Team Effectiveness & Increased Productivity

by Lisa McQuerrey; Reviewed by Michelle Seidel, B.Sc., LL.B., MBA; Updated January 28, 2019
Team members who work effectively with one another
have the capacity for increased productivity. Successful
teams comprise members who have an understanding of
their own roles in the group as well as their teammates'
roles and responsibilities. Working in a collaborative
fashion, effective teams have the ability to agree on goals
and strategic plans, divide work equitably and work
together to develop new ideas and concepts. In this way,
each team makes a contribution to organizational
productivity and effectiveness.

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Forming the Right Team

Creating an effective team begins with selecting the appropriate people. Good teammates work well in groups,
are flexible of others’ work strategies and understand how to effectively compromise. Team members should be
qualified for their tasks and should have no personal or professional conflicts with other team members, which
can decrease productivity, whereas a work environment where teammates are amicable toward one another
has the potential for increased group productivity.

Providing Appropriate Direction

For a team to be effective and increase its productivity, it must have solid project direction from its superiors. A
good manager will provide detailed instruction about team projects including goals, measurements and
timelines for completion. Depending on the nature of the assignment, a manager might opt to designate
specific tasks to individual team members, taking into consideration the individual strengths and performance
backgrounds of team members.

Ensuring Individual Accountability

One of the best ways to increase team productivity is a system in which each person is held individually
accountable by the group. Creating an internal system of checks and balances will ensure that each team
member is pulling his weight, contributing equitably to the workload and meeting all pre-established deadlines.
This approach will help prevent under-contribution and failure to complete work on time, all of which have the
potential to slow the productivity of the entire team.

Benefits of Team Support

Teams that effectively support other members can increase productivity. In any group there are individuals who
naturally fall into leadership roles and those who have greater productivity. When team members self-assign
tasks that each is best suited for, it leads to a team dynamic in which each individual is using his own strengths
and talents for the group's benefit, leading to increased productivity and quality of product.

Two Together Beats One

It's true that when two people work on the same project, the project has more work hours devoted to it and,
thus, is costing more than if only one person worked on the project. But researchers have confirmed that in
such circumstances, each individual's productivity increases above their productivity level when they worked
alone. In fact, the weaker worker's productivity increased an average of 10 percent.

Teams Increase Motivation

Just the idea of teamwork improves productivity. Team members who work near each other motivate each
member to be more productive, even when they are each working almost entirely individually. In fact, virtual
teams that never actually meet also increase their productivity over individuals working without being part of a
team. Apparently, simply knowing you're part of a group that shares common goals and depends on each
member to excel is enough to increase each worker's productivity.

Teams Improve Morale

The feeling of belonging to a group increases each person's morale and the team's overall morale as well. Team
members report feeling that they have support from others on the team. When each team member has an
assigned role, he feels appreciated by the other team members when he meets deadlines and completes his
tasks well. This positive feedback from other team members motivates each team member to continue to excel
in her work so that she will continue to be appreciated as a valuable member of the team.
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References (2)
Crossover: 7 Studies that Prove People Work Better in Teams
Career Addict: 10 Benefits of Teamwork in the Workplace
About the Author

Lisa McQuerrey has been a business writer since 1987. In 1994, she launched a full-service marketing and
communications firm. McQuerrey's work has garnered awards from the U.S. Small Business Administration, the
International Association of Business Communicators and the Associated Press. She is also the author of
several nonfiction trade publications, and, in 2012, had her first young-adult novel published by Glass Page
Books.

Photo Credits
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