Team development is an important process for remaining competitive because dysfunctional teams represent a major economic challenge. Team development measures can increase productivity, improve cooperation and strengthen the bond within the team. However, this is not always the case – depending on the actions that are taken.
When teams fail to meet set goals, leaders and managers are faced with the question, “What was the cause?” Most of the time, this question is not so easy to answer. When different people work together, different dynamics emerge that can greatly affect the flow of work. Often, one problem causes the next. According to surveys by McKinsey, the challenges that arise are often met with measures whose success is not evidence-based. This is not only ineffective but also a huge drain on the budget!
The impact of development measures must be proven to have a positive effect on team performance. With the help of truly appropriate team development measures, cooperation can be improved in a targeted manner. To do this, it is necessary to know what a team really needs.
Identify needs of teams
In everyday life, it is often difficult to find out where exactly employees and teams need support. Even in personal contact, it is not always easy to get answers. By specifically looking at each employee in the team context, team dynamics can be made visible and conflicts can be identified at an early stage. In addition, the decisive reasons that really lead to a lack of motivation and team performance are identified.
Developments in teams that are otherwise difficult to notice subjectively can also be highlighted. Ongoing tracking of factors that measure various facets of team effectiveness makes potential measurable and thus visualizes where there is room for development. How quickly do you identify new challenges for teams created by the increased complexity of collaboration? A crucial question, especially with regard to remote teams and hybrid work models.
According to a study by everskill, 63% of respondents expect greater cost pressure in the future with regard to personnel development. In order to keep the workload and costs as low as possible, it makes sense to have the potential analysis carried out digitally so that it can also be run automatically in recurring cycles. With the help of scientifically based question tools, the information from employees can be recorded in compliance with data protection regulations. This means less effort and much easier scalability to all teams in the organization.
Verify the effectiveness of measures
It is often uncertain to what extent companies’ expenditures on team development measures are worthwhile. In most cases, the effectiveness of company measures is not evaluated. Therefore, you should always ask yourself: Are your current measures really effective? McKinsey estimates that 50% of your current measures are ineffective. This is mainly due to the fact that the team-specific needs are not clarified and there are no concrete clues that reveal what effects measures, coaching and training really have.
Which team development works in which team?
In order to design team development precisely and effectively with tangible interventions, it is not only necessary to recognize the factors that offer scope for development, but also to find suitable measures for them. Not every team is equally helped by certain impulses for action; many individual differences influence effectiveness. It is therefore a great advantage to be able to draw on a database that recommends the most suitable measures.
Team development needs good data to understand the individual needs of each team depending on composition, team type and industry. Companies that rely on data-based team development recognize the potential of their employees and the challenges of their teams more quickly and can react at an early stage.
Digital platforms for team development support HR decision-makers, team leaders and management in effectively managing teams with the help of organization-wide analytics.
Save time and budget with the Software for Team Leadership by effectively managing team development with data-based insights from over 1000 teams with organization-wide analytics. The platform deciphers key challenges and strengths per team across 16 factors, including focus, interfaces, feedback, or agility, among others, through regular and science-based queries.
With data-based improvement measures that have already been successfully implemented in comparable teams, the untapped potential is successfully developed. Optionally integrate your existing trainings, learning journeys or coachings into the platform and measure what really makes a lasting impact in your teams.
Discover the platform →