&EPA
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
EPA210-K-94-007
Administration And Resources Management (3634)
Are You Ready
For Work Teams?
Teams
Teams Series #2
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The purpose of this booklet is to provide
EPA managers, supervisors, and prospective
team members with information on different
aspects of work teams. This guide is in-
tended to aid decision makers in deciding
whether to implement work teams in their
organizations.
The material contained herein will
highlight important aspects of work teams,
pose different questions about teams, and
provide information that will facilitate making a
decision about whether your organization is
ready to implement work teams. Being ready
is the first major step to engage this manage-
ment alternative.
At the present time, there are various
demands being placed on organizations.
Work teams may be an effective means for
meeting these demands. Chances are your
organization is no exception.
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What Is Q Continuous Improvement
Triggering
The Q Continuous Learning
Organizational
Change? Q Streamlining
Q Reinvention
Q Work Redesign
D Information Technology
D The Global Workplace
D Speed
D Opportunity
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Unprecedented
Social,
Demographic,
Economic,
and
Technical
Change Is
Taking Place
If your organization is feeling any of these
pressures, you are not alone. Nearly all
organizations are being pressured to con-
sider organizing differently.
D Is the Reinvention initiative prompting
your organization to consider a manage-
ment alternative, given the requirement
to reduce middle management and
increase the supervisory span of con-
trol?
D Has your organization benefited from
Total Quality Management (TQM)? (The
same philosophy and tools will be very
useful and necessary in the new work
team environment.)
If your answer to either of the above ques-
tions is yes, you may want to consider work
teams.
Pressures on the Organization
Reinvention
Continuous
improvement
X'x vg \j-
Wort? ;,;
redesign
Page 2
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What Is a If you ask people for their definition of
Work Team? work teams, chances are that you'll get many
different answers.
A work team is an interdependent
collection of individuals who share responsi-
bility for specific outcomes. As such, a work
team requires:
D employees who are well-trained
D responsibility for a well-defined segment
of work
D employees with a great range of func-
tional skills
D employees with extensive decision
making authority
D employees with a high level of access to
information
Is your organization willing to increase
employee involvement through increased
levels of employees' knowledge, skills,
information, and decision making authority?
Is it willing to reassess its current reward
system? Organizations that are invested in
empowering their employees should continue
looking at work teams.
Page3
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How Are Teams
Different from
Traditional
Organizations?
Work teams differ from traditional
organizations. The main differences include:
Q Work teams have a broad set of
functions rather than a very specialized
/set of tasks
D Team leaders serve as coaches,
advisors, and facilitators, not directors
and controllers.
Q Work teams are responsible and
accountable for the day-to-day opera-
tions of the work, as opposed to being
told what to do.
D Work teams' success depends on the
organization developing a clear sense
of direction and espousing work place
values like trust, cooperation, and
openness.
If your organization's management
thinks that it needs to decide the day-to-day
expectations for the work unit and believes
that the overall direction of the organization
should remain with management and need
not be shared, you may want to modify the
present organization rather than transition to
work teams.
Page 4
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Traditional
Organization
Work Team
Organization
PageS
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What is Different About Work Teams?
Aspect
Traditional Organizations
Leaders
Directors, controllers,
managers
Trust
Decision making
Training
Low
Unilateral
Specialized, limited
Worker influence
Stuck/complacent
Page 6
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Work Teams
Self-Managed Work Teams
Coaches, advisors,
facilitators
Coaches & all members
Assumed bv teams
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From top & consensus
Consensus
Big picture
^^--J^f.t.-^'ilS. .1-1 ij
Cross-training, broad,
considerable
Cross-training, diverse,
continuous, extensive
/» ^a^>.|^^^^*i|fc,. ^//^^^'.:f,-''^^m'^4:'^^W^«^m
Make larger organization
as eriective as possible
Considerable
Great
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Challenged/innovative
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contributing
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Internal & External
External
Work & celebrate
together ' *
Plan, troubleshoot, work
w mi!' *^ ''jii'iffliji&^^i^^y^iijjs ''zjjjiifi* /* /
and celebrate together
Page?
