6.3 Team Project: Part Four

TEAMS EVALUATION PAPER

1

T-Mobile Teams Evaluation Paper

Prepared by

Aaron Weiss, Lynnette Taschner, Michael Brandon, Rogelio Flores

Trevecca Nazarene University

MOL 5300 Learning and Building Teams

Dr. Julie Rigsby

July 12, 2021

Introduction

For this assignment, we chose to evaluate the sales teams at T-Mobile. We conducted interviews with several members of management to collect data that would aid us in our evaluation. This data would also provide insight into how the organization creates teams, whether those teams are chosen randomly, or some criteria that the organization looks for when selecting the sales team members. As well as determine how successful these teams are at achieving their goals.

We further surveyed some members of the teams to collect data as to what they believe is working and not working in their team environment. These survey results will also be utilized to compare what the management thinks is working and what the team members themselves believe is functioning well and what is not. We believe this will give us the necessary data to evaluate whether the sales teams perform effectively. We will also use this data to present some recommendations to the organization on how it can improve the sales team's efficiency.

In the following sections, we will go into detail on the organizational background of T-Mobile. We will look into the team selection process and what is involved in creating a sales team, and what it takes to be a member of the sales teams at T-Mobile. We will discuss how team members are selected and what requirements are needed to join the sales team as well as whether team members receive specialized training.

Then we will investigate the team's composition, how many members there are in a sales team. How are the teams set up? Is there a hierarchy? Do they operate autonomously, or is there direct management from the organization? How many teams work on the same project? Is there collaboration between teams and departments, or is there a culture of competition? We will explore if conflicts arise and how conflicts are resolved within the team and how effective communication is within the team and the organization. We will explore how the team makes decisions as well as who has the last word when a decision cannot be made collectively. We will explore whether some teams are more productive than others and if so, why might this be? Finally, we will explore how and when the teams started. What is their current role? Has this role changed over the years, and has the change improved their efficiency? We also explored how many sales teams are currently operating and how they might compare to each other.

Organizational Background

T-Mobile is a telecommunications company that is known most as a mobile telephone carrier. Its founding date is not precise as after research, its founding date has many different dates. Some have it as 1994, some 1999 still others as 2001. After further research, we determined the discrepancies are because T Mobile has undergone some changes along the way.

Here is a short timeline of how T-Mobile came to be. It is by no means complete, just the major factors that led it to where it is now. In 1994 VoiceStream PCS, a subsidiary of Western Wireless Corp. was founded in Bellevue. In 1999 VoiceStream spins off from the parent Western Wireless. In June 2001, Deutsche Telekom AG acquired Voice Stream Wireless for $35 billion. In September of 2001, Deutsche Telekom renamed the company T-Mobile USA Inc. In February 2008, T-Mobile acquired SunCom Wireless Holdings Inc. For $2.4 billion, thereby adding 1.1 million customers. In 2011 the U.S. Department of Justice blocked AT&T's bid to buy the company for $39 billion in stocks and cash. T-Mobile reported a loss of $4.3 billion. In September 2012, John Legere was appointed CEO to turn the company around (Lieberman, 2019, para 5).

According to T-Mobile fact sheets, the company services 103.4 million customers and reported revenues of $68.4 billion in 2020 (T-Mobile Factsheets, 2021). T-Mobile provides its customer base various services, mainly in the telecommunications field and more narrowly focused on cell phone service. They have, in recent years, led mobile carriers in providing services such as VoLTE, worldwide Wi-Fi Calling, 600 MHz LTE, and many more (The un-carrier list of firsts, 2021).

Some recent news on the company is that it had a net addition of 5.5 million users in 2020 (Blumenthal, 2021, para. 1). After its acquisition of Sprint Mobile was complete in April 2020, Mike Sievert became the new CEO. This made it the second-largest mobile phone service carrier overtaking AT&T after completing its acquisition of Sprint Wireless (Blumenthal, 2021, para. 3). T-Mobile continues to deploy and expand its 5G network on both the low-band and mid-band levels. T-Mobile has stated they plan to cover 200 million customers with the faster version of 5G by the end of 2021 (Blumenthal, 2021, para 4).

The mission of T-Mobile is changing wireless for good. What sets them apart is: they are customer obsessed, employee committed, and they are moving beyond telecom (T-Mobile our story, 2021). They have the first and largest nationwide 5G network. Their 5G network reaches more cities and towns in America than anyone else (T-Mobile our story, 2021).

Team Selection

This section will detail how team members are selected, if there are any special requirements to join a team, if team members receive any special training to do their job, and if the team members are encouraged to update their skills and learn new ones.

How are team members selected?

The teams at T-Mobile were assigned to the team based on interviews and skills set reviews. Most team members did not have to qualify for their positions past the basic skill requirements. Some teams, however, are more specialized and require specific skills. For example, there is a bilingual team that must speak Spanish and English with fluency. There is another team that was specifically trained to deal with government sales prospects.

Are there any special requirements?

There are some special requirements for two of the four teams. One is being bilingual; the other involves special training to deal with government contracts and sales support. Other than these, there are no other special requirements aside from the required skills to get the job which are sales related. There might be skills needed in the future that will be necessary for them to do the job since the organization is evolving to service new sectors and new clients.

Do team members receive training?

Some team members in specific teams do receive specialized training. For example, the team that deals with government sales was explicitly trained for that purpose. We also asked whether team members are encouraged to update their skills set or learn new skills. The answer to this was mixed, but for the most part, the team members are encouraged to update their skills and learn new ones. There are a variety of training tools and resources for product and service information available, one must take the time to review it.

