on ways to provide exceptional customer service • iTeam meetings - revisit organization’s pillars of people, service, quality care measures, organizational workflows, and more • Morning huddles - quick meetings to share information and discuss the upcoming day • Cross functional teams - involving a cross section of staff is the most effective way to complete projects that improve processes and workflows that impact many departments. Every 12 months, Mankato Clinic also conducts a confidential employee engagement survey. “If teamwork is an area that shows up, we will work on that,” said Will.
Building new teams “For a new team, it’s important to choose activities where they are sharing information and learning about each other,” said Bennett. One effective activity is to partner people together to interview each other. Bennett will choose an ice breaker question: Who would you most like to meet, dead or alive, and why? or Tell me about someone you admire and respect and why?
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Then the partners introduce each other to the larger group. “It’s much easier for people to talk about other folks than for us to talk about ourselves,” said Bennett. A shared experience can also bring a new team together, create bonds and give them a common experience to talk about. Bennett once coordinated a geo-caching event for a client. “Shared experience builds community,” said Bennett.