CASE PROBLEM: Home Rehab Day at Tymco

Fifteen years ago, Maria Cortez was working as a free-lance writer of technical manuals for a variety of com- panies. The manuals supported a number of products, including household appliances, alarm systems, lawn-mowers, and tractors. Soon Cortez's freelance activity became more than she could handle, so she subcon-tracted work to one other freelancer, and then another, and then another. Two years later, Cortez founded Tymco, and the firm has grown steadily. The company now provides technical manuals, training and develop-ment, and foreign-language translation and interpreting.Tymco now employs 75 full-time employees, as well as about 45 freelancers who help the company with peak loads as well as specialized services. For example, one freelancer translates software into Japanese. Another specializes in preparing user guides for digital cameras and digital video cameras.Cortez recently became concerned that the unit heads and other key personnel in the company were not work-ing particularly well as a team. She explained to Tim Atkins, a training specialist on the staff, "We all work for a company called Tymco, yet we function like in-dependent units and freelancers. I notice that our staff members hardly even have lunch together.

I've arranged a couple of group dinners, but other than having a nice meal, no team spirit seems to develop."I think that if we had better teamwork, our units could help each other. We might even be able to cross-sell better. I'll give you an example. A person in the techni-cal manual group might have an assignment to prepare a manual for an appliance. He or she should immediately mention that Tymco has another group that could do the foreign-language translations for the manual. A lot of manuals for U.S. distribution are written in English, Spanish, and French."Atkins replied, "Look, I've been eager to run a team-development activity that has worked well for dozens of companies, and it is so simple. We first desig-nate who you think should be included in the group that requires the most development as a team. You choose one work day for the team-building activity. It involves targeting an old house badly in need of repair in a poor neighborhood. Abandoned houses don't count. We need a house with a family living in it. Working with churches in the neighborhood, it's easy to find a suitable house and a family willing to be helped."About a week before the team-building date, a handyperson and I visit the house to get some idea of the type of work that needs to be done. We then purchase all the needed supplies, such as paint, roofing shingles, and wood. We also round up the ladders, paintbrushes, and tools."On team-building day, the group descends on the house and starts the rehab process. Two days is usually needed.

If we start the job on Friday, it could be finished on Saturday. In this way the group would receive 1 day off from work, and the members would contribute 1 day of their time."Cortez was so enthused about Atkins's idea that she agreed on the spot on Friday, May 19, as the team- building day. She suggested that the day be called Tymco Home Rehab. Cortez made up a list of 10 key employ-ees, including her, to participate in the team-building activity.Friday morning at 7, the first of five different cars and trucks filled with Tymco staff members, ladders, tools, and home-building supplies arrived at 47 Blodgett Street. Teena Jones, supervisor of technical manuals, shouted to the group, "We can't get anywhere until we start getting rid of the debris around the house and in the hallway. So let's get shoveling. The dumpster is on the way.""Grab a few people and do what you want," re-sponded Larry Boudreau, supervisor of technical doc-umentation. "If we don't patch up that torn-apart roof first, nothing else will matter. I need two warm bodies that aren't acrophobic [afraid of heights] to help me." Two other staffers agreed to work with Boudreau, while the seven other staff members, including Cortez, formed the clean-up brigade."Carpentry is my thing," said Mary Benito from translations services. "Let's get out the hammers, saws, nails, and screws and start repairing this broken porch first.

I want us to be ready for painting the house by noon tomorrow.""Do what you want, Mary," said Dale Jenkins, a technical- training team leader. "I'm good at home plumbing, and the toilets and sinks here are leaking more than the Titanic. I need a skilled pair of hands to help me. Any volunteers?"Cortez said, "While you folks are shoveling debris and fixing, I'll run out and get us the food for snacks and lunch, and I'll order pizza for a supper break.""That's the most sensible idea I've heard today," commented Larry Boudreau.The Tymco team-building participants had supper to-gether at 5 that evening, and went home at 8 to return at 7 the next morning. By 1 p.m., painting the house began, with all 10 people on the team participating. By 7:30, the house at 47 Blodgett Street was painted. The family members, who were staying with neighbors, came by to cheer and weep with joy.The Tymco team members exchanged smiles, high-fives, and hugs. "We can all go home now feeling that we've accomplished something really important as a team. And we can come back to the office on Monday morning knowing that we can work well as a team de-spite a few bumps and bruises.""Good comment, Mary," said Ian Graham from the technical manual group. "Yet, I'm not so sure that re- placing shingles on an old roof has made me a better team player."

Case Questions: 1. What evidence was presented in this case that the staff members from different units at Tymco mighthave become better acquainted with each other?

2. What should Maria Cortez do next to improve the chances that the home-rehab day might result in genuine team development?

3. What evidence is presented in this case that the home-rehab day did give a boost to team spirit?

4. How valid is Graham's comment about replacing shingles having no particular impact on becoming a better team player?