Practices Performed

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Task Instructions:

Work responsibilities are designed to provide an empowered workgroup with optimal control over an integrated set of business activities.

    1. Business activities are analyzed within and across units to determine how to most efficiently optimize the collection of dependencies within a workgroup, and minimize the sharing of dependencies across workgroups.
    2. Business activities are periodically reviewed to determine if they can be more effectively organized to support the functioning of workgroups.
    3. Empowered workgroups participate in the design of business activities.

Empowered workgroups are formed with a statement of their mission and authority for accomplishing it.

    1. Empowered workgroups are established by those who have responsibility for the business activities assigned to the empowered workgroup, are capable of delegating responsibility and authority to the empowered
      workgroup, and have reporting responsibility for the individuals assigned to the empowered workgroup.
    2. Empowered workgroups are chartered with a statement of their mission that describes workgroup purpose and intended contribution to organizational and business objectives, strategic and operational context of the workgroup’s work, assigned responsibilities and expected outputs, anticipated dependencies and interfaces with other organizational entities, extent of the workgroup’s autonomy and authority, accountability and reporting relationships, initial level of self-management, if appropriate.
    3. The statement of an empowered workgroup’s mission should be reviewed and updated whenever necessitated by changes in business conditions, work processes, or organizational structure.

The individual(s) or organizational entity to which an empowered workgroup is accountable provides business objectives and negotiates responsibilities and commitments with the empowered workgroup.

    1. The individual(s) or entity to which the empowered workgroup is accountable provides goals and responsibilities to be accomplished by the empowered workgroup, the strategy for how the empowered workgroup’s activities and work products fit in with the activities and work products of other workgroups or units, and objective criteria by which empowered workgroup performance is to be evaluated.
    2. The empowered workgroup reviews and achieves consensus on the objectives and responsibilities assigned to it, plans its business activities and commitments, reviews and achieves consensus on the criteria for evaluating its performance, and negotiates agreements concerning its performance objectives, responsibilities, and commitments as necessary with the individual(s) or entity to which it reports.
    3. The empowered workgroup renegotiates performance objectives, responsibilities, and commitments with the individual(s) or entity to which it reports as necessitated by its performance against plan or changing business conditions.

Empowered workgroups are delegated the responsibility and authority to determine the methods by which they will accomplish their committed work.

    1. Empowered workgroups tailor and integrate competency-based processes, and standard methods and procedures for performing common workgroup functions, for performing their business activities.
    2. Empowered workgroups assign roles and allocate work among their members.
    3. Empowered workgroups define and coordinate interfaces with other organizational entities required to satisfy their commitments and shared dependencies.
    4. Empowered workgroups plan their business activities and commitments, and negotiate inconsistencies with the individual(s) to whom they are accountable and other organizational entities, as necessary.

Empowered workgroups use appropriate methods for making decisions on their commitments and methods of operation.

    1. Early in the empowered workgroup’s formation, members determine how
      they are to allocate authority to roles based on dependencies in the committed work, empower individuals or small groups within the workgroup to take independent action without review or approval by the full workgroup, achieve consensus on plans and commitments, make decisions that arise in the performance of the workgroup’s business activities, negotiate and represent their interests to the individual to whom they are accountable and to other organizational entities.
    2. Empowered workgroups periodically review their activities and performance to determine whether changes should be made to their decision-making processes.

The organization’s work environment supports the development and performance of empowered workgroups.

    1. Facilities and resources that could enhance empowered workgroup performance are identified.
    2. Where possible, the facilities and resources identified are made available to enhance empowered workgroup performance.
    3. Within boundaries established by work environment policies, budgets, and regulations, empowered workgroups are given the authority to organize and arrange their work environments to best support their business activities.
    4. Activities to improve the organization’s work environment involve input and review from empowered workgroups.

The organization’s workforce practices are tailored for use with empowered workgroups.

    1. Individuals responsible for coordinating various workforce practices and activities across the organization are involved in adjusting these practices for use by empowered workgroups.
    2. Members of empowered workgroups are involved in developing guidelines for adjusting and applying workforce practices for use with empowered workgroups.
    3. Human resources or other appropriate professionals are involved in ensuring that all workforce practices and activities that are adjusted for use with empowered workgroups comply with all applicable laws, regulations, and organizational policies.

Responsibility and authority for performing selected workforce activities is delegated to empowered workgroups.

