Members of SAP’s HCM Value Realization Research team are constantly reading up on the topics most important to you, your employees, and your managers. Each week we will be sharing an interesting finding we’ve read about to give you innovative and data-based ideas on how to better structure your HR processes and more effectively manage your workforce.
This week: Get the right people in key spots on your team and enjoy greater team success
Research examining the effectiveness of work teams typically looks at outcomes such as team performance as an average, overall variable—something that everyone on the team has equally contributed to. More recent research in the Journal of Applied Psychology suggests that who you have on your team—and where you place them—has a huge impact on team success. A field study conducted by Li (University of Iowa College of Business) and colleagues demonstrated that putting an “extra miler”, or someone who routinely goes above and beyond, on a work team will have a positive influence on team performance, but they’ll especially influence team performance when they are in a vital or central role. This suggests that critical business unit or cross-functional projects will have the best outcomes when an extra-miler is running the show.
For more information, access the research abstract and full article here.
