Trying to do report on teamwork within the workplace, have written the first draft but not in academic writing. I have the core material but need to write it professionally. Not got a clue. Any hints?

Many thanks

FDPP1115 - Working in a team Foundation Degree in Payroll Management: Year 1 - Payroll Practitioner Certificate Module 3 Tutor Name: Polly Sinclair Carol Wray- Member Number M02092645 Contents Page Page 1 Introduction 8 Conclusions 9 Recommendations 10 Reference Introduction Teamwork is defined in the Oxford English dictionary as the combined action of a group, especially when effective and efficient. This report will analyze the team processes such as team working, communication and team development that occur in the office environment and state any room for improvement. Loveless & Co Accountants Ltd are a family run business based in a small village in Hampshire. The company director set up the business in his home and has gradually increased the business over the past twenty years. His son another Director has taken over the management of the company. The company currently has five employees - consisting of the Office Manager, Account Manager, Client Manager, Payroll Manager, Book-keeper and a trainee Accountant. . The two directors who have their own offices. The Office Manager, Payroll Manager, Account Manager and a trainee accountant all sit in one open office, very close to each other. The Client Manager is currently on maternity leave and the Book-keeper works mainly from home but does come into the office once a week. The Payroll Manager and Book-keeper share a desk. According to research conducted by Gartner in 2017, only a small percentage of employees who had their own office were unhappy with this. That is opposed to a quarter of employees were happy with the open plan office. The company has found that the openness of the office space leads to openness within the workforce. Everybody is much happier being able to speak to one another and therefore able to bounce ideas off one another spontaneously. . There is constant interaction between the team members - this can be helping with queries, support when needed and just a general feeling of wellbeing with everyone. Always know what everyone's weekend and evening plans are and there is a feeling of great job satisfaction in the company. Working together has established friendships. There is great respect for everyone and their abilities in the team. A survey has been completed by some of the employees, their responses are very positive, Office Manager \"I believe we work well as a team which I am pleased to be part of - being small we all have our own individual job roles and help each other if needed. We all work to our best performances and I can't think of anything that could change this. We always try and provide our clients with the best possible service, if we cannot help our client with the information needed we will point them in the right direction to get it.\" Director \"I feel that our team is strong individually and collectively and we all help each other when required. I am very confident in the way our team performs and when the odd error does occur it is always dealt with professionally and to a satisfactory conclusion with the clients.\" Trainee Accountant \"I feel we are good as a team because we communicate well together, in order to complete a job or resolve an issue. Each person will take time out of their day to help resolve another person's problem. Everyone is also approachable, to help form a good team.\" The current team has been together for six months since the trainee has joined the company. Everyone else has been with the company for at least four years, some being there longer than others. Although the members have differing roles and tasks, some tasks require others to have an input. Most teams go through the five stages of team development, Tuckman introduced this model in 1965. His theory focuses on the way a team tackles a task from the start of the project to the end, the group was back to the forming stage when the trainee joined. It took a couple of weeks for the Trainee Accountant to settle in and get used to everyone, the way they work and the job itself. Working in such close proximity, the team have got to know each other quickly and everyone pulls together to support each team member. Each team member is aware of what is expected of them individually and as a team. This team would be defined as performing at the moment, the team understand their roles and goals. They are motivated and there are no disagreements at present. This will change when the absent Client Manager returns from maternity leave. The team will then be back in the forming phase, they will be getting to know one another again and the returnee will be settling back into work life after the absence. The team were in the storming phase before they left to go on maternity leave, there were issues with their attitude to work and some colleagues. There was a lot of conflict within the team- mainly conflicts between two people. This caused stress in the workplace for not just them but others in the team as they were sometimes dragged into the conflict but did their best to remain neutral. Work produced was affected as errors started to occur. They decided the best course of action was to work from home. This meant less stress for them but one the other hand working from home meant that they were isolating themselves from other members of the team. In the end they felt so out of touch with everyone that they considered leaving. The other teams' members help them to understand their value in the team and helped them overcome their doubts. There was no involvement from either of the directors, they just hoped that the matter would resolve itself. The ability to work from home is a great solution for conflicts in the workplace as one can remove itself from the situation. However, this can lead to feelings of isolation if not managed properly, this is one of the negatives shown by The Balance Small Business. They also show that there can be difficulty in concentrating, lack of motivation, family interruptions, lack of office equipment and household noise are some of the disadvantages of working from home. However, working from home can lead to greater productivity as there can be