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Building a Team That CaresSuzanne Celmer-HarterLDR 601- OAOctober 5, 2014Dr. John W. FickBuilding a Team That CaresCustomer service is of paramount importance to the success of a business. Many companies have realized this and made customer service a top priority, thus changing the direction of business operations to customer focus driven. Quality customer service leads to increased customer satisfaction. Customer satisfaction is what will bring the consumer back to the place of business, and hopefully provide an increase in sales and profit. This aspect of business success is what is fueling the changing paradigm of how businesses operate, and the importance placed not only on goods and products, but also on employees. The key to customer service starts with the employees.TeamworkMany employees within a business are narrow-minded in how they view their role in their place of employment. They remained focused on themselves as individuals. In order for quality customer service to occur, individuals must become a cohesive team with the common purpose of providing excellent customer service. Conti and Kleiner cited research done by Larson and LaFasto that defined a team as “Two or more people with a specific performance objective or recognized goal to attain; and co-ordination of activity among the members of the team is required for attainment of the goal” CITATION Con97 \p 26 \l 1033 (Conti & Kleiner, 1997, p. 26). Members of a team must be committed to the same goal in order to achieve success. A team has to focus its energy customer service, which will result in increased customer satisfaction.Total Quality ManagementOne of the key questions that a business needs to ask is how does one take a group of people and make them a cohesive team that cares about each other’s work and customer service? One approach is to implement Total Quality Management (TQM). “Organizations that have adopted a quality oriented strategy have achieved improved productivity, greater customer satisfaction, increased employee morale, improved management-labor relations and higher overall performance”CITATION Fra13 \p 8 \l 1033 (Fraser, Tseng, & Hvolby, 2013, p. 8). Businesses that use a quality approach make an impression on customers. Customers notice if a team works well together, and if everyone puts the needs of the customer first. The staff will have a positive disposition; the workplace will have a friendly atmosphere, and individuals will take pride in their work and take ownership of problems. Working in a place where everyone knows each other's responsibilities and is willing to help one another will squelch the mindset of “it’s not my job.” This type of team attitude leads to creativity, a new level of confidence in employees, and team members who are involved and feel valued. Problems at Crystal MotorsLeadership Case Problem A in chapter 9 of the DuBrin textbook provides a scenario in which an automotive dealership has problems with the service department. The owner, Charlie Ventura claims that eighty-five percent of the dealership’s profit comes from the service department. Marcie Magellan is the manager of the service department which is divided into five color-coded service teams. Charlie and Marcie are in agreement that something has to be done to increase customer service.Enhancement of Teamwork at Crystal MotorsIn case study A, the first question asked concerns recommendations to enhance teamwork within the service department. The case study points out that the employees act like individuals and not team members. Marcie states “Our technicians and general helpers work on their own without acting as if they are part of a true team.” She continues to recount the story of how grease got on the leather seats of a vehicle because the person who was responsible for placing a protective seat cover on the seat had called off sick. If Crystal Motors utilized TQM, each employee would be empowered to do whatever was necessary to provide the best customer service possible. They would also take pride in a job well done, not just provide mediocre or substandard work. In the example stated above, even though the seat cover person called off, the mechanic that had the grease on him would have recognized the importance of maintaining the quality of the car’s interior and placed the seat cover on the seat himself before proceeding to work on the vehicle. Another example given for lack of teamwork was when the customer came to pick up the new car and it was still caked with mud because the car wash person was too busy the day before to get the job done. If the car wash person were too busy, her team leader should have made arrangements to have someone else do the car wash or take it somewhere to have it washed. It seems in both cases that no one truly cared about doing a good job and providing quality customer service. Everyone seemed to have the attitude that it was not their problem. But ultimately, it was their problem and everyone else who worked in that department. Teams have to be educated to know who their customers are, what their customers need, and how they can make a positive contribution. In essence, everyone is everyone else’s customer because all of their jobs are interdependent. Understanding this concept allows employees to focus on the customer. Customers will recognize this and will choose to come back when they need additional service in the future. Management’s Contributions to Enhancing TeamworkAs owner and service manager respectively, Charlie Ventura and Marcie Magellan can do many things to enhance teamwork in the service department. Management has to make team members feel that they are important and contribute to quality and service. They have to make sure that they have the right people in the right jobs. Employees have to know what is required and expected of them. This may require obtaining benchmarked service standard measurements across the industry and making the employees aware of the expectations. Leaders need to review the performance of each employee, and if an employee does not measure up to the standards required of the job, management must take action. Action may be in the form of retraining the employee, putting the employee in a performance improvement plan, or documenting