The effects of working agile on team performance and engagement

Purpose This study aims to examine the relationship between the agile way of working and team performance and engagement. Furthermore, psychological safety climate was investigated as a mediator of this relationship. As organizations are increasingly adopting the agile way of working method beyond the information technology (IT) setting, the authors researched its effects in teams across a variety of functional domains. Design/methodology/approach Survey data was collected from 97 agile teams working in various functional domains in a multinational bank. The data was analyzed using structural equation modeling. Findings Results indicated that the agile way of working is directly and positively related to team engagement and performance. Moreover, psychological safety climate acted as a partial mediator of each of the respective outcomes. Originality/value This study illustrated that the agile way of working is beneficial for teams beyond the IT setting, as it is positively associated with psychological safety climate, engagement and performance across functional domains.

STEPP IN: A Multicenter Quality Improvement Collaborative Standardizing Postoperative Handoffs

OBJECTIVE To reduce care failures by 30% through implementation of standardized communication processes for postoperative handoff in NICU patients undergoing surgery over 12 months and sustained over 6 months. METHODS Nineteen Children’s Hospitals Neonatal Consortium centers collaborated in a quality improvement initiative to reduce postoperative care failures in a surgical neonatal setting by decreasing respiratory care failures and all other communication failures. Evidence-based clinical practice recommendations and a collaborative framework supported local teams’ implementation of standardized postoperative handoff communication. Process measures included compliance with center-defined handoff staff presence, use of center-defined handoff tool, and the proportion of handoffs with interruptions. Participant handoff satisfaction was the balancing measure. Baseline data were collected for 8 months, followed by a 12-month action phase and 7-month sustain phase. RESULTS On average, 181 postoperative handoffs per month were monitored across sites, and 320 respondents per month assessed the handoff process. Communication failures specific to respiratory care decreased by 73.2% (8.2% to 4.6% and with a second special cause signal to 2.2%). All other communication care failures decreased by 49.4% (17% to 8.6%). Eighty-four percent of participants reported high satisfaction. Compliance with use of the handoff tool and required staff attendance increased whereas interruptions decreased over the project time line. CONCLUSIONS Team engagement within a quality improvement framework had a positive impact on the perioperative handoff process for high-risk surgical neonates. We improved care as demonstrated by a decrease in postoperative care failures while maintaining high provider satisfaction.

A concept design stages protocol to support collaborative processes in architecture, engineering and construction projects

Purpose This paper proposes and tests, through a series of structured multi-disciplinary design activities, a “Concept Design Stages Protocol” (CDS Protocol) to structure project initiation, to attain smoother collaboration and greater consensus among multi-disciplinary project teams. Design/methodology/approach A collaborative approach from the outset is imperative for project success, especially when considering multi-disciplinary teams in the architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) industry. However, involving different disciplines hinders communication paths and affects informed decision-making. Findings Based on these findings, the research demonstrates that the CDS Protocol provides a solid foundation to aid in the optimal implementation of collaborative design, and with particular regard to multi-disciplinary working. Originality/value The research demonstrates the potential for significant improvement in the optimisation of the conceptual design stages, with positive implications for time, communication and whole-team engagement.

Remote Inspection of a FPSO Unit Crude Oil Tank whilst still Producing

In 2020, with the unit still producing a crude oil storage tank on the Bumi Armada owned and operated Armada Kraken FPSO was successfully inspected by Texo using a UAVS flown from outside the tank. This type of truly remote survey significantly reduces the risk to personnel, the survey time and the survey cost, whilst maintaining a survey standard that is close to that achieved by personnel entering the tank and utilising scaffolding. Lessons learnt in the following areas are discussed: • Detailed Scope of Work value, including potential & actual anomaly handling. • Careful pre-mobilisation briefing of the project team and Class surveyor. • Engagement with Bumi Armada personnel, onshore and offshore, and the Texo project team. • Engagement with DNVGL to enable the inspection to be Verification & Class credited. • Development by Texo of project specific procedures based on onshore trials. • Tank cleanliness and cleaning.

Virtual Experiential Learning: A Description of an Internship Framework That Engages Students to Build Public Health Competencies

As technology for remote learning advances, it is critical to understand how public health internship preceptors or faculty can provide engaging virtual experiential learning experiences for pre-professionals. We aimed to examine whether a virtual internship offered through a breastfeeding education company engaged learners to develop public health skills resulting in products beneficial for the internship site and learner. We provided a menu of tools to consider when developing virtual experiential opportunities. Master of Public Health students seeking dual-degrees in dietetics, nursing, and social work participated. Value of the interprofessional team, engagement, knowledge attainment, and translational skills were assessed through diverse modalities including surveys, oral communication, and products relevant to the internship site and interns’ academic program. Interns indicated that they valued the internship team and felt the team valued each intern’s opinion. Interns developed products useful to the internship site, suggesting active engagement in the virtual experience. Interns’ breastfeeding knowledge developed as the internship progressed demonstrated through oral communication as the content conveyed and discussed by interns advanced in cognitive level. The most frequently practiced translational skills reported by interns were research and communication. Virtual experiential learning can be hands-on resulting in professional skill development. This work aides in the understanding of how to feasibly implement an engaging remote internship.

Just slack it: A study of multidisciplinary teamwork based on ethnography and data from online collaborative software

New digital technologies for team communication have changed how people work and solve complex problems. Now, millions of people use Online Collaborative Software (OCS) daily, exchanging messages and files in diverse contexts. This article presents a case study of teamwork through the lens of a popular OCS called Slack. Slack was used by a multidisciplinary academic team of designers, social scientists, and engineers working on new biomedical technology. In this work, we investigate whether activity in Slack mirrors social interactions and project progress. We compare team activity in Slack: frequencies of public messages, replies, explicit mentions, membership changes to the 18-month ethnography of the team offline. Our analysis shows team engagement around important project milestones, correlation of meeting attendance, and activity in online public discussions. We visualize the team’s multidisciplinary collaboration throughout the project and discuss the limitations of technology to reflect team interactions.

The development and early operation of Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs)

Chapter 3 deals with the development and early operation of Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) of GPs. Building upon the context set out in chapter 2, we examine the factors affecting early CCG development, highlighting the complexity of their governance structures, approaches taken to engaging with their members and the development of external relationships with a wide range of new bodies. We found an explicitly ‘bottom up’ approach to policy implementation, with CCGs given considerable lee-way in developing their structures and processes. As a result, the history of previous commissioning structures and arrangements played an important role in the development of each CCG, as did the approach taken by local leaders and by the PCT/ developing NHS England local team. Engagement with local bodies such as Health and Wellbeing Boards and Local Authorities were also significantly affected by local history and geography. We found that the approach taken by NHS England to CCG development, with early freedom to develop as they chose increasingly curtailed by more prescriptive guidance and a complex assurance regime, led to some frustrations for those involved.