86% of employees state that lack of team collaboration and poor team communication are the leading causes of workplace failures.

In a world where teams have become the driving force behind a company’s success, teams that cannot collaborate will cause disruptions to the company’s efforts. To avoid strategic failures, employers must take the right steps at the right time, starting with measuring team effectiveness.

What is team effectiveness?

Team effectiveness covers a broad spectrum and refers to how effective a team is:

• Achieving objectives
• Yielding results (i.e. excellent customer feedback, faster turnaround time, etc.)
• Obtaining positive results for every member of the team (i.e. reviews, rewards, promotions, etc.)
• Developing competencies for higher-order responsibilities
• Maintaining the ability to deliver excellent performance in the future
• Developing job satisfaction

Companies need to evaluate team effectiveness to help teams perform better and add value to the company’s long-term goals.

Team effectiveness survey

Team effectiveness surveys are an excellent method to gauge where individual teams rank in terms of team effectiveness. Here, a series of planned questions are administered to teams, and their answers are analyzed to understand the following facets of the team:

• Openness of communication
• Availability of an environment conducive for growth
• Clarity about responsibilities & expectations
• Alignment of team efforts to strategic goals
• Accountability displayed by teams
• Knowledge, Skills & Abilities
• Level of collaboration
• Processes & policies in place to ensure successful outcomes

In addition to this, team effectiveness surveys are a great tool to evaluate team dynamics, such as:

• Interpersonal conflict – Team effectiveness survey questions can help companies identify how compatible team members are with each other, and if there exists any animosity or jealousy between members. Here, team cohesion and synergy are evaluated.
• Task & process conflict – The survey also uncovers any dissension between team members about the goals & tasks they must achieve and the processes & tactics they need to adopt to achieve these tasks.
• Team efficacy – Efficacy refers to the ability or capacity of a team to perform under certain circumstances. Team effectiveness surveys help employers learn whether team members have the competence to deliver the desired outcomes, irrespective of the circumstances, or not.
• Inter-group conflict – Often, groups find themselves engaged in conflict, especially when each is working towards the same goal and needs access to the same resources. But group-to-group coordination is necessary for the achievement of company objectives. Team effectiveness surveys allow employers to understand each group’s outlooks and identify any conflict.

When teams participate in team effectiveness surveys, they review themselves and their own contribution to their team. By collating and processing the responses of all team members (including the manager/team leader), employers will be able to understand how well teams are operating and if it adds value to the company’s operations.

Top 42 team effectiveness survey questions

The most important thing to know about team effectiveness surveys is that they are divided into two kinds of assessments: one survey is for the team manager, and another is for the team members.

Here, we’ll share a list of questions that you can use to create both types of team effectiveness surveys.

Questions posed to managers/team leaders

According to Harvard’s Ex-Professor of Psychology J. Richard Hackman, a team’s effectiveness doesn’t solely depend on the team members’ personalities and competencies. The primary determinant of team effectiveness is the availability of “enabling conditions” in the team. Managers have the power to enable and disable their team members. These team effectiveness survey questions will help you find out what your managers are doing.

The survey can be administered as a 4 point Likert scale, with the points being – Never, Occasionally, Often, Always/Absolutely. Such a survey will allow you to get true answers from your managers instead of a cookie-cutter answer.

Your survey statements can be:

1. I am aware of the objectives my team must achieve.
2. I am aware of the responsibilities of each member of my team.
3. I understand the strategic goals and visions of the company.
4. Team members are easily able to align their efforts to company objectives.
5. Team members do not communicate clearly with each other.
6. Team members are provided with opportunities to develop the KSAs they need to achieve their goals.
7. I encourage my team members to approach me for advice or assistance.
8. I schedule performance feedback sessions with each team member.
9. Team members weigh-in during decision making.
10. Team members have a problem understanding the reason for certain decisions.
11. Team engagement events are organized to strengthen team interpersonal relationships.
12. I give my team members the leeway to implement new ideas that haven’t been tried before.
13. There are some conflicts between team members.
14. Team members ask me to resolve conflict.
15. Team members complain that their efforts go unnoticed and unrewarded.
16. Team members are asked to stretch beyond office hours.
17. Team members are introduced to unique and interesting projects.
18. Team meetings create more problems than they solve.
19. Team morale is low.
20. Team members are happy being part of this team.
21. Other teams impact the performance of my team.

Questions posed to team members

A team is only as successful as its weakest member. Often, poor results from team members stem from a lack of understanding of team goals. A team effectiveness survey can help you identify how clear each member of a team is, about their role in the team.

Just as with the questions to the manager/team leader, a 4 point Likert scale with the points – Never, Occasionally, Often, Always/Absolutely – can be used. Here are a few team effectiveness survey questions you can ask:

1. I am aware of my role and responsibilities in the team.
2. I understand how my role affects the performance of the entire team.
3. I understand how I contribute to the company’s objectives and visions.
4. I am provided with opportunities to upskill myself and gain new competencies to discharge my duties.
5. I require advice or supervision to perform my duties.
6. The manager/team leader checks-in with me about my performance.
7. The manager/team leader recognizes and/or rewards individual team members for their contribution.
8. I am allowed to share my opinions and ideas with the team.
9. The team has trouble working together and argues over simple procedures to follow.
10. The biggest problem in the team is the lack of proper communication.
11. Team meetings are very productive.
12. Team members take decisions regarding procedures to be followed as a single unit.
13. The manager/team leader influences the team’s decision making.
14. Team members share constructive feedback with each other.
15. Other teams create problems and prevent us from working productively.
16. The team organizes intra-team engagement events to strengthen team spirit.
17. Team members are invited to share feedback about the manager/team leader.
18. All team members contribute equally to the team’s goals.
19. Team members come together to evaluate team performance.
20. The manager/team leader holds each member of the team accountable for his/her performance.
21. I wish to be part of another team.

Ideally, these team effectiveness surveys should be performed at least twice a year. You can compare the results of both the surveys and evaluate whether your plans to improve team effectiveness have yielded results or not.

Benefits of team effectiveness survey

Team effectiveness surveys offer tremendous benefits to companies. Here are some reasons why you need to administer team effectiveness survey questions to your teams:

They improve team performance

By helping employers identify the true perceptions and beliefs of team members, team effectiveness surveys enable the company to find hidden causes for poor performance. Employers can use the findings to debrief their teams about their performance and ensure future success.

• They help plan training programs

The answers to the team effectiveness survey questions give employers clarity about any gaps in the knowledge, skills and competencies of their employees. Armed with this information, they can create custom training programs that will be of use to the staff.

• They facilitate conflict resolution

Conflict, if unchecked, can ruin the dynamics and performance of the team. Team effectiveness surveys reveal the hidden feelings and beliefs that team members and leaders have about their team. The surveys’ results can be used to identify the first signs of conflict and intervene before they wreak havoc. The information can also be used to plan intra-team engagement activities, which can strengthen team relationships.

• They help the company nurture the most effective leaders/managers

Team effectiveness surveys administered to team leaders or managers allow employers to know the individual’s strengths and weaknesses. Companies will be able to easily understand how best to mold the team leader or manager the right way, to ensure they become the best leaders/managers – possibly senior management material.

Create and administer your team effectiveness surveys using Talenx.io

Talenx.io is a predictive analytics tool designed specifically to help HR departments manage workforce using data-driven solutions. We combine psychological science and analytics to help you closely study your employees and implement the right talent management programs.

Reach out to us for more information. You can schedule a free trial of our tool.