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Building Teamwork & Productivity at the California Department of Motor Vehicles
Challenge
Sill & Associates is a management consulting firm specializing in customized training and organizational development. The firm has provided consulting and training services to organizations for 17 years and has been a member of The TRACOM Group's Associate Program for over six years. Sill & Associates has found the greatest challenge among their clients to be teaching employees how to get along with each other, communicate and work together more productively. Along with the custom programs they have developed, Sill & Associates often uses TRACOM's training technologies as a tool to assist their clients in solving problems created as a result of internal business issues.
The California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) had been going through a great deal of change as a result of internal and external issues. Senior managers at the DMV believed that individuals were not communicating effectively and when problems arose, fingers were pointed in every direction without ever finding a resolution to problems. The DMV requested that Sill & Associates furnish them with a needs assessment to uncover specific information on employee issues. A complete report outlining the organizational issues, including strengths and improvement areas, was provided along with recommendations for helping employees manage the current changing environment and to prepare for future changes. The desired end result for the DMV: work groups functioning as a cohesive team to achieve high quality results.
Solution
It was agreed that the first step for the employees was to increase communication and to learn how to work interdependently. TRACOM's Social Style Model™ concepts were utilized for this training. Sill & Associates worked with two key groups of management-level employees. Each employee in the initial training group was provided the opportunity to learn and understand the role of behavioral differences in their communication and how to value the differences of each behavioral style. Employees were also shown how to improve interpersonal relationships within their work groups and as part of a team.
For further development, Sill & Associates implemented TRACOM's Team Development training within the DMV. This program provided the DMV managers with a measurable way to learn and apply team leader skills. Participants learned the critical factors that impacted the success of their teams and developed action plans to enhance their team performance.
Results
The follow-up evaluation from senior management with the DMV states that results have been "extraordinary." Employees began applying and utilizing the skills they were taught in both programs. One top-level manager said, "You could see people actually trying harder." Since immediate results were seen by senior managers, it was determined that all 300 area managers would attend the training programs. Overall, employees found their newly acquired skills to be beneficial outside and inside the workplace. Effective communication has become a tool for adjusting to the changing DMV environment and for working together more productively. The action plans created for each team have allowed them to stay focused on the desired results.
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