Efficient and effective design and management of teams is a topic that is regularly explored on good management training courses. If a team of individuals can pool their resources, they are capable of achieving much more that if they were working alone and in this economic climate, this is more important than ever.

The following factors should be considered when putting together a good team:

The right roles
In order to give them focus, each individual needs to be allocated a specific role or task to perform. That’s not to say they shouldn’t get support from other members of the team, but they need to be given a specific responsibility.

Of course in order to do this, the team must be aware of their overall objectives or targets, which then in turn need to be sub-divided into smaller chunks to be tackled by the individuals.

Outcomes
In addition to being made aware of the global goals of the team, each individual must be aware of the methods, timescale and quality of work expected from them. The clearer the outcome expected, the more focused the individual will be on achieving it. It’s often useful for the team to discuss these outcomes and collectively agree the standards they wish to achieve. It’s a balance between shared ownership and individual commitment.

Communication channels
Make sure that effective channels of communication, as well as appropriate methods exist in order for the team to share their knowledge and results. There should also be opportunities and channels made available for each to request support from colleagues as and when they require it.