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A team-based approach
to achieving the vision
High
Performance
Self-managing
Teams
High
Performance
v Teams
(Individuals
Enriched jobs
Multiskilled
employees
Teams evolve
toward self-
managing as they
gain needed skills
and knowledge.
PageS
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What Are the jhe new organization will require a new
Pros and Cons wav Of d0jng business. That raises a set of pro
of Work Team anc| cons
Organizations?
Pros
D employees who are committed to the
organization's goals
O improvement in work methods and procedures
D gain in attracting new people and retaining
employees
D increase in flexibility
Q increase in product quality
D reduction in supervisory level
D improvement in decision making
D increase in communication
Cons
D increase in training cost and time
a resistance by middle managers and staff
D increase in team meeting time
D increase in conflict
D takes time to transition into teams
D potential short-term decrease in productivity
Important initial investments in training, time,
and role and responsibility changes will be required.
If your work unit is willing to go through these
adjustments and make these investments, you may
want to continue learning about work teams.
Page 9
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How Will Leadership and direction which has
Leadership traditionally been provided by supervisors will
Change? be shared by coaches and team leaders. Over
time, leadership will shift to the employees
themselves, and be dispersed among the team
members on a rotating basis through employ-
ees serving as Team Leaders. Experience
suggests the time frame for this evolution may
be several years.
To What
Degree Will
the Roles of
Managers
and
Supervisors
Be Different?
While traditional first-line supervisory
roles will become obsolete, roles for middle
managers will increase in areas supporting the
work teams. These roles include:
D coaching the team
D supporting the team
D developing the overall strategy for the
team
D linking the team to the overall organiza-
tion
D serving as an expert resource for the team
D championing innovation focusing on the
existing technology and its continuous
improvement
D working with vendors and customers
D improving areas that have been neglected
The degree of innovation will be substan-
tial and a long term investment will be required
to accommodate the transition. In addition to
developing the roles identified above, your
organization will need to establish roles for
managing the transition.
Work Teams may be a viable option, if
your management is willing to support the role
changes and participate in managing the
transition.
Page 10
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What Kinds of
Administrative,
Technical, and
Team Skills
Will Be
Needed Within
the Team?
The work team environment will require
broader skills and a wider variety of tasks. To
meet these new expectations, the work teams
will require training in administrative skills,
technical skills, and team skills. These skills
typically include, but are not limited to:
measuring
work pro-
cesses
problem
solving
I I
I budgeting (leadership
d
listening
conflict
management
communica-
tion
Work teams will be able to conduct the
"How" in the organization - how to do the
work and make the decisions that go along
with these greater responsibilities. Manage-
ment keeps the "What" and the "Why." Man-
agement retains the authority to define organi-
zational strategy.
If your organization has had good results
from recent innovations in other areas and
you expect that those changes can facilitate
the transition to teams, continue to learn about
work teams.
Page 11
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What Are the
Transition
Stages
Involved in
Team
Implementa-
tion?
Four words typically describe the transi-
tion of work teams: forming, storming, norm-
ing, and performing.
Performin
Employees will be assigned to work
teams. They will require time to adjust to their
new work arrangements and to each other.
They will generate and engage in new work
norms, and they will eventually perform in such
a fashion that the whole will be greater than
the sum of its parts.
Management will continue to focus on the
broader perspective and the team will learn to
do more for themselves. The trip from the
traditional organization to the new organization
will require a long-term investment. Like Total
Quality Management, it.will be a process of
continuous improvement.
Page 12
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What is the ideal
state of
employee
involvement?
Self-directed work teams.
Is a self-directed
team undirected?
No - Demands from various outside
forces will always be transmitted to
working organizations. Some of those
outside influences are:
D Customers
D Suppliers
Q Sources of funds
D Overseeing organizations
What is a self-
directed team
like?
