Sample team culture policy

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[our company] is committed to creating a “Culture of Teamwork”

To facilitate this commitment, our objective is to provide a working environment that is conducive to an individual staff member performing at his or her best with ease.

To this end, we have developed an Employee Manual that each staff member must read and sign to indicate understanding and acceptance of our requirements.

To make teamwork happen, these powerful actions must occur.

Executive leaders communicate the clear expectation that teamwork and collaboration are expected.

No one completely owns a work area or process all by himself.

People who own work processes and positions are open and receptive to ideas and input from others on the team.

Executives model teamwork in their interaction with each other and the rest of the organization.

They maintain teamwork even when things are going wrong and the temptation is to slip back into former team unfriendly behavior.

The organization members talk about and identify the value of a teamwork culture.

If values are formally written and shared, teamwork is one of the key five or six.

Teamwork is rewarded and recognized.

The lone ranger, even if she is an excellent producer, is valued less than the person who achieves results with others in teamwork.

Compensation, bonuses, and rewards depend on collaborative practices as much as individual contribution and achievement.
Important stories and folklore that people discuss within the company emphasize teamwork.

[Remember the year the sales team made 1000 sales by never giving in?]

People who “do well” and are promoted within the company are team players.

We have identified a number of key elements in our team strategy which we call our “virtues”:

• Being polite and courteous to each other
• Professional – [you don’t have to be someone’s best friend to work with them and respect them]
• Dress appropriately – can affect everyone’s reputation
• Do not speak badly of one and other behind one’s back.
• If you have a problem be courageous enough to confront the issue in a sensitive and respectful manner.
• Sharing is a virtue which is crucial to an effective team spirit.
• Greed and selfishness place individuals outside of the team and ultimately outside of the business
• Patience is a virtue which is fundamental to managing egos and personalities.
• No one is perfect, so we must be ready to apologise and equally ready to forgive.
• Loyalty is a virtue which will bind a team together even in adversity.

Similarly, we have identified key guidelines in our team strategy related to professionalism:

Regardless of gender, a professional standard of dress is required. Our clothing must always reflect our professionalism and the industry to which we belong.
Behaviour is a key element of our professionalism.

Swearing, yelling and threatening behavior are not acceptable.

Although our environment may become stressful, our manner must always remain professional at all times.

Occasional slips do occur and these are recognized, nevertheless repeated breaches of this standard of behaviour are not acceptable.

A key element of professional behavior relates to the manner of driving of company & private vehicles.

We expect all staff to drive responsibly as respectable members of the community.