Implementing self directed work teams requires a shift in the work culture, not always an easy task to accomplish. But in many business settings, the self-directed work team approach has many benefits and capitalizes on team work and your employees' social nature.

Such a shift to a self directed work group commands extensive training so that it leads to success at all levels of the company. In a sense, it takes the reins from traditional managers and extends them to employees, giving them more ownership in their job and in the business as a whole. It gives a sense of empowerment that, in the end, can lead to higher retention and productivity.

Consider the following:

1. Training for self directed or self managed work teams should include team building skills.

2. A self directed team must re-structure job duties as well as set up a system to to evaluate both success and failures, and ways to improve.

3. Self-directed work teams education and training should include how managers' roles will change from a hands-on approach to a hands-off approach. Many times in a self directed work team arrangement, managers are only involved to provide additional resources to teams.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Review online articles about self directed work groups

Not sure what self directed work groups are all about? Start your research with online articles written on the topic. The articles available range from very broad concepts to specific issues.

I recommend: Maintaining quality management is the topic of this Emerald Group Publishing article. You must be a member or register to view the full-text article. Read a background article on self directed work teams from Teambuildinginc.com, and check out the resources provided by this management training group.

Purchase books on self-directed teams

Consider reviewing or purchasing books for more in-depth information on how self-directed teams operate and the benefits. From how-to guides to case studies, much research has emerged on the topic.

I recommend: Preview a sample chapter of "The Magic of Self-Directed Work Teams: A Case Study in Courage and Culture Change" by Paul C. Palmes, and then order from American Society for Quality. Check out "Leading Self-Directed Work Teams" by Kimball Fisher, available via McGraw-Hill Education.

Set up training on self directed work teams

It may be best to work with a consulting firm or experts on self directed work teams. Consultants can help to set up your system as well as provide specific training for your employees.

I recommend: Training from the Tennessee Center for Labor-Management Relations deals with issues such as seniority, pay and job classifications, among others. Alliance Training & Consulting offers customized programs that are 100% guaranteed.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  A self directed work team concept can be used in both non-union and union workplaces and all union rules can be observed.

Self-directed or self-managed work teams have become more common today than ever before. As recognition of the value of employee empowerment grows, many companies see the potential advantages of implementing self-directed work teams. Yet, many are also unsure exactly how to go about doing it and wonder whether it could really work for them.

Fortunately, many resources exist on the Internet today that can guide you in getting the help you need to make your self-directed work team project a success.

Some advantages of adopting the self-directed work team model are:

1. Greater employee responsibility and accountability
2. Greater sense of accomplishment and satisfaction among employees
3. Greater freedom for team innovation
4. More effective use of individual team members' skills
5. Greater "ownership" of project results by team members who have a stake in the project's outcome
6. Greater empowerment, which leads to higher employee morale

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Understand the self-directed work team concept

Learn why self-directed work groups work. Understand the principles behind the concept and the employee motivations that cause self-directed business teams to thrive. You'll then be better prepared to implement this model in your own company.

I recommend: Organized Change Consultancy provides an overview of the 3 approaches to self-directed work groups. Free Management Library offers comprehensive information on the self-directed team concept, as well as explaining the difference between self-directed and self-managed work teams.

Train management thoroughly to prepare them for implementing self-directed work teams

Your managers are the people who will be responsible for empowering their teams to achieve their goals under their own leadership and self-determination. So, prepare them to help their teams excel by giving them the training they need in properly implementing the self-directed work team model.

I recommend: Fred Pryor Seminars offers various types of training in implementing self-directed work teams, and BIZ Hotline features corporate team building video seminars, which include self-directed work team videos.

Prepare your staff for self-directed team membership with some training of their own

Training your managers isn't enough. You'll also need to see that the team members, themselves, are thoroughly trained, developed and prepped for the exciting, though serious, responsibilities ahead. Effective training will equip them to be productive members of the team.

I recommend: AchieveMax, Inc. offers customized training in team building at your site, focusing on the specific training needs of your organization. 123CBT provides computer-based team participation training, including the fundamentals of effective team membership. One component of the training is how to differentiate between traditional and self-directed work teams.

Get some guidance from an expert by using a self-directed work teams consulting service

A self-directed business teams consultant can help you get your program properly implemented, better ensuring its success. If you're at all unsure that you and your managers can pull it off on your own, consider using a consultant--at least at the beginning--to get you started.

I recommend: Competitive Advantage Consultants, Inc. and Stanwick Management Consultants offer guidance in implementing your company's self-directed teams.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Learn as much as you can about the self-directed work teams business, and then build anticipation for the soon-to-be implemented program among your staff. Getting them on board early in the process will help the implementation phase go more smoothly, and preparing them in advance will give you time to overcome any initial resistance they may have to the idea due to insecurity.

