Team Structure

My first job was when I entered the Business University of Vienna. I chose to apply to Eventiv, which was a typical student job in catering. The system of the company was perfect for students, because you could choose the time and event by yourself. It is a big company and you always worked with new people. Before we started work, we all had to do a seminar weekend, where we learned the basic skills in gastronomy. We also gained skills in customer service.

Now I want to describe the structure of the company. At the top was the CEO of  Eventiv. He looked for new jobs for the business with his assistant. We could only talk to the CEO’s assistant when we had a problem but the next person who was responsible for us was our team leader.

The structure of the company was very simple and worked very well. The team leader was responsible for us and we met her every time we started a job. She always sent us emails before entering a job and explained what we should expect and which skills we would need for this job. In gastronomy, the dress code is very important. We, also, had special clothes for different types of jobs. Sometimes we worked in hotels or other times in the cafeteria during a soccer game. Before we started each job, we met our team leader and she checked to ensure each of us was dressed correctly and that we had our equipment.

In the next step of the job, we were divided into small groups. The team leader assigned every group a small group leader. The small group leaders worked for a long time in the company and were familiar with the customers. These small group leaders were now responsible for their team with 5-10 people. The team leader only communicated with the team small group leader. The small group leader had to document all that happened during the work day, additionally was responsible for the money, if we worked, for example, in a kiosk.

I worked many times in stadiums and this structure worked very well. We had a good team spirit and everyone worked together. The key to the success of this company was that the small group leaders wanted to prove that they can do a good job and the company motivated them to that end.

For example, the small group leaders were responsible for one of the kiosks in the stadium. The decisions they made helped solve problems such as technical or customer service issues. It was a very small first managerial job but it worked well. The system of the company also worked because students know how to interact with each other, because of group projects at the university.

Now I want to talk about team structures. “A team is a small number of people with complementary skills, who are committed to a common purpose, set of performance goals and approach for which they hold themselves mutually accountable” (Katzenbach and Smith)

Supposed to Katzenbach and Smith is the optimal size of a team between two and twenty-five people. In my experience, we were divided into groups of five to fifteen people. This group size worked and it was easy to communicate. There should also be a link between specialization and expertise. The job at Eventiv was very simple to do for students. Due to the different backgrounds of their previous jobs. Consequently, there was a good mix of people who were specialized in different fields of working.

In a good team, it needs time to figure out which person is working on which task. The company had a profile from each of us and so it was possible to match good teams for each job. For example, one person knows how to handle the cash and the other person is good at drawing a beer.

Important for a good team is that everybody has his own responsibility and put a lot of effort in this job. Furthermore, it is important that the employee work as much as if he would work alone to exclude social loafing. 

In conclusion, I think it means to be a good teammate to be very engaged in your team and live the values of the company. Especially when you work in groups, where every person’s work effort is not identifiable.