What a challenge Jaguar Land Rover has ahead. Its move towards 24-hour production is a first for the 50-year-old Halewood plant near Liverpool and it spells the beginning of a complete transformation of how the ‘team’ at the plant will operate together.

Changing the way ‘things get done’ can make or break the team in terms of effectiveness and success. It’s not something that any business can take lightly. 

This phenomenal step means that the staff at the plant will work in three shift patterns around the clock. Employee levels are at their highest for 20 years and expediential growth, it would seem, is on the horizon.

With the increasing workload, responsibilities and effectiveness of the internal teams and staff will be pushed, tried and tested further than they have been before.

What will the team need to make the company objectives a reality?  

There are certain key components that the teams working at Jaguar Land Rover will need to possess if they are going to manage the change and help the plant live up to new expectations.

Here are just FOUR of those key features of effective team development that each team should be focusing their attention on… 

Understanding

Throwing together a group of people and calling them a team is one thing, but getting them to work collectively and unite with one vision and objective is when true potential is maximised. Jaguar Land Rover will undoubtedly have fast, efficient production of cars as an objective, but will the team see that and be able to deliver it? 

Useful tip: When team leaders are pulling their teams together, they should focus on setting one common goal for them to strive towards. As the team develops more can be added, but it makes sense to start small with achievable targets. This will create a sense of unity and ‘family’ among members.

Trust

Through providing people with a sense of purpose and unity you give them a reason to come together and form links within the team. Trust and a level of reliance upon one another within the team should be encouraged. In terms of Jaguar Land Rover, will the team members be able to rely on one another to spot mistakes and cover backs when deadlines are tight? 

Targets

‘Inspiration’ is one of those words that is paraded around a lot these days, but in actual fact it is pivotal to success – particularly in terms of team performance during periods of change. Set goals and challenges, but remember to make them realistic and attainable. If Jaguar Land Rover set a target that is entirely unachievable, instead of invigorating and energising efforts the team become disheartened and resigned to the fact they won’t meet that target.

Awareness

As teams go through levels of change and new levels of responsibility are heaped onto them, it is essential that each team member is aware of the different personality types that they are interacting with on a daily basis. One tool that will offer team leaders incredible insight into the potential of their own team, and offer team members a good view of the personalities they are working with, is the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator. 

Useful tip: Some of the benefits of using the MBTI for teams could include… 

·         Greater understanding of their own personal operating style and how that may affect their performance at work.

·         A framework for better communication both internally within the team and externally leading to greater productivity.

·         Recognition of and appreciation for differences with others thus reducing conflict, enabling change, reducing stress and enhancing team interaction.

·         Ability to see things from other perspectives, valuing diversity and building resilience.

Time will tell as to whether the new Jaguar Land Rover production regime will be fruitful. There are many different ways to get a team to work, and there is no greater need for this to be carried out than during times of change.

Colin Graves
Executive Coaching at Iridium Consulting