What is the most significant difference between team-building and process consultation?
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Organisational Development (OD) interventions are the building blocks which are the planned activities designed to improve the organisation’s effectiveness through the participation of the members of the organisation. One OD intervention, team building is one intervention which I have utilised both within the health, building and construction sectors. It can be utilised in a number of situations to help an organisation/teams with people from diverse backgrounds, cultures, values, education levels, attitudes, and disciplines work together, gain an appreciation for the diversity, and recognise how essential it is. Working as an internal Principal Workforce Capability Consultant within a medium statutory authority in Queensland I lead and facilitated the rollout of team building interventions across the organisation. The interventions were focused on building a strong culture within teams, across divisions, with regional offices and across the organisation. Each intervention was a contractual agreement between the team/division and the Human Resources (HR) Team which in turn, need the approval of the General Manager before implementation. As the lead facilitator, I facilitated and worked diligently with teams/divisions over a 3 to 6 months timeframe depending on the size and team maturity of the team/ division. Upfront, it was recognised that the intervention needed to be linked to strategic change agenda and required a collaborative effort and lots of energy. Each intervention needed to meet three (3) strict criteria - cost neutral, outcomes based and innovative. Broadly, the team building intervention involved developing and discovering:
After the initial bedding down the vision, values and team charter, I spent dedicated time in discussing with the client the most appropriate intervention. One case example was ‘Scavenger Hunts’ which were conducted within the city central business district or in the mountains. The scavenger hunt was well structured ensuring each activity was linked to the organisational vision and values, the team charter and ensured a team bonding experience. Teams would be divided into mini-teams and would have to use their decision-making skills to race against the clock collecting items, taking pictures, and completing trivia and physical and mental challenges throughout the surrounding area. Teams were provided maps of the area and clues. Some of the challenges required the whole team, or just one person. A debriefing session and evaluation tools measured the success at the end of the day. The lead facilitator would re-connect with the team a week later and debrief the scavenger hunt and work with the team on developing strategies to improve the team effectiveness both with a process and people focus. Built into each intervention were evaluation tools to measure the effectiveness of each activity to determine the Return on Investment (ROI) Evaluation at Level 5 (Phillips and Stone). This structured approach to measuring Team Building interventions earned this organisation the honour of ‘Australia’s Best Learning and Development Strategy’ at the annual National HR Awards. About the Author. Tony Wiggins is an Organisational Development Specialist committed to leading innovative OD thinking in bringing about whole-of-system change. His extensive experience and talent are highly sought after in developing forward thinking OD strategies to take organisations into the post COVID economy. About the Author. Tony Wiggins is an Organisational Development Specialist committed to leading innovative OD thinking in bringing about whole-of-system change. His extensive experience and talent are highly sought after in developing forward thinking OD strategies to take organisations into the post COVID economy. Related OD Articles OD and The Action Research Model: A Case Study OD and Process Consultation: A Healthcare Case Study What’s New in OD: Trends and Practices The Rise of OD in the Post COVID Economy #teambuilding #leadership #OD #organisationaldevelopment #processconsultation #futureofwork #workforceofthefuture #workforce #qualitysystems #qualityimprovement #health #teamwork #designthinking Process Consultation The technique of process consultation is an improvement over the method of sensitivity training or T-Group in the sense that both are based on the similar premise of improving organisational effectiveness through dealing with interpersonal problems but process consultation is more tasks oriented than sensitivity training. In process consultation the consultant or expert provides the trainee feedback and tell him what is going around him as pointed out by E H Schein that the consultant, “Gives the client ‘insight’ into what is going on around him, within him, and between him and other people.” Under this technique the consultant or expert provides necessary guidance or advice as to how the participant can solve his own problem. Here the consultant makes correct diagnosis of the problem and then guides the participants. The consultant according to E H Schein, “Helping the client to perceive, understand and act upon process events which occur in the clients’ environment.” Process consultation technique is developed to find solutions to the important problems faced by the organisation such as decision making and problem solving, communication, functional role of group members, leadership qualities. Consultant is an expert outside the organisation. E H Schein has suggested the following steps for consultant to follow in process consultation: (i) Initiate contact: This is where the client contacts the consultant with a problem that cannot be solved by normal organisation procedures or resources. (ii) Define the Relationship: In this step the consultant and the client enter into both a formal contract spelling out services, time, and frees and a psychological contract. The latter spells out the expectations and hoped for results of both the client and the consultant. (iii) Select a Setting and a Method: This step involves an understanding of where and how the consultant will do the job that needs to be done. (iv) Gather Data and Make a Diagnosis: Through a survey using questionnaires, observation and interviews, the consultant makes a preliminary diagnosis. This data gathering occurs simultaneously with the entire consultative process. (v) Intervene: Agenda setting, feedback, coaching, and/or structural interventions can be made in the process consultation approach. (vi) Reduce Involvement and Terminate: The consultant disengages from the client organization by mutual agreement but leaves the door open for future involvement.” The organisation benefits from the process consultation to ease out interpersonal and intergroup problems. To use the technique of process consultation effectively the participants should take interest in it. Third Party Activities designed and conducted by a skilled consultant to manage interpersonal conflict in the process of organizational change. Team Building Team Building is another method of organisation development. This method is specifically designed to make improvement in the ability of employees and motivating them to work together. It is the organisation development technique which emphasizes on team building or forming work groups in order to improve organisational effectiveness. These teams consist of employees of the same rank and a supervisor. This technique is an application of sensitivity training to the teams of different departments. The teams or work groups are pretty small consisting of 10 to 15 persons. They undergo group discussion under the supervision of an expert trainer usually a supervisor. The trainer only guides but does not participate in the group discussion. This method of team building is used because people in general do not open up their mind and not honest to their fellows. As they does not mix up openly and fail to express their views to the peers and superiors. This technique helps them express their views and see how others interpret their views. It increases the sensitivity to others’ behaviour. They become aware of group functioning. They get exposed to the creative thinking of others and socio-psychological behaviour at the workplace. They learn many aspects of interpersonal behaviour and interactions. Transactional Analysis Transactional analysis helps people to understand each other better. It is a useful tool for organisational development but it has diverse applications in training, counselling, interpersonal communication and making analysis of group dynamics. Nowadays, it is widely used as OD technique. It helps in developing more adult ego states among people of the organisation. It is also used in process consultation and team building. |
