Isolation is tough on teams. Where once a team might have been able to interact frequently, Covid has in many cases reduced these interactions to transactional communications conducted over the various videoconferencing and IM channels that have become our staple diet.
So where does this leave team development?
Even before Covid reared its ugly head, remote teams struggled to spend enough time together working on becoming a great team. The majority of meetings were business and task-focussed sessions designed to negotiate and agree delivery objectives and schedules. They might only have allocated a half day throughout the entire year to activities that helped them develop strong team competencies. That's why many of our clients have actually benefitted from shorter, more regular team development sessions facilitated by us online throughout lockdown. The regular focus on how the team operates has produced more lasting results than the once-a-year team development blitz.
For teams to thrive, they need two things. They actually need many more, but without these two, the others are redundant.
1. They need Regular engagement with team development
2. The need access to quality team development material and experiences
Both of these are difficult when team members are working remotely and when budgets are tight. Fortunately, we can now satisfy both these requirements whilst saving the planet and the company purse.
Keeping it Regular
Until now, regular team development has been beyond reach for most teams. It’s expensive, difficult to arrange, time-consuming and has usually involved travel (sometimes globally). And securing the services of a good facilitator who can engage successfully with the team to run a great session isn’t straightforward: they can be hard to find and might not be available when you need them.
Our revolutionary product called Muster(TM) makes it possible for teams to participate regularly in team development activities without leaving home, whether they are in Shanghai or Stockholm. And they can set these sessions up at a drop of a hat. No requirement to book a room, a flight or a facilitator.
They can even use Muster as part of their regular team meetings and draw upon its features to work through surveys, games, tools and critical team processes. All it takes is a simple login and they are presented with a sweetie shop of goodies that stimulate great teamworking, team learning, and team performance.
Quality
Muster is packed to the hilt with creative content that shouts quality. Our award-winning team have ensured that not only does it look and feel fabulous, it is also inspiring, impactful and educationally powerful. Original exercises and activities sit alongside established and proven principles, models and processes, ensuring that teams have access to the tools and guidance they need to drive high performance, productivity and participation.
Our unique surveys help teams evaluate their current effectiveness in areas such as Team Meetings, Conflict Management, Creativity, and Decision Making. Our tools, many of them unique to Kay-Lambert Associates, help teams work their way through diagnostic, analytic
al, and problem-solving processes and establish strong internal ways of working. Multi-player exercises and games test and develop skills in communication, collaboration, change management and many more.
And all this is delivered in a playful, vibrant and dynamic way with beautiful 3D environments and adorable avatars.
There simply isn’t an excuse anymore for teams to be deprived of regular and high-quality team development. Muster is coming and it will transform the way teams work in the future.