Self-directed Team
Leadership Model
Coach
Page 13
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What is leadership like in a self-directed work team?
The team leader
The coach
Q Sometimes called internal
facilitator or "point person"
D Is aligned with non-manage-
ment; that is, the team
D Rotates periodically, usually
quarterly after the first six to
nine months of team's
existence
Q Receives "perks" while
leading
Q Is not a mini-supervisor
Q Is not held directly respon-
sible for output of team
D Should usually be the best
"people person," not neces-
sarily the most technically
expert
D Is often appointed by man-
agement; subsequent leaders
are elected by the team
D May disappear as a position,
becoming more "floating" or
functional once the team is
highly mature
D Does not do for the team
what the team could do itself
D Sometimes called external
facilitator, mentor or coordina-
tor
D Is aligned with management
Q Is held responsible for output of
team
D Usually coaches several teams,
some permanent, some
temporary
D Typically a supervisor or
manager who makes the
transition to coaching
D Is involved, not "laissez-faire"
D Is more involved at the begin-
ning of team development than
later; e.g., attending team
meetings, approving decisions,
providing the team with
appraisals
D Provides general parameters,
training resources, information,
performance feedback and
encouragement
D Requires time to develop along
the learning curve just as the
team does
D Affords frequent, informal
appraisals
Q Communicates the vision
Q Does not do for the team what
the team could do itself
Page 14
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Questionnaire
We have provided you with a set of questions below which
can assist you in deciding your preparedness for work teams. If
your score indicates a high readiness for work teams, give us a
call.
On a scale of 1 (low preparedness) to 7 (high preparedness)
respond to the series of statements about your work organization.
For each statement, circle the number that best describes your
organization.
1. Our managers have demonstrated a high interest in work
teams and the application of Total Quality Management principles
towards improving the organization's processes.
1234567
2. Much of the work performed by your organization's employees
requires that they work independently.
1234567
3. Training is viewed as important and is being supported with
appropriate resources by your organization.
1234567
4. The current work tasks can be modified to provide employees
with broader task assignments.
1234567
5. Management takes employee suggestions seriously.
1234567
6. Our communication processes can be described effectively as
"multidirectional" (top down, bottom up, and sideways).
1234567
Page 15
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7. Our managers have demonstrated an interest in other than
technical skills by having enrolled in workshops or courses con-
taining work team material.
1234567
8. All of our employees demonstrate a high degree of maturity as
exhibited by a willingness to generate objectives on their own, a
willingness to take on responsibilities, and the persistence to
complete tasks.
1234567
9. Most of our managers and employees believe that current
Federal (reinvention) initiatives are serious indicators of a need for
change.
1234567
10. Efforts at conflict management and employee involvement in
decision making have been made to some degree in our organiza-
tion.
1234567
11. Work group members can make a substantial contribution to
the work performed by other members.
1234567
12. EPA's mission is well established and understood by all
organizational members.
1 2 34 5 6 7
13. Employees know that they are expected to communicate in a
professional, courteous and respectful manner.
1234567
Page 16
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14. Employees are both capable and prepared to perform new
roles and responsibilities.
1234567
15. An identified group of managers are committed to driving
this effort and will invest time and energy to see it through.
1234567
16. Upper management is ready to remove the barriers to
successful employee involvement in decision making.
1234567
17. There is an understanding that resistance exists with some
key organizational members and steps are being taken to
overcome this resistance.
1234567
18. Upper management understands that once the effort to
increase the level of employee involvement has begun and
employees become involved, it is very difficult, if not impossible,
to go back to the traditional ways.
1234567
19. The organization is prepared for a short term drop in pro-
ductivity as the organization's members spend extra time to
learn new skills, responsibilities, and processes.
1234567
20. Resources exist to communicate and track measures of
team and individual performance.
1234567
21. Our unions support the goal to increase employee involve-
ment in decision making.
1234567
Page 17
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Calculate your score by adding the
numbers circled for all of the items.
If your total score is greater than 80,
your level of preparedness warrants
investing in implementation of work
teams.
