Team-Building in the
Child Care Work Place

by Carol Wagg

Working in child care requires teamwork. Duties are rotated, schedules coordinated, resources shared. But are you really a team or simply a group of people attempting to work under the same roof? Does your workplace atmosphere resemble a caring community of professionals where mutual support and appreciation abound, or is it more like a dysfunctional family full of tension, suspicion and resentment? Lack of teamwork leads to a joyless, stressful workplace and ultimately to poor quality child care.

Business gurus are frequently extolling teamwork as "the productivity breakthrough of the decade." By reorganizing employees into effective teams, businesses can reap the benefits of:

• Increased quality of work
• Increased productivity
• Increased staff morale
• Reduced absenteeism
• Empowered staff

If these benefits are more dream than reality in your workplace, then it is time to give team-building top priority. When teamwork is weak, it's the children who suffer the most. They keenly sense the adult tension. And, it is difficult for young children to learn social skills if they fail to see sharing, caring and gracious cooperation being modelled by their caregivers. What are the key characteristics of a team? What is the glue that holds a team together through good times and bad? The following information is intended to strengthen team effort so that all can benefit -- management, staff, parents and especially, the children.

Team Definition
A team can be defined as a group of people who:

• have different backgrounds, skills and abilities;
• share a common goal;
• work together to achieve that goal (plan, co-operate, share the power);
• are highly communicative; and
• celebrate together.

Whenever we attempt to strengthen any of these traits, we are also strengthening our team -- and a higher quality child care can result.

1. A team is a group of people with different backgrounds, skills and strengths.

Although a child care team must share a common philosophy of child development, individuals on the team may vary widely in their cultural, socio-economic and educational background. Also, they will have different strengths and weaknesses in working with children, parents and other staff. This diversity can be either the team's strength or its curse. Fear of diversity and a resistance to change are common human traits that can create a breeding ground for conflict. However, if this diversity is openly accepted, it can become a team's strength. Encourage staff to discuss with each other their differences and focus on how their strengths and weaknesses can effectively complement each other. A teacher who is strong in creative program planning but uncomfortable communicating with parents can be thankful (rather than feel threatened) that his/her co-worker is an effective parent communicator. A child care staff team with identical strengths is as ineffective as a baseball team made up entirely of pitchers.

Strategies:

1. Hire staff with personalities and skills that complement and mesh well with those of existing staff. Include staff members in interviewing and selecting their future co-workers.
2. Include in job descriptions and performance appraisals, statements about working as an effective team member. Malicious gossip, negative attitudes and failure to support co-workers are considered cause for dismissal, when they persist after coaching and warning.
3. At staff meetings, recognize reasonable risk-taking and reward individual attempts to introduce new ideas into the program. Avoid discouragement by giving out "Oops Awards" for positive attempts at innovation that perhaps fell short of their mark. (Post a sign in the staff washroom that says: "When we all think alike, no one is thinking very much!")
4. State openly that a certain amount of conflict within a team is normal. When conflict does arise, don't panic, act frustrated or ignore the issue. Accept the conflict as another opportunity to strengthen the team by working together to clarify the problem and then to solve it.
5. Encourage the staff to list and act on personal goals. "One thing I would like to do more of is..." and "One thing I would like to do less of is..." Ask staff to identify a teammate's strength; for example, "One positive thing (strength) I have noticed about my co-worker is..."
6. Help staff to "know" their teammates as unique individuals. Have each staff member list on a piece of paper three important traits about her/himself (such as background, family, hobbies, favourite show or activity). Put the unsigned papers in a container. At a staff meeting, take turns reading the papers aloud and guessing the writers. The point is to have fun and to appreciate similarities and differences.

There is unifying power in having a common purpose! A team needs a clear and obvious target at which to aim. In sports, the team goal is usually obvious and all team members use their unique skills to work together to achieve that goal. Is it clear what your team's common goal is? Without a shared goal there is nothing specific to strive towards, resulting in uncoordinated individual actions, resentful feelings and a discouraged staff. Your purpose must be specific, known and evident in all you do.

Strategies:

1. Ask staff to write out and then share what they think is the team's mission statement/goal. The results will indicate how clear or effective your goal is.
2. If necessary, develop and post a mission statement that clearly defines the organization's overall goal. Avoid a rambling, uninspired statement. An effective mission statement is:
   • Brief. It must be easily remembered and short enough to be put on letterhead and business cards
   • Inspiring. This is your team's reason for being! It should breathe life into the team, not put it to sleep.
   • Clear. It clarifies what you do and whom you serve. Decision-making is easier when the mission statement is clear. For example, if "supporting parents" is part of the mission statement, then staff refusing to meet with parents obviously contradicts the team goal.
3. Dare to dream. Periodically, gather as a team to brainstorm. Create a long-term vision for the centre. How would you like to see the centre operating next month or next year?
4. Practise shooting at targeted monthly team goals. Place a dart board in the staff room or entrance area and post as the target, a circular sign indicating the team's chosen goal for the month. The goal could be a fund-raising event, an open house or the promotion of children's self-esteem or social skills. Have team members write on a paper arrow exactly what they are going to do to help the team attain that goal. Post the arrows on the target pointing towards the centre. This is a visual statement to parents and a reminder to staff of your team's common goal and how they plan to support it. A team is strengthened when members clearly see how their specific actions are connected to and have an impact on the overall organization's goal.

