Team sessions

Teamwork as a remedy for all ills? We don't think this is the answer, but in situations in which your people have to cooperate intensively in order to bring common goals within reach, the quality of the cooperation does determine the difference between success and failure.

The challenge for teamwork is to mould the energy of individuals into a collective ambition of a close-knit group of people who know what they are aiming for and who can decide on their own contribution within this. This requires a sense of solidarity, a feeling of group dynamics, effective team leadership and a committed team spirit. The professionals from Sincere HR Development use these building blocks during team sessions in order to make your people aware of the individual character of their team and of their contribution in this team. We also facilitate team sessions for existing teams which are faced with a specific task, such as introducing a change (of culture) or setting up strategic plans for a period in the future. The feedback from various teams in recent years has convinced us of the extent to which these sessions, which are organized as offsite activities far away from the operational stress of everyday activities, can contribute to the achievement of plans and ambitions. A few examples are given below:

• For a professional damage settlement company in the Netherlands, we contributed to establishing a close-knit core team which manages the change of culture in a compact organization. How can you ensure that behaviour which has become entrenched in the company is discussed, what does this mean in terms of setting an example, what agreements do you make about this with new colleagues in a new team? What can be expected from every team member was established on the basis of the individual values of the team members ("what makes you tick"). Then the team decided how it wanted to present itself to the rest of the organization and what this means in terms of their own rules. Discussions were held with the employees on this basis.
• For a worldwide player in the industrial dyeing business with a need for a shared management language for the different local markets ("think local act global"), we started by sitting down round the table with the newly established management team. What are the strategic lines for the immediate future, how are these understood by the team members with their different cultures, and what are the concrete actions in relation to the next levels in the organization? Subsequently these top managers were the first to go through a leadership curriculum, as commitment and a common language start at the top of the tree.
• In a top Dutch employment mediator for professional specialists in the building and civil engineering sector, the managers of the establishment were keen to "sing from the same hymn sheet" in order to tackle the shortages on the employment market more effectively. How could they do this? As the members of a company who get together once every few weeks. They deliberately decided for a team approach so that they could tackle this together. Sincere HR Development was involved in clarifying the joint expectations and planning the actions based on this.