problems and errors and holding them accountable through discussion and corrective action mechanisms that may ultimately lead to a dismissal. When replacing members, potential candidates for employment must be reviewed to make sure that s/he would be a good fit with the other team members. Pre-employment review could include peer interviewing of candidates by current staff. Leaders must also ensure that everyone contributes to the quality customer service. They need to empower employees to do whatever needs to be done immediately without having to waste time trying to find the right person to do the job. Employees should be cross-trained to allow a better understanding of the other team members and more versatility in scheduling and assignments. No longer would anyone be able to say that it was not their job to do a particular thing or that they did not know how to do that assignment. It is up to management to keep everyone informed. Leaders should hold team building exercises and regular department meetings that allow for free discussion of ideas and suggestions without fear of embarrassment or being “shot down.” Leaders have to give a team its identity and build trust between the members and “inspire them toward higher levels of performance”CITATION DuB13 \p 273 \l 1033 (DuBrin, 2013, p. 273). Finally, leaders have to recognize when employees and teams do a job well, whether it be team awards or individual ones. Sometimes a simple “thank you” or “you did a great job” or “I appreciate everything you did” goes far in motivating and building a team.CooperationThe next question in the case study asked what recommendations could be made to build cooperation between service technicians and general workers. In order to get team members between different departments to cooperate and work together more efficiently, leaders have to make sure that the employees understand their individual roles, the roles of other employees and how they fit together to benefit the customer. Again, this is where some cross-training may be an important benefit to the company if the jobs allow it. Team building exercises between departments might allow for a new appreciation and understanding of each other. Creating partners or liaisons between both departments could facilitate problem-solving and new understandings of each other’s job and responsibilities. Building of positive relationships takes away animosity between groups of people. Group lunches sponsored by the company would allow for the members of each department to get together and have friendly discussions and down time together. DuBrin suggests that friendly internal competition in the form of a rivalry between departments is a motivator and team building exercise (DuBrin, 2013, p. 280). Management should phone customers within three days of service to find out if the business met their expectations and what could be done to improve their encounter. Management could set up a competition that would track the number of service compliments a team or department obtained and offer a luncheon or gift cards as rewards. Finally, off-site events could contribute to an overall increase in a friendlier environment and promote positive workplace interactions. There is something to be said about being out of the immediate work area to level the playing field between groups of people and removing any sources of tension.Pit CrewsThe final question in case study A asks in what way is a pit crew an effective team. A pit crew for a racing team is made up of individual members that have to work together in synchrony and harmony to perform the job of preparing the car to race in the shortest amount of time possible, usually about thirteen seconds per stop. They have to perform every single time perfectly. Any error could lead to a loss, either a race or a life.One thing a lot of people don’t realize is the level of perfection not only expected but demanded, said Shaun Peet, who coaches the pit crews for the Sprint Cup Chevrolets of No. 1 Jamie McMurray and No. 42 Kyle Larson. Poor execution does not last long out here. (Fraley, 2014, para. 3)The pit crew has a crew chief that is similar to a team leader in a workplace. He coordinates the members of the team. The members of the pit crew have to know their specific job and their fellow crew member’s jobs inside and out. There is no room for error, and they have to be able to anticipate every move of every other team member. They have to work together like a “well oiled machine” to be able to be effective and minimize time in the pit stop. They have to be focused and well trained to perform at the very highest levels. If any one member is off, the performance of the whole team suffers, and they are not effective in their performance. A pit crew success is measured by the effectiveness of the team working together to build?trust, strong bonds and creating productive teamwork.ConclusionIn order to have a well-functioning team, a group of people must be able to trust, understand and successfully work together. The leader must motivate and inspire the members of the team to perform. The team members must know exactly what is expected of them and have their performance measured. They have to receive timely feedback in order to know if they are meeting the goals of their job. Finally, all members of a team have to be aligned and committed to the same goal. If all of these key principles are done correctly, then a team will be an effective one and in the case of Crystal Motors, quality customer service will be brought to the forefront which will lead to satisfaction for everyone and the potential for increased profit and business growth.References BIBLIOGRAPHY \l 1033 Conti, B., & Kleiner, B. H. (1997). How to increase teamwork in organizations. Training for Quality, 5(1), 26-29. Retrieved September 30, 2014, from , A. J. (2013). Leadership: Research findings, practice and skills (7 ed.). Mason, Ohio, USA: South-Western.Fraley, G. (2014, April 1). For pit crews, NASCAR races can be like football - you need athletes and proper execution. Retrieved October 3, 2014, from Sports Day DFW: , K., Tseng, B., & Hvolby, H.-H. (2013). TQM in new car dealerships: A study from the firms' perspective. TQM Journal, 25(1), 5-17. doi: ................
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