Naturally, team members will be more committed to achieving a goal that they have helped identify. When management dictates the goals, staff are simply less motivated to achieve them. To encourage the staff to work effectively together, it is necessary to clearly and fairly delegate duties (each team member knows the position he/she is to play), and to use participatory management. In participatory management, some leadership and decision-making power is shared. Staff input should be solicited, especially before major administrative decisions are made that will directly effect the team's work or environment.

Strategies:

1. Share the leadership. Post the staff meeting agenda in advance and invite staff to propose changes or additions to the agenda. Encourage staff to take turns leading all or part of the meeting.
2. Share the problem-solving. Have brief brainstorming sessions to share solutions regarding a common concern (e.g. a child's behaviour, a late parent or a messy storage area).
3. Share the glory. Recognize staff efforts and activities at meetings, on bulletin boards, in newsletters. During a staff meeting, share "goosebump stories." These are humorous incidents or uplifting stories that make all that hard work worthwhile.
4. Share the load. Once a team goal or activity has been identified, make a monthly action plan (M.A.P.) and post it. The following action plan chart can be useful in clarifying individual responsibilities and time frames for task completion. Team members participate in the delegation of tasks but one person is the designated "co-ordinator" to ensure the M.A.P. is being followed, to cheer on the team players and to design "detours" when problems arise.

Feeling well informed is associated directly with job satisfaction and team productivity. To function effectively, a team must be highly communicative. Unfortunately, communication gaps in child care often abound. "I never know what's going on around here!" is a common staff complaint. The obvious communication challenge in the child care workplace, with staff on various shifts and children always present, is time to communicate. Regularly scheduled time to communicate as a team must be considered a top priority; otherwise, misinformation, gossip and resentment build, destroying team productivity and staff morale.

Strategies:

1. Make attendance at staff/team meetings a requirement on job descriptions.
2. Hold regularly scheduled staff meetings that are well organized, move quickly through the agenda and include some time for fun, food and fellowship. Lectures or boring, poorly organized meetings will destroy, not strengthen, a team.
3. Set aside a monthly planning time for small team meetings of teachers who work directly together. This can occur at nap time, if a supply staff can cover the sleep room. Clarify what you expect to be accomplished during the meeting and encourage the team to report back to the supervisor, its questions or needs.
4. Use a staff bulletin board and individual teacher mail boxes so that personal or important messages can't be missed.
5. Place a staff-only, wipe-off board in a central location for staff to spontaneously write jokes, reminders, positive comments or funny anecdotes. If used well, it can become the focal point for open informal communication and promote a sense of belonging.
6. If there is a Board of Directors or Parent Advisory Committee, have a staff representative attend and report back to co-workers. Avoid team-destroying rumours by ensuring accurate information is free flowing and that staff feel consulted and well informed about decisions and actions that will effect them directly.
7. Provide staff with professional development sessions on team problem-solving, conflict resolution and effective feedback methods.
8. Smile! Non-verbal communication is always the most powerful.

What happens at your workplace when the team attains its goal or hits its target? If the answer is "nothing," then you are not a team. Celebrating is the most often overlooked yet powerful aspect of team-building. When your teammates succeed, so do you! Praise them when they succeed and encourage them when they fail.

In baseball, simply making first base is reason to cheer, even though the goal (home plate) is not yet attained. We can do this too. Don't wait for special holidays or unusual achievements. As a team, celebrate all the "small wins" along the way! The children will benefit too. A joyful attitude to life is caught, not taught.

Strategies:

1. Hold Fabulous (or fattening) Food Fridays in the staff room. Present fun and simple recognition awards. Create a team chant or cheer.
2. Post interesting "Gotcha" snap shots showing staff on the job.
3. Start a "gift fund" for purchasing small gifts to celebrate important personal events such as births, engagements, graduations and anniversaries.
4. Establish a tradition at your centre for celebrating staff birthdays. A shorter work day or a longer lunch hour is often a well received bonus.
5. Hold surprise celebrations at random intervals for no sensible reason. These are often the most fun.
6. Look for ways to have fun together: this builds cohesiveness.

One of our deepest human needs is knowing we are appreciated. The glue that binds us together and the fuel that keeps us going is knowing we are valued as individuals and seeing our efforts openly appreciated.

