In May’s GGP column, Faisal Hussain, Chief Executive of the Double Glazing & Conservatory Ombudsman Scheme (DGCOS) discusses the power of teamwork and how having a strong team reaps benefits for everyone.
Author John Donne said, no man is an island. At its deepest level, he was talking about the feeling of being part of the human race, but the theory is something we apply to our every day lives. None of us, professionally or personally, can function successfully without the support of other people. In business, we can see clearly how teams are the key to an effective, efficient operation. We are no different at DGCOS and we rely on the contribution of all our team members to ensure the organisation is the success that it is today.
While we hear much these days about WFH, and while we are in favour of supporting employees’ working practices in achieving a healthier work/life balance, I would go one step further and say that having an in-house team is key to the on-going work that we do at DGCOS.
The cornerstone of success
Our Membership team is a perfect example of this. It has a wide range of responsibilities and the calls they receive and the enquiries that come across their desks are varied and sometimes unpredictable. The strengths of the team are wide-ranging, to the benefit of the overall operation, and the value of teamwork in our experience is the ability to collaborate, share experience, support each other and to respond to issues or questions in an agile way.
Their role is to support members on every part of the installer journey from setting up and registering a business, through to marketing and sales support, advice on building regulations and other installation issues, customer satisfaction via surveys and complaints handling, to doing an annual business health check. They are often the first port of call and liaise with the wider DGCOS team to ensure the right support is delivered, so it’s important that we operate in the most effective way for the benefit, not just of us as an organisation, but our members as well. Our teams are the cornerstone of the DGCOS operation.
The benefits of teamwork
To my mind, the benefits of working in and with a team cannot be overstated. For us as an employer, we see the benefits of having that collective experience and expertise in one place. The quick and natural flow of information enables us to react quickly to any issues without any ambiguity; we can overcome obstacles; we can talk about different ideas and projects easily, and we can innovate faster. In short, our service levels stay consistently high, our knowledge is always developing, and our team members are engaged and motivated. In my view, this is only achievable with the team mainly on-site and sharing the same space.
For the employee, their performance can be monitored far more effectively, which isn’t a stick to beat them with, but an opportunity to iron out any areas of weakness where there might be a training need, and equally to reward excellence. Working in a team environment provides opportunities for personal and professional growth, and everyone wins as a result – the employee and the employer.
Skills-based teamwork
The range of job functions within DGCOS is varied. Our team members are trained to be able to do everything to support an installer’s journey from the very beginning. On that basis, we may have a team member who is a marketing specialist, and another who is more comfortable with process and complaint handling. While we play to each person’s strengths, training and induction programmes are in place to ensure every person understands the aspects of different roles. This helps us if we have staff shortages due to illness or holiday, and it helps members because they know they are dealing with a team of experts, regardless of who is on the end of the phone. Having a knowledgeable and confident team means we are delivering every element of service expected of us, every time. An understanding of all areas of the business, open communication internally and with our members, the contribution of every team member to achieve our objectives, and the ability to deal with concerns in an effective and efficient manner is what good teamwork does, and this is what we do at DGCOS.