less distractions and less travelling time. Everyone in the office has similar attitudes and beliefs; there is a great sense of belonging. Woodcock's analysis allows a team to focus on one or two things at a time. His nine elements of an effective team (effective communication, support and trust, knowledge, development, leadership, attitude and skill mix) would help when building a team. This is a developing team according to Woodcock as there is a trainee accountant who is helped by all members of staff. He has mainly been trained by one of the Directors but everyone has supported him and helped when needed. However, according to team roles test theories there are specific and different team roles that a team needs. These roles can be functional, organizational, personal or even skilful. Each team should be an ideal mix of different team roles depending on the specific goals the team wants to achieve. When the mix is not ideal the team may run into problems. For example, a team consisting of only creative individuals will generate many ideas of which none gets implemented. A team consisting of only specialists may lose track of the big picture. The team members have been asked to complete the team test roles, the ones that have so far been returned have shown that there is a mix of roles; in the top five are team player, chairperson, expert, analyst and innovator. It has a very relaxed dress code, we have a uniform (which is mainly t-shirts and jumpers) and everyone wears it although it has not been made compulsory. Each individual has their own tasks and goals which are set by mostly deadlines. They have one common goal, do their job to the best of their ability, keep clients happy and maintain the company's good name and everyone works hard to achieve this. There is an informal group as it is such a small company - everyone at the moment gets on well and socialise with each other. If a member of staff is off then another member of the team will take over certain responsibilities, answering the telephone, taking payments, helping clients with queries. The tasks do not often overlap but say accounting year end, the Accounts Manager may need help from the Payroll Manager with regards to payroll and CIS queries. This will help with the final accounts to be produced for the client. The Payroll Manager liaises with both accountants and directors when deciding the salary amounts for the director-only companies and with comparison figures for CIS refunds. The Payroll Manager speaks to clients with regards to weekly and monthly payrolls - this is done by both email and telephone. Emails are commonplace and they are the preferred way of communicating information quickly and to a lot of people at the same time. However, according to Forbes (2018) the lack of personal contact, seeing facial expressions and hearing the tone of a voice can mean emails can be misinterpreted. Also, the use \"read\" receipts may mean that the person has seen it but not necessarily read it though properly. Some communications do not reach all the people they are supposed to. Copying in on emails can be a bit lax and sometimes information does not reach the intended person. The team need to get into the habit of including members when they need to, either copying in on emails or forwarding relevant information especially where a new client is involved. Sometimes a simple telephone call can negate the constant going back on forth on emails. It is preferred as you have a written statement of what has been agreed or disagreed. However, a telephone call can be followed up by an email stating what had just been agreed. The pressure of time restraints in the job can make for a pretty stressful place - especially when clients are not responding to queries. The team helps to reinforce that everything has been done in the right way and they have done their job. Conclusion. The team is not set to complete one task, each has their own task. They work together to help each other when needed, questions are always being asked in the office of oneanother. This team works very well at the moment; there are a few issues but nothing that cannot be worked on. The use of mobile telephones whilst at work is a contentious one; some members spend a lot of time on their phones. One is on their phone when they are stuck with a task or something to do. They would much rather be on his phone than ask for help. They will eventually ask for help if someone else speaks to them. They need more confidence building; this is something everyone can help with. This needs to be looked at by the directors who seem to be completely oblivious. The directors leave everyone to do their job, there are no deadlines set as such, just VAT, company year ends and payroll deadlines. This is not a bad thing; it shows the trust they have for their team. They maybe need to sometimes just generally meet say once a month or so to see if anyone has any issues. Teamwork is a great way to improve communication skills and teaches us how to value and respect each other. Teamwork can lead to more effective projects by sharing knowledge and resources. Working in a team has established friendships. Belbin states that the success of a team is the result of a combination of roles within it. Not all nine roles are needed but in reality five should be the minimum as discussed about our team as some team members have more than one role. Belbin's model allows team leaders/management to see the strengths and weaknesses of their teams. Tuckman's theory provides four stages which resonate with the team here. They fluctuate when team members leave or start tasks and personalities. Before moving on to the next stage of development the team must overcome any issues they have. Recommendations References TESI - Team Emotional and Social Intelligence http://www.theemotionallyintelligentteam.com/tesi.asp Bruce Tuckman - CIPP 2019 www.belbin.com Mike Woodcock - Team Development Manual www.gartner.com https://blog.capterra.com/benefits-disadvantages-of-open-office/ https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbeshumanresourcescouncil/2018/01/03/effective-communicationand-why-youll-never-remember-an-email-that-changed-your-life/#5268d1977256 www.123test.com/team-roles-test https://www.thebalancesmb.com/the-disadvantages-of-working-at-home-2948688