6055 Teams and Chartered Teams

Georgia State Seal

Georgia Division of Aging Services
Administrative Manual

Chapter:

6050 Quality Improvement

Effective Date:

10/20/2021

Section Title:

Teams and Chartered Teams

Reviewed or Updated in:

MT 2022-03

Section Number:

6055

Previous Update:

Summary Statement

The Division of Aging Services uses Teams to solve problems and improve processes.

Background

Between the years 1997 and 1999, the Division of Aging Services (DAS) committed to total quality management (TQM), a process for managing quality in a continuous way to improve everything the Division does to better meet customer needs.

Teams form the backbone of the TQM process. Most continuous improvement initiatives begin with a steering team and progressively expand to include problem solving teams comprised of the people most directly involved with the problem or process being addressed. The value of teams is that a group of individuals can be more comprehensive and creative in changing processes than can an individual.

Teams also allow employees at different levels of the organization to work together, to share information, and to achieve a collective success.

Chartered Teams within DAS are given a clear purpose and a clear expectation of all deliverables to be produced.

Project Timeline:

  • Concept/Initiation – Team Charter produced

  • Definition/Planning – Scope, budget, risk management, work schedule developed

  • Launch/Execute – Pilot phase, track key performance indicators, quality, etc.

  • Evaluation – Plan, Do, Check, Act; adjust project plan, deliverables as needed

  • Project Close – Final report to Management Team; Management Team decides to implement fully or not

Teams optimize employee and organizational performance in the following ways:

  • Teams include employees involved on a day-to-day basis with the work process being improved. These employees know where system problems exist, where the work process breaks down, and how the process can be improved to the benefit of the organization as a whole

  • The team understands its purpose and how its work supports the organization’s mission

  • Teams analyze work systematically and use consensus to make decisions.

Types of teams used by DAS include:

Functional Teams are composed of people who normally work together within the same division/agency/unit to work on challenges that impact and are controlled by the functional unit. These teams are usually not chartered.

Project Teams consist of six to eight individuals that form to solve a problem or to improve or design a process. These are the right people solving the right problem with the right tools. These teams are usually not chartered.

Cross Functional Teams are composed of people or representatives from several different functions of the division or department to work on challenges that affect more than one functional area. These teams are chartered.

Team Charter

A team charter is comprised of the following components:

Description of the project

  • Name of the process being designed or revised

  • Boundaries of the process

  • Why the process was chosen

  • Customers of the process

  • Expected results

  • Benefits and/or impact the project may have

Nature of the team

  • Problem solving (process design)

  • Process improvement

  • Planning

Team staff

  • Skills needed

  • Names of group members

    • DAS Staff

    • AAA Staff (if applicable)

    • Other DHS Staff (if applicable)

  • Why the members were chosen (optional)

Boundaries and support

  • Constraints: time, funding, staff

  • Resources

  • Decision making authority

    • Study and recommend

    • Study, recommend and participate in decision making

    • Study decide and implement

  • Restrictions on team activities

Chartered Team Roles

During the organizing phase of the team life cycle, roles for team members are established. Required roles and duties for charted teams are described below.

Team Sponsor(s)

Team sponsors translate leadership vision, mission, and strategy into functional activities for the business, provide feedback to leadership concerning the status of team activities and align leadership vision with team member needs.

Responsibilities include:

  • Coordinate team activities

    • Help the team focus on problems which relate to business objectives

    • Assign a Team Leader (unless the team will select their own leader)

    • Facilitate the first meeting of the team

    • Ensure that team members are properly chosen

    • Ensure that the functioning of the team remains at a high level

  • Advise on or identify issue selection

    • Give suggestions on possible problems for selection

    • Advise on how to track and measure progress

  • Provide needed resources and support

    • Ensuring that there is time to meet

    • Ensuring a meeting space if needed; virtual meetings are an acceptable alternative

    • Ensuring all other materials necessary for a smooth team operation (data, materials, technical resources)

  • Coach on problem solving

    • Be a technical problem-solving resource

    • Motivate the team to move through tough times

  • Assist in implementation of solutions

    • Support the team during the early stages of implementation

    • Support the lasting benefit of changes

  • Recognize team achievement

Team Members

Team members will carry out assigned tasks, work with others to identify areas for improvement, share their experience and knowledge and work to increase their own understanding of the problem or process.

