Developing individuals and team

As a team leader it is important that I know what is required in order to develop both individuals and teams. Within this assignment I aim to demonstrate my understanding of the factors involved when leading a team to achieve agreed objectives. I will show how to evaluate the current competencies of my team and how to develop those competencies into building an effective productive unit. 1. Understand the factors involved in leading a team to achieve agreed objectives: 1.1 Describe the principles underlying leadership of individuals and team. Leadership is an important function of management which helps to maximise efficiency and to achieve organisational goals. A leader should be A person who initiates the work to be undertaken by communicating the policies and plans in the execution of the workload.

Able to motivate individuals and teams to achieve agreed objectives. Able to, not only supervise, but be able to provide guidance for individuals and teams Able to create confidence within the team by explaining to them there role and giving them guidelines on how to achieve targets effectively. Confidence can also be created by listening to individuals concerns and acting upon them. A person who is able to build and maintain good morale by being as open and honest as possible with the workforce There are many different theories that can be used in achieving all of the above one of which is

The Belbin theory- which is used to help develop team types by helping individuals form productive working relationships, to identify certain talents within each team, help in the selection and development of effective and productive teams, to increase self awareness and effectiveness and also to aid in decisions being made regarding recruitment. This is all achieved by creating and filling roles within the team. An effective team would have a coordinator, shaper (leading), investigator, team worker (socialising), implementer, completer/finisher (doing), evaluator, plant, specialist (thinking). If all of these roles can be achieved then this is the basis of a strong, productive team. In summary Dr Meredith Belbin said “What is needed is not well balanced individuals; but individuals that balance well with each other.” Another theory that can be adopted when leading an effective team is: The Herzberg theory- this theory is used as a motivational aid for both teams and individuals. In 1959 Frederick Herzberg wrote the following phrase, which helps explain his theory “We can expand….by stating that the job satisfiers deal with the factors involved in doing the job, whereas the job dissatisfiers deal with the factors that define the job context.” Which means that the factors that motivate people at work are different, and not necessarily the opposite, of the factors that cause dissatisfaction. His theory was developed into a diagram which highlighted the key motivators.(Appendix 1)

1.2 Identify the links between individuals, teams and organisational objectives. Every organisation, regardless of size, requires clear, concise objectives to be able to serve its purpose and to help it to meet its goals. Any flaw in these objectives leaves the organisation with the inability to move forward and ultimately failure. It is important for each individual within a workforce to have their own, clear, objectives for their own personal development. This creates greater motivation on a personal front and as key members of a team. Each personal objective should focus on key initiatives. Individual objectives maintain and promote motivation. Maslow’s theory identifies eight levels of a “hierarchy of needs” which when linked together form a basis for development.

Personal objectives will provide the individual with realistic achievable goals which help to promote efficiency. When individuals, within a workforce lack motivation, it has a negative overbearing effect on the organisation reaching its own objectives. The creation of each and every individual development plan helps to identify both strengths and weaknesses within core skills. This helps to point people in the direction of the best way to achieve goals helping the organisation to develop in a positive way. In conjunction with that each individual has an important part to play within a team to enable that team to meet its targets which in turn will enable the organisation to achieve its objectives

1.3 Explain the methods of communicating individual and team objectives. The department I work in within the organisation has a number of daily and weekly targets which need to be met to satisfy consumer demand therefore each manufacturing centre has a morning DDS (Daily Directional Setting) meeting. This is to discuss any issues that have affected production over the previous 24 hours i.e manpower issues (sickness, absence etc), environmental issues, Quality issues, planned audits, upcoming visits and mechanical failure. We then discuss what plans we have to improve efficiency moving forward. This is then escalated to a senior DDS meeting in which the organisational efficiencies as a whole are discussed. This is also communicated to the team on a daily DDS 1 meeting. Which takes place with the team prior to them starting their shift. The most effective form of determining the performance issues within a team is strong interaction but within our organisation we have records which can identify trends such as individual training records, sickness records and each individual has a yearly EDR (employee development review appendix2) in which the team member sits in a one-to-one discussion with the team leader to air any training development and any other work related issues or concerns they might have.

2. Understand the current competencies of individuals and teams: 2.1 Describe the methods of conducting individual and team competence reviews. Within our organisation the first stage to evaluating a teams performance is via a SIC (short interval control) chart. This is a chart which is placed on each line and replaced every 24 hours. This chart enables the operators to record, hourly, what issues they might have had (good or bad) which have affected production within that team. The team leader checks this every hour to evaluate what support the team may require or issues that need to be addressed. Following on from that if there are issues with an individuals performance then it is the team leaders responsibility to address this. If a team fails to make targets that have been set, and that the team has met previously, then this is the first indication that they, as a team, are failing to perform to their full potential.