A team needs goals as a focus, but goals that are time-oriented (dreams with a deadline) are not enough. A team also needs values -- goals that are essentially timeless. Values are not planned events: they are the founding principles and the guiding forces supporting all we do. Make mutual appreciation a founding value in your workplace. If this value seems sorely lacking, then you be the one to model it. Like anger, kindness is contagious: it needs merely a carrier to spread it around.

Team-building in the child care workplace is not a frill. It is the strong foundation upon which a high quality program is built. When we care for each other, we are better able to care for the children. Isn't that our ultimate goal?

Carol Wagg is program development consultant for the Early Childhood Education Resource Centre in London, a project of the Association of Early Childhood Educators, Ontario, London Branch. This non-profit centre is funded by the Ontario Ministry of Community and Social Services. Carol provides consultations and professional development to support the formal and informal child care programs in London and the five surrounding counties.

Effective staff meetings are necessary for strong teamwork to occur.

Common Complaints Regarding Staff Meetings:

• they last too long;
• they accomplish little;
• they are boring.

• Move quickly through the agenda, noting items with time limits.
• Ensure they are a good investment of time with decisions made, dates set, useful ideas shared and concerns addressed.
• Include some time for fun, food and fellowship.
• Post or circulate a written summary of the meeting as soon as possible.

1. Planned regularly, often monthly. Dates are set well in advance.
2. Attendance is a required part of one's job description.
3. Dates and times are set to accommodate as many staff preferences as possible.
4. Agenda is posted or circulated before the meeting.
5. Staff are encouraged to add (and sign) items to the agenda. The meeting leader contacts these people in advance, to determine if and how their item can be included in the meeting.
6. Responsibility for leading the meeting or part of the meeting is rotated.
7. Meetings start and stop on time. Discussions on items are not allowed to drag. Two hours is usually the maximum.
8. Some professional development is a part of each meeting.
9. Some fun and fellowship is a part of each meeting.
10. Meeting notes are posted or circulated right away.

Every staff group has unique needs. Consider the following only as a guide. Not everything can be done at every meeting. Adapt and be flexible.

STEP 1:
Start on a positive note: follow the 3R's! (reward, recognition & recreation).

• Note specific team accomplishments.
• Ask: "What has happened since our last meeting that you are most proud of/regret?"
• Thank people for extra time and work given.
• Recognize individuals who have experienced change (e.g. new staff, new course, graduation, job promotion, etc.)
• Hand out the Mistake of the Month Award in a light-hearted manner to recognize risk-taking and innovative ideas (even if they were not totally successful).
• Have food, especially it if is the end of the day.
• Have fun, especially if not all staff are familiar or comfortable with one another. Plan a brief "ice- breaker" game/activity to promote congeniality and to encourage staff to get to know one another. For example, give each person a plain brown paper bag before the meeting. Ask them to place three small items in the bag that they consider to be personally characteristic (e.g. perfume, snack or scarf). Collect the bags before the meeting. At the meeting, staff members take turns opening bags and determining owners.

• Review the decisions and action plans from the last meeting and get a progress report. Did everything get done? Concerns?

• Identify tasks. What needs to be done, by whom, when? Write these out and post them so that roles and time frames are clear.
• Identify problems that need to be solved. The team is to be diagnostic and identify the problem, not simply complain. If people get stuck on complaining, then re-focus on solutions and actions. Brainstorm solutions: "What can we do? Who will be responsible?"

• Professional development -- even 5 minutes' worth -- is valuable so that staff feel meetings are a good investment of their time. No one is motivated to attend meetings that merely result in announcements, problems to solve and tasks to do.
• Play a few minutes of a related video or cassette, explaining why it is of interest. Make it available to staff for the following week to finish at home or on breaks.
• Share handouts and a brief summary of a workshop or class recently attended. If staff workshop fees are paid by the centre, then it is reasonable to request staff to share their new insights with the rest of the staff.
• Arrange for a guest speaker such as a public health nurse or a parent with praise or constructive ideas. You could also invite a representative from the centre's upper management to explain changes or give recognition.
• Invite teachers to explain new programming ideas or share resources.
• Point out new articles or books that have been added to the centre's professional development library.

• Have these printed and ready to hand out at the meeting. Briefly refer to the list and point out key information only. A long list of announcements at the start of a meeting tends to put people in a passive, sleepy mood and items are forgotten. People also resent spending valuable meeting time on announcements that could have been made by memo.

• End on time. Do not go overtime unless all agree that it would be a valuable thing to do. If important content is not covered, it may be advisable to hold a second brief meeting. Having done this once, team members soon learn the importance of staying on topic and moving through the agenda efficiently.
• Avoid shouting instructions and reminders as people are going out the door.
• End on a positive note. Share a joke, a humorous or heart warming incident that you have observed in the centre. These are simple reminders that all the hard work really is worthwhile!
• Thank people for their time and participation.

This article first appeared in Interaction Summer, 1995, published by the Canadian Child Care Federation

Posted by: the Canadian Child Care Federation, September 1996.

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