[The following article appears in the November 1993 edition of _On_, pp. 3-6.] 1993 ASQC/GALLUP SURVEY TEAMING UP FOR QUALITY Employee Attitudes on Teamwork, Empowerment, and Quality Improvement Worker teams aren't new. A recent item in The Wall Street Journal noted that the first team was set up by Filene's department store in Boston in 1898. No details were provided, but one has to wonder if Filene's had its notorious basement sales back then and if that first team was organized to provide crowd control. More comprehensive and up-to-date information on teams is provided by the 1993 ASQC/Gallup Survey. This year, employees were questioned on several topics: ù Participation in teams in general and quality teams in particular ù Their feelings of empowerment ù The effects of technology on teamwork and feelings of empowerment Use of Teams Widespread Eighty percent of survey respondents reported having some form of team activity at work, typically two or more teams per company. Four specific types of teams were mentioned in the survey (work teams, quality improvement teams, employee involvement teams, and problem-solving teams) and all are of recent origin, having been in place a median of five years. At organizations using teams, nearly two-thirds of full-time employees participate in teams, and of those who do, 84% are involved in more than one team. For two-thirds of those who participate in team activities, this is their normal working group and is not separate from or in addition to their regular jobs. Of those whose participation on teams is an added job responsibility, two-thirds report greater satisfaction from their regular jobs than from their participation on teams. Although the level of participation varied among categories of workers, some 70% of respondents said that employees were not required to be in a certain position, department, or level in order to participate in their organizations' teams, nor were special skills required. Who's most accountable for decisions made by teams? For the most part, respondents said management (40%) or the team as a whole (35%). Less than 20% said the team leader was accountable. Most employees perceive the teams in which they participate as having a clear mission or goal that's shared by all team members. More than 82% said the progress toward their teams' goals can be measured. And what, typically, are team goals? In most cases it's quality (40%) or efficiency/productivity (22%). Cited far less frequently as team goals were profitability, cost reduction, customer service/satisfaction, safety, and other goals. Survey respondents perceived team member values as being in sync with those of their organizations relative to teams, with performance most important followed by enhanced communication, building a culture of trust, and chemistry between team members. Empowerment Issues The American worker is not a disaffected employee. Rather, to judge from the results of the survey, workers have fairly strong feelings of empowerment. In fact, we may be well on the way to realizing the vision of those who speak and write on the workplace of the future--a vision in which new technology is preponderant, rigid organizational hierarchies are replaced by cross-functional teams, and workers are able to shape their own working environment. An increased proportion of employees (74%) have been involved in significant decisions about their jobs since workers were last questioned in 1990 (66%). And there's been a corresponding increase in the extent to which employees feel they've been given the authority and responsibility to make decisions about significant aspects of jobs. Employees who participate in team activities or work in organizations where there is a formal quality improvement program feel more empowered. They are more likely to: ù Believe one individual can make a difference in an organization. ù Have a greater sense of having been asked to be involved in making significant decisions that will affect them on the job. ù Express greater satisfaction with the rate of quality improvement achieved by their organization during the past year. ù Be intensely trained on the job. Technology's Impact There was broad agreement on the positive effects of new technology on things like: ù Making it easier to do one's job ù Making it easier for people to work well together ù Making one feel more in charge of one's work situation ù Making communication with others better Nonetheless, when employees were asked which is most important among a list of seven ways their companies can make it easier for them to do high-quality work, "more up-to-date tools and technology" ranked fourth behind job skills training, more supportive attitude of top management, and more job security. Higher Satisfaction With Rate of Improvement While the level of employee satisfaction with the rate of quality improvement taking place in their own organizations has increased since the question was asked in 1990, there has been no corresponding increase in the ratings employees give to the quality of American products overall. The survey is the ninth in a series of annual surveys conducted by The Gallup Organization for ASQC. Telephone interviews with 1,293 full-time employed adults were conducted by Gallup during July 1993. Single copies of the survey summary (item T733) are available free of charge (limited quantity). For more information, call ASQC at 800-248-1946.