Here at MetaSource, we’re all about fostering collaboration with workflow automation, document management and document capture software.
However, software tools of this nature only work if you use them to work together with a well functioning team.
How well does your team function? Do you have any of these problems?
- Absence of Trust: fear of being vulnerable with team members prevents the building of trust within the team
- Fear of Conflict: a desire to preserve artificial harmony stifles the occurrence of productive ideological conflict
- Lack of Commitment: lack of clarity or buy-in prevents team members from making decisions they will stick to
- Avoidance of Accountability: the need to avoid interpersonal discomfort prevents team members from holding one another accountable
- Inattention to Results: the pursuit of individual goals and personal status erodes the focus on collective success
If the above sounds familiar, it’s because they’re the 5 Dysfunctions of a Team as profiled in Patrick Lencioni’s book of the same name.
High Performance Teamwork
According to Lencioni and confirmed by our experience, teams that transition from dysfunction to high performance teams achieve the following:
- Are comfortable asking for help, admitting mistakes, taking risks, and offering feedback
- Tap into each other’s skills and experiences
- Avoid wasting time talking about the wrong issues and revisiting topics because of lack of buy-in
- Make higher quality decisions and accomplish more in less time and fewer resources
- Put critical topics on the table and have lively meetings
- Align the team around common objectives
- Retain star employees
Next Step: Workflow Automation
Once team members are relating powerfully with one another, the next step is to streamline their work processes so they can work more efficiently. Workflow automation software helps knowledge workers reduce the time needed for tedious, manual and error-prone tasks so they can focus on higher value contributions, particularly in:
- Accounting: invoice processing and accounts receivable
- HR: new employee on-boarding, benefits administration and processing vacation requests, expense reports and other employee changes
Contact us to learn more about enhancing productivity with workflow automation software