They say that two heads are better than one. In Technopark’s case, the adage is becoming more and more of a reality as companies, big and small, shift focus from an individual performance culture to one of teamwork.
“Teamwork is one of the most vital aspects today in Technopark, simply because at the end of the day, success depends on how a team delivers a project into the hands of a client, on time, meeting all set targets,” says Ghanashyam N.E., a human resources executive at an MNC on campus. “In almost all instances, an individual might not be represented at client level and the weightage is in the work as a team. That’s why many companies are adopting a new performance management system, giving managers an option to set team goals and evaluate individuals based on their team play,” he adds.
On campus ‘teams’ can be anything from two people to a few hundreds, sometimes even a thousand people, depending on the size of the company and the scale of a particular project. There can also be several teams within a team. Applications administrator Adarsh Sidhardhan, for instance, works in a team of 45, a “good mixture” of people with technical knowledge and those with administrative skills, which, he says, is required to achieve a goal. “I’m fortunate to work in a good team. The best thing about the team is that everyone has a positive attitude and, most importantly, we each have each other’s backs. We’re a team that works 24x7 and if one person is not able to give it their all for one reason or the other, the others simply step up and get the work done,” says Adarsh, who has been working on campus for five years now. “I’ll admit, initially, I was not a team player but the positive attitudes of my team-mates rubbed off on me too,” he adds.
Ajay M. (name changed on request), a design engineer, who works in a team of four, says that mutual understanding is the key. “We assist each other and adjust our schedules in such a way that our work does not suffer. For example, we ensure that two of us are always in office on any given work day so as to maintain workflow. It’s these little things that count,” he explains.
So, what makes an ideal team player? “I think it’s someone who is reliable and one who lends support and guidance too, if needs be, to his/her team members, especially the many freshers,” says Adarsh, as Ajay adds: “He/she should be affable and selfless too, ready to share ideas and newly acquired technical knowledge, especially, with the rest of the team.”
That doesn’t mean the individual gets left behind. “A good team is only as good as each individual in the team. As such most companies try to promote a teamwork culture where each team member will have the freedom to think creatively for the betterment of the team/project and, more importantly, to achieve their goals,” says Vishnu P., a senior operations manager. That said, sometimes what happens is that a few individuals try to steal the thunder from their lot more deserving colleagues, at the last moment. “As with anywhere, there will always be a few hard workers who fall through the cracks. To bring an end to this, companies have also started awarding and rewarding teams rather than individuals and often get delivery heads/project managers to boost morale with fun games, parties, lunches and the likes to enhance team bonding,” explain Ghanashyam and Vishnu.