That could be down to an individual within that team or the team as a whole. The information retrieved from the SIC chart can then be used in conducting competence reviews. At the end of each week the team receives a ‘Team brief’ within which the teams results from the previous week are discussed openly and the team is encouraged to engage in what changes can be made to improve efficiencies. Likewise any positive achievements, and ways in which this can be maintained, are discussed and plans formulated. As individuals each team member is invited to a one to one discussion with the team leader on a yearly basis (or more often if the need arises). Within this discussion methods of development to improve competencies are addressed.

2.2 Identify the links between current competencies and the team and organisational objectives. There is a need within any organisation for each teams objectives and organisational objectives to be closely linked. Each teams objectives should be set with the ultimate goal of helping the organisation meet its own objectives. Within our organisation there are a number of KPI’s (Key Performance Indicators) which need to be met to enable our company to thrive and move forward. These are: Customer/consumer complaints

OEE (Efficiency) and productivity
Waste (and recycling)
Service (delivery to customer)
Employee attendance
Safety
Energy usage
Specific improvements (including cost saving ideas)
Plant breakdown (investigation and recording)
GMP (good manufacturing practise)
Change in customer requirements (and coping with these)
To ensure that competencies meet objectives we discuss what training developments each individual needs (within their EDR’s). Then a training plan can be developed and/or a skills gap analysis.

2.3 Identify the activities to support the development of current competencies of the team to current and future team and organisational objectives. There are a number of different approaches which we use to support and develop competencies within our teams these include: One to one
meetings

Appraisals
Team briefs
Coaching/mentoring
Retraining
Secondments
Shadowing
We also promote training to enable individuals and teams to understand the importance of being flexible such as learning jobs in other departments and formal training such as E-learning and safety courses 3. Know how to develop the competencies of individuals and teams: 3.1 Identify development opportunities for individuals and teams. Development opportunities for individuals and teams can take many different forms as an example within the department that I work we have a team of warehouse personnel who are responsible for obtaining raw materials and packaging for production. This involves the ordering and accepting the delivery of items required for the production teams, from external warehousing, to meet production plans on time.

Therefore 6 month secondments working with the material planners within the planning department were introduced. This enables the warehouse personnel to gain a greater understanding of customer requirements and the need for timely and effective ordering. Likewise on the production line we introduced shadowing which involves members of the process teams shadowing a packaging operative to enable them to gain a better understanding of what poor quality process methods effect the quality of the finished product thus giving them a better understanding of the bigger picture and not just the part of production that they are normally involved in. We also have a training system that flags up (by E-mail) when individuals are due refresher training on things such as health and safety and food hygiene.

3.2 Describe the methods of agreeing development opportunities with individuals and teams. Within each individuals EDR development opportunities are discussed as to what each individual requires to become more competent in their role. This aids myself, as a team leader, to build up a training plan to ensure that everyone is being treated fairly and are happy as to what is expected of them and their respective teams. This training plan would then be briefed out to the teams to welcome any comments or issues that may be of concern. Thereafter a skills scan (Appendix 3) can be developed for the team as a whole and should be communicated to all concerned to avoid any confusion. 3.3 Identify processes to measure and review individual and team development objectives.

Team development can be measured by the effect that it has on meeting OEE (overall effective efficiency) which is a reasonable target that is set by the organisational objectives and is affected by KPI’s. This target is set annually to coincide with customer requirements. Kirkpatricks evaluation of training model- is one method of measuring an individual or teams development objectives. This involves 4 stages which are: Reaction- measure the participants reaction to training. Often done with feedback sheets. Learning- test the participants retention of knowledge, skills etc. this is usually done through testing. This should be done during as well as at the end of training. Behaviour- assess changes in behaviour and trends from participants through testing or observation after training ends. Results- Evaluation of organisational benefits in terms of impact on the business or returns on investments. Establishing outcomes that contribute to organisational objectives.

Conclusion.
Upon completing this assignment I feel I have documented procedures and processes within our organisation that are instrumental in the effective development of individuals and teams. I feel that I have showed an understanding of what is essential in leading a team to achieve agreed objectives. Have understood the current competencies of individuals and teams, learned how to develop competencies and how to measure and evaluate them.