Introduction
Teamwork is very important in achieving success for any organization. In a situation whereby there are limited funds to create employment, a manager should utilize his or her planning skills in using the available limited resources to ensure optimal functioning of the organization. This paper is a proposal that shows the importance of teamwork in attaining efficiency and customer satisfaction in a situation whereby there is increased volume of calls and limited funds to create employment.
Importance of teamwork (includes teamwork in non-health industries)
According to Mager, Lange, Greiner & Saracino (2012), the United States has been indicated to spend a lot of money on health care, yet the apparent poor comes are not commensurate with the resources spent. Fragmentation has been pointed out as a major thwarting impetus to the attainment of quality care. Working together as a team has been presented to be a mechanism for improving patient outcomes. Nuclear power plant operations are shown by O’Hara & Roth (cited in Fraher, 2013) to rely on collaboration for their functioning and success. The best teams are described as having categorically defined roles.
In addition, supporting and backing up each other is equally fundamental. This high level of teamwork cannot be achieved if there is no trust, openness and lack of a common and shared comprehension of the goals and procedures of the plant operations. The aviation industry on the other hand has been shown as one that has been facing teamwork problems since the beginning of the 21st century due to downsizing of the workers, resulting in a breach of trust. The military is another industry that heavily relies on teamwork. Literature in this industry suggests that effective and efficient teamwork results in the military are achieved when handling small numbers (Ellis & Martin, 2006).
In the situation at hand, it is important that the manager addresses the issue impeccably without losing the confidence of the clients. The five-step planning approach as explained by Lombardi, Schermerhorn & Kramer (2007) would be ideal in handling the issue at hand. To begin with, the manager should identify where the problem is coming from: has the number of clients increased? Or, has there been a laxity on the part of the workers? The manager can easily determine this by checking the records of callers during the past five years to check the trend. In addition, appraisals should be evaluated to check whether the workers are indeed performing as per the outlined objectives and targets.
Application of the Five-step planning process while incorporating
The literature presented is useful for the healthcare manager to address the issue of increased calls versus few resources. It has been shown that it is possible to work with a team of a few people. The manager should develop various strategies on how to solve the problem. After identifying the problem, the manager should use a participatory approach to get various ideas on how to address the problem with a focus on the available few resources. An increase in the clientele base would require the manager to intensify the teamwork within the organization as well as liaise with the healthcare workers in the other departments.
Some departments are not usually as busy therefore they can send some of their employees to the call center to counteract the upsurge. Alternatively, when all the customer care representatives are busy, some calls can be redirected to these less busy divisions such as that of a physiotherapist or anesthetist. This approach does not require training costs but an alteration of the telephone line to allow redirection of calls from the call center. If the issue stems from the workers, then the manager should adopt the approach from the nuclear plant operations to encourage openness and trust amongst the workers.
The manager should deliberate and analyze the various options based on the identified problem. This is important because it helps to compare the risks and returns of each possible solution so as to settle on the most possible and favorable solution. Once the manager decides on which action to take, then the implementation can be done. In the case of intensifying teamwork and addressing internal workers’ issue, simulation can be used (Mager, Lange, Greiner & Saracino, 2012).
Also, in case of increased work volume, the manager should appoint supervisors in charge of various teams within the call center. The manager should also liaise with the IT department to ensure that most of the frequently asked questions are placed on the website. This way, customer center representatives can focus on attending to other clients with more sensitive and urgent issues.
Once implementation has been effected, the manager should carry out an evaluation process to ensure that the objectives for reform have been achieved. In case they have not been achieved, there is a need to go back on the drawing board to identify prevailing gaps. If the objectives have been met, then the manager can proceed to reinforce the intervention. But if it is not sustainable, he or she should come up with a strategy that can sustain the volume of calls especially in the case of increased number of callers.
Conclusion
In conclusion, teamwork is very important in any organization. However, a manager should be able to guide his or her subordinates towards attaining effective and efficient teamwork to yield positive and beneficial results. The right planning and leadership skills are therefore imperative in this case.
References
Ellis, J. E., & Martin, M. W. (2006). Human behavior presentation of military teamwork. Monterey: U.S. Army Training and Analysis Center.
Fraher, A. (2013). Airline downsizing and its impact on team performance. Team Performance Management, 19(2), 109-126.
Lombardi, D., Schermerhorn, J., & Kramer, B. (2007). Health care management. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons Inc.
Mager, D., Lange, J., Greiner, P., & Saracino. K. (2012). Using simulation pedagogy to enhance teamwork and communication in the care of older adults: The elder project. The Journal of Continuing Education in Nursing, 43(8), 363-369.