What goes into making a strong team?

Individuals often need to come together to form a team in order to successfully accomplish tasks in the workplace. Employers should aim to build team cohesion so that team members are co-operating and working efficiently.

Employers should:

• Encourage regular communication within team members. Simplifying the communication process for individuals so that they can keep team members updated with relevant information is important.
• Establishing a set goal and allocating specific tasks to each team member will ensure that the team is working towards the same endpoint without clashing in the responsibilities they take on.
• Identify and utilise individual strengths and weaknesses and assign responsibilities accordingly. This will provide individuals with opportunities to work on certain skills with other team members who might excel in them.
• Conduct team-building activities to assess how certain members work with one another. This will be useful when forming teams and allocating tasks.
• Create teams that have a diverse range of individuals and skills. Teams benefit from different experiences which may assist in responding to problems with creative and out-of-the-box solutions.
• Celebrate team successes when the team accomplished their task. When a team works together to successfully complete a task, their individual and team efforts should be recognised.

Building a team and ensuring that each team member is satisfied with their roles and duties within the team is an ongoing process. It requires employers to observe the team and how they are cooperating with one another, as well as engaging in regular communication with team members to assist with any issues that may arise.