Is your TQS team really working as a team?

You created a team when you first started work on the TQS. Perhaps you have a steering group. Perhaps you have a monitoring group.

However you have chosen to divide up the TQS responsibilities, is every one working together to achieve the TQS?

If your organisation is like most provider organisations, then your team members are probably working in their own ways and focusing on the things that are important to them. Maybe they’re not really working on the TQS much - except when you have your TQS meetings.

Here are three things to do to help your team to work better together.

Work together on defining the key management processes

You need to work out the key processes for managing your employer/customer journey. Do this as a team if that will work. If not, bring the team together to agree and to approve the processes which have been devised.

Make it clear that approval of a process also entails getting involved in ensuring that people use the process.

For example, if the TQS team agrees that all employer information is to be recorded on your CRM, then they must share the responsibility for making sure this happens.

Create a timetable of tasks to be completed

When you begin work on the TQS and you start to make your list of what needs to be done, you will probably be overwhelmed by all the things that end up on the list.

Other people will feel the same way, too.

Above all you need to help every one else to avoid that feeling of being overwhelmed, because you want the other members of the team to take action. People who are overwhelmed by a task are unlikely to take action, so it’s in your own interests to help them to keep control of their involvement with the TQS development work.

Therefore, you need a timetable of tasks, and agreement within the team, about what will be done when.

Make sure the list of activities is realistic. It’s very easy to set up a timetable that is just too demanding. Once your team members fall behind, they will become demoralised and give up. They’ll stop attending team meetings and just quietly drop out of things.

Use your TQS team meetings to check progress and to find ways of helping the TQS team to meet deadlines and complete tasks on time.

Give feedback on progress

When people are working on something new they need to know how they’re doing. When people are being asked to take on extra roles and extra tasks they need to know that they are making progress with the TQS and that their efforts are appreciated.

Make sure you monitor what is happening and take steps to help people to avoid mistakes. This means that when you give feedback on progress, your comments will be positive. You will be able to reinforce success.

Every one likes to be associated with success, so this will help your organisation to make the progress you know is needed.

Keeping a team together, even a motivated and committed team, takes time and effort. Your progress towards TQS certification will be faster and smoother if you think about how the TQS journey should be managed as well as about how to achieve the TQS itself.

See also:

Three Questions – Karen Kimberley
Preparing the senior team