    1. Management, in conjunction with human resources, decides how to delegate workforce activities to different empowered workgroups internally by empowered workgroup members, externally by one or more individuals such as project managers, competency managers, or human resources professionals, and through a combination of activities performed by individuals internal and external to the empowered workgroup
    2. Workforce practices and activities whose performance may be delegated to empowered workgroups include recruiting for open positions, developing methods and criteria for selecting new members, orienting new members, conducting their internal performance management activities, determining their learning needs and ensuring that these needs, in addition to any development needed in the organization’s workforce competencies, are satisfied, participating in compensation decisions, contributing to strategic workforce planning and the planning of unit workforce activities, recognizing or rewarding outstanding performance, and performing other workforce practices and activities, as appropriate.
    3. The effectiveness of self-management within each empowered workgroup is evaluated to determine corrective actions to be taken with regard to the empowered workgroup’s performance of one or more of the workforce practices delegated to it, the extent to which the empowered workgroup is ready to assume responsibility for performing more of its own workforce practices, and how self-management is working in empowered workgroups across the organization and whether any corrective actions should be taken at the organizational level.
    4. Within guidelines established by the organization, the responsibility and authority delegated to empowered workgroups for performing workforce activities is increased over time as empowered workgroups become more experienced and effective in self-management.

Empowered workgroups tailor workforce activities delegated to them and plan for their adoption.

    1. Empowered workgroup members receive the preparation needed to perform their delegated workforce activities.
    2. Empowered workgroups define and agree on how they perform their delegated workforce activities.
    3. Empowered workgroups plan the integration of delegated workforce activities into their planned business activities.
    4. Facilitation is made available to empowered workgroups as needed to assist in performing their delegated workforce activities.
    5. When appropriate, an empowered workgroup’s workforce activities are reviewed by human resources or other appropriate professionals to ensure they comply with relevant laws, regulations, and organizational policies.
    6. When necessary, corrective action is taken to improve the performance of delegated workforce activities.
    7. Records of an empowered workgroup’s workforce activities are maintained.

Empowered workgroups perform the workforce activities delegated to them.

    1. Empowered workgroups assign roles as appropriate for participating in the performance of its delegated workforce activities.
    2. Empowered workgroups perform workforce activities delegated to them according to their plan and adjustments.
    3. Empowered workgroups seek advice from human resources or other appropriate professionals, as necessary, to ensure their actions comply with the organization’s policies, procedures and relevant laws and regulations.
    4. The performance of workforce activities by empowered teams is reviewed or audited, as appropriate, to ensure compliance with the organization’s policies, procedures, and relevant laws and regulations.

Empowered workgroups participate in managing their performance.

    1. Empowered workgroups establish their performance objectives.
    2. Stakeholders in the workgroup’s performance contribute to establishing its performance objectives and criteria, where appropriate.
    3. An empowered workgroup’s performance objectives are consistent with its unit and organizational performance objectives.
    4. Members of empowered workgroups jointly establish their individual performance objectives by establishing and agreeing to the performance objectives of each of its
      members, and defining their personal performance objectives to be consistent with the performance objectives of their workgroup, unit, and the organization.
    5. Empowered workgroups define and use performance measures to evaluate their effectiveness and improve their performance.
    6. Measures of the performance of an empowered workgroup are integrated into the performance objectives of each individual member, and periodically reviewed to determine their appropriateness under changing business or organizational conditions and are revised, if necessary.
    7. Members of empowered workgroups maintain awareness of their performance as individuals and as a workgroup.
    8. Workgroup performance is periodically evaluated against established performance objectives for individuals and the workgroup.
    9. Empowered workgroups manage the performance of its individual members to achieve workgroup performance objectives.
    10. Members of empowered workgroups openly discuss performance issues and seek solutions to these issues.
    11. To the extent these responsibilities have been delegated to them, empowered workgroups provide formal feedback on performance for each of its members, provide input to compensation decisions, and manage unsatisfactory performance by its members.

Adjustments to the compensation of members of empowered workgroups are based, in part, on issues related to workgroup performance.

    1. The compensation system is reviewed and adjusted, as needed, to optimize the relationship of empowered workgroup performance to unit and organizational performance and individual performance to
      empowered workgroup performance, ensure that workgroup-related adjustments to compensation are having their intended effect, and ensure that compensation decisions which incorporate workgroup considerations maintain equity within the compensation system.
    2. Adjustments to compensation for each member of an empowered workgroup are based, in part, on their individual performance compared to their performance objectives, their overall contribution to the development, functioning, and performance of their workgroup, the performance of the empowered workgroup compared to its performance objectives, and the empowered workgroup’s contribution to the achievement of unit and organizational performance objectives.
    3. Guidance and assistance for factoring individual contribution to empowered workgroup performance is provided to individuals and workgroups responsible for making compensation decisions.
    4. The basis on which contributions to empowered workgroup performance are factored into compensation decisions is discussed with each individual.