I Hope You Know Why Teamwork Is Important To Your Service Company [Interviews]

“Working with other people to achieve something. It’s usually something that could not be achieved alone. Working with other people lets all of them contribute in areas they are stronger in.”

This interview is reaching out to a broad audience to help me (and you!) get a better understanding of just what people actually think about teamwork and how it impact their lives. I hope you enjoy it and maybe gain an insight or two.

Interviewee Profile

1) What is your official job / position title?

Service Worker

2) What is your direct supervisor’s official job / position title?

Coordinator

3) What industry do you work in?

Food Service

4) How many years have you been in your current industry and job?

5) What are 3 to 5 of your most important skills, specialties, or areas of expertise?

People skills, organization, working quickly

Interviewee Responses

01) Describe (in your own words) what you think ‘teamwork’ means.

Working with other people to achieve something. It’s usually something that could not be achieved alone. Working with other people lets all of them contribute in areas they are stronger in.

02) Think about a person you feel needs team-building training. How do you think this training would help him/her?

I think one of my co-workers could really benefit from team building. He does not like working in teams and this training could help him. He would be able to learn to work better with others and give up some control.

03) How do you think teamwork could help a company or business?

It helps the workers work better together. It makes them more efficient. They are also able to learn their co-workers idiosyncrasies and personalities, which is necessary to work well together.

04) Describe a teamwork / team-building exercise or event you’ve been through at your work, school, or during training.

We sat through a couple of presentations to begin with. Then we played a few games to build trust and improve relationships. Last, we ended with a meeting to discuss what we had learned.

05) Explain at least 1 thing you’ve learned from a team-building exercise and how it has helped you.

I’ve learned how to work more efficiently with co-workers. We know each other’s personalities better. This lets us work better together and increases trust.

06) Think back to a team-building exercise you did *NOT* enjoy. What do you feel could have been improved and why?

I felt like I was taken away from my work. I didn’t feel that I learned anything useful that I could not have learned on the job. If we learned things more applicable to everyday work it would be more useful.

07) Describe what you like *most* about team-building efforts and training.

Getting to know co-workers better. It helps me learn their strengths and weaknesses. This lets us work better together in the future.

08) What are a few things you like *least* about team-building efforts and why?

I don’t like being taken away from my normal work to do team building. It is disruptive and annoying. If it is scheduled for a different time when I’m not working on something else, I am able to concentrate more fully on the exercise.

09) When learning about team-building, would you rather read about it, listen to a trainer, watch training videos, or physically participate in an event? Describe why you feel that way.

I would rather physically participate. I feel that I learn better this way. I am more involved and will remember what I learn. It also helps to apply things I learn to my own work.

10) Pretend you are asked to give a quick team-building presentation at work. What are your first couple of steps to get prepared?

First, decide what I want to present on. Figure out the topic and what format I want to use. Think of ways to incorporate my audience into the presentation to keep them entertained

11) In your opinion, what type or personality of person do you think could benefit most from team-building efforts?

People who generally don’t like working in teams. They would benefit the most. If they have good team experiences, it might help them work better in the future with others.