Managing Effectively (1.5 Credit Hour) TDI Course No.

 

Chapter 3:

3.1    Effective agency managers have strong knowledge of the different types of teams. Much of the confusion about teams in the workplace has to do with loose definitions of terms. Let’s start off on the right foot by specifying what a few key words and phrases mean.

Work Group - A group of people working together - (Example - the mechanics in a Sears Auto Center)

Team - A group of people working together toward a common goal - (Example - The Denver Broncos)

Self-Managed Team - A group of people working together in their own ways toward a common goal which is defined outside the team - (Example - James River Corporation’s Kendallville Plant ALPHA team. They manufacture cardboard boxes as defined by executive leadership. Team does their own work scheduling, training, rewards and recognition, etc.)

Self-Directed Team - A group of people working together in their own ways toward a common goal which the team defines - (as above, but team also handles compensation, discipline, and acts as a profit center by defining its own future)

Before anyone would try to implement something as aggressive as a self-managed (and subsequently self-directed) team, they should know and be able to articulate the expected benefits. A mature self-managed team, when compared to typical hierarchical management, would have measured results showing:

 

3.2    The Impact of Effective Management (EM) on an Agency’s bottom-line:

• o Increased revenue
• o More productive work environment
• o More referrals from happy and satisfied customers
• o A more efficient and effective office is less expensive to operate
• o Employees (agents, adjusters, clerical) understand management’s expectations clearly and therefore are more productive