Ontario Municipal Human Resources Association

Workplace culture can be defined in many ways, but it generally refers to a collection of norms, beliefs, and behaviour that influence the workplace environment. In a healthy, positive environment, the culture is known and lived by all members. It is not easy to foster or maintain a positive workplace culture without being intentional about the environment you want to create. If you want to create (or restore) a healthy, respectful, and inclusive workplace environment, you may want to start with a Team Charter.

A Team Charter, much like a project charter, defines the purpose of the team, how it works, and what is expected of the team and its members. A Charter can provide clarity for the team and its leaders about the mission and objectives, and how the team will work together to achieve them. A Charter can also provide guidance when things go wrong.

Key Elements of a Team Charter

There are six key elements to a comprehensive Team Charteri:

1. Context
2. Mission and Objectives
3. Composition and Roles
4. Authority and Empowerment
5. Team Agreements
6. Consensus and Commitment

Three elements are essential to creating healthy workplace culture.

The Context is the introduction to the Charter. It sets out the teams’ purpose and how the purpose aligns with the broader objectives of the organization. The Context also provides clarity about the ‘why’ of the team and the parameters (and challenges) within which it operates. The Context can be a helpful reference point to understand why things are not going well.

When setting the Context, consider:

• What are the key objectives/priorities being addressed by the team?
• What are the internal/external influences that impact the work of the team and its priorities (controllable and uncontrollable)?
• What results or outcomes are expected?

Team Agreements outline the expectations of the team and the responsibilities and accountability of team members and leaders for meeting those expectations. Teams Agreements are an expression of the expectations of how team members will ‘show up for each other’ in the workplace.

Team Agreements set out key principles and agreed upon expectations that cover a range of the team’s work and interactions. They should be clear and concise, specifying the team’s expectations for members and what happens if expectations are not met. By setting out these expectations, the team will function more effectively and avoid unnecessary conflicts or misunderstandings that often arise from lack of clarity about what is expected or accepted. To be effective and meaningful, Team Agreements should be created collaboratively and agreed upon by all team members.

To support healthy workplace culture, a Charter should reflect Team Agreements on a range of topics, including:

• Shared values and commitments.
• A process (and expectations) for responding to disputes/conflicts effectively.
• Expectations for communication and feedback.
• Accountability measures (and recourse) if expectations are not met.

The final element of a Team Chater is Consensus and Commitment. It happens once the Charter has been developed, ideally through a collaborative and inclusive process to reach consensus. All members of the team, including leaders, should commit to the Charter and demonstrate that commit to each other. Some organizations ask everyone to sign a formal commitment agreement, but commitment can be captured in less formal ways. Ideally the Charter will be reflected in performance management, employee and leadership development, and team building activities.

Develop a Team Charter through collaboration

It is important to develop the Team Charter through collaboration. You can do so by:

1. Identifying individual and collective needs, expectations, and preferences.
2. Identifying common key themes and principles.
3. Developing mutual understanding.
4. Discussing and building consensus.
5. Documenting statements of principles, agreements, and accountability measures.
6. Confirming commitment.
7. Displaying the Charter where it can be seen and readily accessed.
8. Revisiting and recommitting to the Charter regularly.

The Team Charter should be readily accessible to all team members and leaders and should be referenced routinely as a source of guidance, motivation, and a foundation for resolution.

By having a Team Charter in place, you can proactively reduce the negative impact of frustration and conflict that is often driven by lack of clarity or consensus about what is expected.

Team Charters support positive workplace culture by ensuring that everyone is ‘on the same page’ and knows what is expected of them, resulting in more cohesive and successful teams.