In: Operations Management
Self-managed teams have grown very much in popularity since their introduction in the 1960s. Nearly 80 % of companies in the Fortune 1000 use self managed teams. About 81% of manufacturing companies are relying on self-managed teams. Self managed teams are self-organized, semiautonomous small group of employees who plan and manage their day-to-day activities and duties under almost no supervision. The team is responsible and accountable for all or most aspects of production/development a product or service delivery. Conventional organizations assign tasks to employees depending on their skills or their functional department. A self-managed team carries out supporting tasks, such as planning and scheduling the workflow and managing annual leave and absence, in addition to technical task. These responsibilities are self-rotated among the team members.
Firms prefer self-managed teams due to cost saving opportunities and increased productivity. A team that is able to manage itself in terms of productivity, quality, innovation, customer service and profitability adds enormous bottom line value to any business. Despite the reason that these types of teams take a long time to establish and needs management support for them to be fruitful, they are the latest trend in HR strategies. However, self-managed teams aren't the right fit for every company. The best-performing self-managed teams are found in companies where the organizational culture clearly supports decision-making by employees.
Benefits: Self-managed teams have greater ownership. They tend to be less costly and more productive then teams with traditional hierarchical structure because the team performs both technical and management tasks. Since decisions are made by the people who know most about the job, decisions are very effective. Following are the benefits of self-managed teams:
Accountability Reduces Costs
A team which is self-managed and accountable reduces management cost substantially.
Remain Focused on Business Outcomes
Self-managed teams have a greater focus on the overall business outcome. They are not governed by project level objectives. They proactively look for ways to achieve the company objectives which gives more productive outcomes from their efforts. Instead of just working on assigned piece of work, they constantly have a vision about the bigger picture.
Resourcefulness and Initiatives Driven
Since the teams are assigned greater scope and trusted with finding solutions to larger problems, they become far more innovative and resourceful. They work together to find new way to do more with less and uncover focus areas of concern within the business.
Conflicts are Resolved Internally
For businesses with difficulties in employee satisfaction and retention, self-managed teams can be very useful. With greater scope and responsibilities, individuals find greater happiness in their employment and thus have more fulfillment. Hence, when emotional challenges are faced, they are more empowered to find a solution from within their team.
Flexible, Demand-Driven Roles
Roles for individuals are very flexible in self-managed teams. The dynamic shifting of roles and responsibilities allows people to get experience at different levels. This increases accountability within the organization along with great personal development and growth.