Your score
20 40 60 80
100 120 140
Less than 80 = It is too
soon. Learn more (see
page 11); lay the ground-
work.
80 or more = Seek a
decision to change to
teams; start planning.
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EPA Work Team Consultants
The following EPA staff members are collaborating on the
development and use of work teams in the Agency. Some or all may be
contributors to this and subsequent materials that will be published for
Agency use. All are available to provide guidance and information. As
information is exchanged and distributed, the work group will increase
in size to reflect the level of interest and expertise. If you would like to
participate in the information network, please contact one of the group
members.
Hector Suarez, Director
Policy and Research Division
Office of Human Resources
Management
401 M Street, SW, MC3634
Washington, DC 20460-0001
202-260-3308
Eduardo Rodela, Program Manager
Policy and Research Division
Office of Human Resources
Management
401 M Street, SW, MC3634
Washington, DC 20460-0001
202-260-3320
Art Sandoval, Director
Human Resources Office
Las Vegas
P.O. Box 98516
Las Vegas, NV 89193-8516
702-798-2401
Millie Dilworth, Associate Director
Human Resources Office, Las Vegas
P.O. Box98516
Las Vegas, NV 89193-8516
702-798-2401
Linda Adams
Human Resources Officer, Region VIII
999-18th Street, Suite 500
One Denver Place
Denver, CO 80202-2405
303-293-1485
Gene Ramsey
Human Resources Officer, Region VII
726 Minnesota Avenue
Kansas City, KS 64106
913-551-7347
Sandy Bowman
Human Resources Officer, Cincinnati
26 West Martin Luther King Drive
Cincinnati, OH 45268
513-569-7801
Jessica Barron
Training Officer, Cincinnati
26 West Martin Luther King Drive
Cincinnati, OH 45268
513-569-7810
Doris Sanders, Coach
Public Water Supply Program
Region VIII
999 18th Street, Suite 500
One Denver Place
Denver, CO 80202-2401
303-391-6768
Dan Donnelly, Director
USEPA Region 3
Central Regional Laboratory
839 Bestgate Road/3ES02
Annapolis, MD 21401
Pat Krantz, Chief
QA Branch
USEPA Region 3
Central Regional Laboratory
201 Defense Highway, Suite 200
Annapolis, MD 21401
Page 19
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U S
OPPfs Chemical Library
EPA West Room 3379 MC7407T
1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW
Washington DC 20460-0001
References
DL
Continuous Improvement: Teams & Tools. Robert F. Lynch
and Thomas J. Werner. Qual-Team, Inc., Atlanta, 1992.
Empowered Work Teams: Putting It All Together. Xerox
Corporation, Rochester, NY, 1992.
High Involvement Management. Edward E. Lawler III.
Jossey-Bass, San Francisco, 1986.
Implementation of Self-Managed Work Teams In Tradi-
tional Organizations. Michael Beyerlein, Doug Johnson, Sandra
Richardson, & Sue Beyerlein. Conference presentation. Dallas,
Texas: Center For The Study Of Work Teams, Spring, 1994.
Implementing Self-Directed Work Teams. Loren Ankarlo,
Career Track, Inc., 1992.
Leading Teams in Organizations. Chapter by J. Richard
Hackman and Richard E. Walton in Paul S. Goodman (Ed.). Design-
ing Effective Work Teams. Jossey-Bass, San Francisco, 1986.
Managing Beyond The Quick Fix. Ralph H. Kilmann. Jos-
sey-Bass, San Francisco, CA, 1989.
Self Directed Work Teams. Jack Osborn and Associates,
Research One. Irwin, Homewood, IL, 1990.
Stages of Development. B.W. Tuckman. Beyerlein and
Associates, 1994.
The Team Handbook. Peter R. Scholtes and Associates.
Joiner Associates, Madison, Wl, 1988.
Work Redesign. J. Richard Hackman & Greg Oldham.
Addison Wesley, Reading, MA, 1980.
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