Organisations need more openness and trust

More openness and trust within teams is needed if organisations are to achieve their goals. That's the finding of a survey of HR managers into teams and organisational culture by MSA Interactive.

When asked what was the one thing that would improve the success of teams within their organisation, 52% said openness and trust, followed by communication (48%), decision making (33%) and shared vision (26%). The survey found that creating high performance through teams was high up or at the top of the agenda of 87% of respondents. The same number thought that the organisation's culture and environment was vital in generating high team performance. But only four per cent thought their teams delivered fully.

Critical to the success of a team was communication (67%), followed by openness and trust (52%). But 59% thought that openness was the hardest thing to instil in teams and also the hardest to measure.

The respondents were split on a number of issues, most notably virtual teams. Only 19% thought that they were the future, with 23% thinking it was a nice idea but wouldn't work in reality. They were also mixed about how they measured teams. For 12% measurement was not important, 27% used subjective assessments and 38% balanced scorecards.

When it came to what they wanted to achieve from teams, 73% thought that customer focus was the most important thing.

Says Vandy Massey of MSA Interactive: "How teams work together is vital, but this survey shows that most organisations recognise that teamwork doesn't come automatically. It needs support from the very top, an understanding of the goals and a culture that lends itself to teams wanting to work together to achieve the organisation's goals."

The survey was among senior HR and training professionals across a number of industries. Respondents were drawn from senior management levels.

[We welcome the use of our survey results in other publications and newsletters. Please credit the reference to www.MSAinteractive.com.]