On Formal and Informal Possibilities for Building Teams
At the request of senior management, a repair centre of a large French transport company convened a workshop to discuss quality issues. At the meeting, it was observed that employees in one of the teams were using every trick in the book to avoid having to broach the topic of waste management. Every time consultants attempted to suggest ways in which these employees might collect and remove waste metal more effectively, they were rebuffed. As the meeting progressed, the reason became clear: once a week, these employees would actually drive the metal over to a scrap dealer and would not credit the money they received to the company account.
The management literature is clear when it comes to the appropriate response to rule breaking. In a case such as this one, a case of employees enriching themselves at the organization’s expense, the practice must be stopped immediately. The employees responsible must be sacked, or at least be given a written warning. The case must be referred to the police, who may begin criminal proceedings. On this traditional view, the fact that employees broke the rules in order to gain a personal advantage puts into question their continued membership of the organization.
This view appears intuitively plausible because the violation of the rules impedes the organization’s functioning. It thus seems to be a typical example of an illegal action that does not benefit the organization. What is interesting in this case, however, is what the employees did with the money they received from the scrap dealer. They did not simply divide it up among themselves, but put it in a kitty that was used to fund regular bowling evenings for the team members. In short, the clandestine side business was an unusual but effective form of team building.
Now, senior managers have a very good case for saying that they are well within their rights in deciding what kinds of team building exercises their employees should be engaging in. After all – and this is certainly a valid point – they finance departments for personnel development which organize trips to bouldering centres or outings to go white-water rafting. They organize costly company parties year after year with the sole purpose of allowing employees to get to know each other better.
At this point, it is tempting to say that the illegal sale of scrap metal for the purpose of organizing bowling outings represents an almost ideal case of self-organization. The employees seized the initiative, organized everything themselves, and ensured that no one was excluded. Compared to the top-down team building exercises imposed by HR managers, this kind of exercise is not only much cheaper but also much more efficient, because participation in the illegal activity further strengthens the esprit de corps.
Of course, the managers at the repair centre could be criticized for not scotching this practice as soon as they learned of it. But perhaps, behind their leniency, there was also some managerial wisdom. One might discreetly bring it to the attention of the employees that management knows about their illegal practices. At the same time, one could make clear that they must not go over the top with their unusual form of waste disposal and that, in return for the company’s understanding, members of the bowling team will, from time to time, be expected to put in above-average levels of effort in their jobs.