Recently the Office of Labor Management Partnership and KP Organizational Research studied the impact of unit-based teams are having on operational performance and the work environment. How managers and staff rate UBTs: Boosting performance and the work environment May 2012

Managers’ view of UBT performance The introduction of unit-based teams has made the benefits of Partnership more evident to both employees and managers, according to findings in the 2011 People Pulse survey. Responses to two People Pulse questions in particular suggests that both managers and employees have seen tangible impact of high-performing teams. As UBTs move along the Path to Performance, managers on those teams are much more likely to agree that UBTs have helped to improve organizational performance. As the chart shows, there is a 14 percentage point difference between the lowest and highest performing teams, as seen by their managers. “Managers are seeing that as teams develop along the Path to Performance, they also are moving the needle on their day-to-day goals and metrics,” says Peter Nixon, LMP director of metrics and analytics. “These results also tells us that the criteria we use to assess the developmental status of UBTs are consistent with what really matters—the performance outcomes that teams are getting for our members and patients.”

Employees’ view of UBTs and the workplace A similar trend was noticed among UBT members’ view of the work environment, and whether the LMP has helped to improve working conditions. As UBTs move along the Path to Performance, employees on those teams are much more likely to agree that the Partnership has helped to improve working conditions. As this chart shows, there is an 8-point difference between employees on teams that are Level 1 and employees on teams that are Level 4 and 5. This tells us that high-performing teams create a better work experience as well as higher performing work units—because when people have a voice and can influence the way work is done, they can improve conditions for their own team as well as results for their members and patients.