Self-directed work teams are showing up in major companies globally. The shift from a top-down hierarchical organization design headed by a supervisor or manager has transformed into the process of team-building, which creates a collaborative group of workers empowered to design and implement a product, project or service. This approach relies heavily on the supervisor functioning in a coaching role and training the work team to complete cross-functional tasks, much like skunkworks temporary teams. Self-directed work teams are receiving a lot of support and increasing the productivity and profitability of many organizations.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Skunkworks

Skunkworks is a temporary work team assigned to complete a product, project or service. Typically, this type of team is used to test the process of a self-directed team before full implementation.

I recommend: Visit Search CIO.com for a complete description of skunkwork temporary teams.

Cross-functional tasks

This term is more commonly referred to as job rotation or cross-training and it's the ability to perform all job-related tasks associated within the self-directed work team. Each member is trained to complete every job associated with the project, product or service.

I recommend: Business Week offers an in-depth description of the process on its MBA blog site.

Team building

This is the process of establishing a team of workers to accomplish the project designated for self-directed work product, service or project. The traditional roles of supervisor and subordinate is dismantled and a collaborative team substitutes the step-by-step approach in producing the merchandise or service.

I recommend: Allbusiness.com provides examples of team building and the strategic role it plays in self-directed work teams.

Work Teams

A work team is the central part of self-directed work. This group of employees redesigns the process in which a project, product or service is produced. This collaborative group makes decisions that align with the company's mission statement and support of the organizational resources.

I recommend: Strategos discusses many ways and advantages offered by work teams. Working Together is the state of Wisconsin's best practices online site and provides an example of the self-directed work team created as an innovative way to reduce budget overhead costs.

Empowerment

This is a crucial factor in determining the success of self-directed work teams. When upper management authorizes the work team and gives proper training to accomplish the task with ongoing coaching, the outcome is empowered employees dedicated to achieving the company's desired outcome.

I recommend: Organized Change defines the most common approaches used to create work teams.

Organization design

Traditional organization design is a step-by-step process in which an employee, under direct supervision, performs a task and is compensated. Self-directed work teams change that dynamic of the work process and offer a peer-to-peer collaborative approach to accomplishing the same task with cost-effective methods.

I recommend: Quality Digest offers information about the advantages of organization design and self-directed work teams. Leadership and Motivation Training.com provides information on organization design and work processes.

Self directed work teams are also referred to as self managed teams and are typically responsible for processes normally associated with a manager. The key concept of self directed work groups is that decisions are made by consensus where members of the team exercise discretion in decision making. The team is accountable for the results of its actions and decisions.

The types of decisions that a self-directed team has responsibility for include goal setting, determining the methods for accomplishing the goals and agreeing on how the team will function. In other words, there is not a hierarchy and they can manage complex projects. Self-directed work teams work particularly well where there is a need for cross-department projects to be managed by members of similar seniority levels. In this guide you will:

1. Find out what approaches to self-directed teams are more likely to foster success.

2. Gather information on where you can find high quality consultants to assist you with implementing self directed work teams.

3. Discover the disadvantages of self directed work groups.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Discover the different approaches used to implement self directed or self-managed work teams

The way a self directed team is implemented can help determine how successful it will be. Self-directed work teams for beginners begins with approaches such as a spontaneous 'let's try this out for a while' in just one team to part of an overall re-engineering effort in an organization. Doing your research before you implement a self directed work group in your organization would be advantageous.

I recommend: Organized Change has an excellent discussion of the various implementation approaches. Institute for Corporate Productivity is a vendor free network of corporations focused on building highly productive organizations where you can discover more information on implementing self directed business teams.

Gain knowledge about self directed work teams consulting firms

If you are a small to medium sized organization you will want to find a consultant which will be able to help you determine with your research on such topics as what techniques or processes can be put in place to increase employee motivation. Things such as removing control, increasing accountability of the individual, allowing for more job freedom and fostering contributions by identifying experts within the team can all be enhanced in a self-directed work team.

I recommend: Competitive Advantage Consultants offers self-directed work teams training and other resources. Go to Teambuilding and scroll down to why self-direction works.

Study the disadvantages to determine if self-directed teams will work in your organization

By examining the disadvantages of self directed work teams you can learn how to overcome any obstacles which might impede implementation or success. Traditional work groups are much more common in most organizations and comparing their productivity with that of self-directed work teams is another way to clarify what outcomes you can expect.

I recommend: EzineArticles.com has a concise description of disadvantages and tips on how to overcome them. The Gale Group presents a lengthy article, which summarizes findings from a study done on competence of self-directed work teams and traditional work groups.