Management Team members will nominate and/or approve staff assigned to the Chartered Team taking into consideration the following:

  • Subject matter expertise required for the team

  • Availability of the staff member

  • Staff member’s performance. No staff with less than a “met” on their last performance evaluation may serve on a team

Team Leader

The Team Sponsor shall assign a Team Leader. Responsibilities include:

  • Serving as custodian for Team records and documentation. This could be on a shared drive, Microsoft Teams channel, etc.

  • Preparing the final report and any interim reports described in the team charter

  • Ensure supporting documentation is presented with reports

  • Meeting with the Team Sponsor and/or DAS Management Team to answer questions or clarify the reports and supporting documentation.

The team shall assign a Facilitator, Recorder and Timekeeper for each meeting. Best practice is to rotate these roles, but rotation is not required.

Facilitator

The Facilitator may or may not be the Team Sponsor. The Facilitator will establish the agenda and set time frames for each portion of the agenda. The agenda shall be issued to team members far enough in advance to allow for preparation.

Recorder

The Recorder will keep accurate minutes of the meeting and publish to all members as well as those who are not team members but who are affected by the team’s work.

Timekeeper

The Timekeeper will monitor the meeting time to ensure all agenda items are covered.

Team Meeting Rules

Whether participation is in a chartered team or an informal team, the expectation is that the following rules apply:

  • Respect others. Everyone owns a part of the process. Listen

  • Think about the meeting beforehand

    • Come to meetings prepared; review the agenda; start and end on time

    • Try to reach consensus “I will agree to support the decision”; there is no “majority rule” in consensus

    • Stay through the hard parts

Additional expectations for chartered teams include:

  • Minutes

    • Will be kept and published

    • At the end of the meeting review for action items. Send the summary out to everyone

  • Keep updated and accurate team records

Procedures

The following steps are for Chartered Teams:

Step 1: Propose a Chartered Team to the DAS Management Team. Proposals may come from the following sources:

  • Recommendations from audits or outside reviews of DAS functions or processes

  • Recommendations from DHS Offices or Leadership

  • DAS Management Team discussion

  • Any DAS staff member may propose a charted team, but the proposal must be presented to the Management Team by a Management Team member. Thus, staff other than management team must go through their section’s chain of command before a proposal is presented. The expectation is that section leadership will ensure that recommendations align with DAS mission, vision, values and business need before presentation.

Proposals may be in writing or in person.

Step 2: Management Team determines if a Chartered Team is authorized to proceed or not.

If the Management Team determines a Chartered Team is not authorized, one of the following may be decided:

  • An informal team is more appropriate

  • Due to limiting factors the creation of a team should be delayed

The Division Director is the final decision maker at this point.

Step 3: The Division Director appoints a Team Sponsor from the Management Team.

Step 4: The Team Sponsor drafts the Team Charter working with the person who made the proposal and/or the audit or review findings as applicable.

Step 5: The Team Charter is reviewed by the Management Team and edits made if appropriate. Team Members are approved by Management Team, who should also notify Team members and their chain of command.

Step 6: The Team Sponsor schedules and facilitates the first Chartered Team Meeting.

Step 7: The Team meets as often as necessary to complete the work of the charter and provides updates/reports to DAS Management Team as prescribed in the Charter.

Management Team provides feedback during the course of the Charter.

Step 8: The final report/recommendation(s) is presented to the DAS Management Team. All team members may attend this meeting.

Step 9: DAS Management Team determines which recommendations to accept and/or implement. Some recommendations/process changes may be delayed due to budget or other limiting factors.

The Division Director is the ultimate decision maker on whether or not to implement.

Step 10: The Team is commended for their service and the Team disbanded.

References

Gufreda, Maynard, Lytle “Total Quality: Executive’s Guide for the 1990s”, 1990.