Additionally, the company offers tuition assistance for most colleges, including bachelor's and master's degrees. Getting training or support to learn something outside of the person's job is not always easy. Fisher (2000) advised, "to encourage people to act and think differently without providing them some means to accomplish the change is futile. (p.237).

Team Composition

In this section, we will detail how the teams work, how they are set up, the primary purpose of the teams, and the major tasks the teams perform. We will also detail how the teams are managed, how decisions are made, and who has the last word. Whether some teams are more productive than others and whether conflicts arise, and how they are dealt with. How the teams communicate with team members, other teams, and management and if this communication is open and effective.

How are teams set up?

The team is set up to fulfill a specific company need and must be expanded and new teams created to meet those growing needs. At first, one team dealt with inside sales whose job was to cold call a mix of existing customers and prospects to make sales. This was shifted to a system where the calls are inbound so that the teams can assist a wider net of customers. There was one team, and this has since expanded to four teams, two of which are specialized. Teams are composed of at least five members and increase in size depending on the teams' workload. New teams are created when a new customer type comes along, or the team becomes too large to manage effectively. New customer types are, for example, bilingual customers, or the government contracts; these two customer types require specialized teams.

How many teams work on the same tasks?

All the teams work to maximize their sales opportunities and generate leads for other business areas. Still, certain teams work to have a bigger pool of potential opportunities based on their specialized skills. So, they work collectively to drive sales and increase the organization's customer base. They do this by providing a quick and personalized experience for new and existing customers. The teams were created to streamline the customer's experience when getting new accounts or new lines for existing customers. The teams removed the multiple steps that were required to activate new services for new customers. With this system, the customer talks to one person and gets the services they require without speaking with multiple sales representatives or different departments.

How are the teams managed?

The team has a hierarchical management system, and each team has a team coach who then reports to the senior manager, who in turn reports to the director. We discovered that the senior manager and director partner and make all team decision-making related to all work functions from the interviews. So, the final word for any decision that is made regarding changes to productivity goals, procedural changes, and other significant decisions rests with the senior manager and director.

How are decisions made?

Decision-making is a hierarchical process where changes are brought up the chain of command, and the director has the final word. The team reports the changes to the coach, the coach reports to the senior manager, and the senior management reports to the director. This is the chain of command and how decisions are made.

Are some teams more productive than others?

When it comes to productivity, some teams are more productive than others. What causes the increased productivity was not immediately apparent. The interviewees speculated that team collaboration was more robust in some teams than it was in others. Another possible explanation was that some team leaders are more effective than others. Some team members may be more driven to make sales than others, which could also be a contributing factor to why some teams are more productive than others. Another reason to consider is that some may not be as motivated to make sales compared to other teammates, and so some are comfortable meeting minimum business expectations, whereas others are driven to perform at a high level.

How are conflicts resolved?

"If there are disagreements among team members at any point, it is often best to stop and work out a negotiation and come to an agreement." (Dyer et al., 2013) When asked if there were any conflicts in the teams, the answer was a resounding yes. There are conflicts within the teams all the time. Most are work-related, such as two team members working with the same customer, and the conflict is who gets the commission. Some are more complicated than that and require more work to resolve. The people interviewed stated that most conflicts are resolved amicably. For example, the commission conflicts can be resolved by splitting the commission between the team members. Others require more direct action from management to try and resolve the disputes. One of those interviewed stated that sometimes conflicts are not addressed, and a solution is never found. Personal conflicts are more difficult to resolve, and sometimes they are not given the priority they require. They are left to simmer and grow to where a person might have to leave or be reassigned to a different department.

Is there open communication in the teams?

The teams seem to be able to communicate with each other and their coaches. From our survey, 53.9% of respondents rated collaboration a nine or higher (see Figure 1). As well as management, the senior manager stated that her door is always open. She encourages everyone to come to her or any other member of management with any problems or concerns. When the teams worked in person at the call center, communication was accessible since everyone saw each other on a daily basis. Because of COVID, the teams went virtual, making interpersonal communication between team members more strained. The managers interviewed stated that they have been trying to encourage communication between team members during this virtual work environment. However, it has been challenging to accomplish it effectively.

Team Motivation

We asked the coaches and management how the sales teams were motivated to remain productive. The overwhelming answer was extrinsic rewards; this is, after all, a sales team that works on commission. The telesales team members have control of their pay since they are paid commission, so the more sales, the more money they make. The motivation works; 77% of survey respondents ranked their team a nine or higher at effectiveness (see Figure 2). "It is not necessary to always connect pay to team performance, although this is possible, and such rewards are being used with increasing frequency." (Dyer et al., p. 54) However, one of those interviewed stated that intrinsic rewards are important to them and others in their team. She mentioned that some recognition for achieving a goal or leading in sales is just as important to her as the commissions. She also stated that this is done, but it is not done for everyone. Certain people get this recognition when others do not. For some people, recognition is a more significant motivator than money is.

Single versus multi-team

We asked if the organization uses a single team for the tasks or uses multiple teams to accomplish the tasks. In this section, we will cover how the teams were stated, what the role of the teams is, and how many sales teams are currently operating.

How did the team start?

The team started as an inside sales team that made calls outbound to find new customers' leads. They then took these leads to try and drive sales to new and existing customers. At this point, there was one sales team operating. The purpose was to make sales and grow the customer base of the organization.

What is the team's current role?

The purpose of the sales team is to make sales and add to the organization's customer base. The goal is also to provide customers with a simple way to add new or existing services. The team works to provide this quickly where the customer does not need to talk to multiple people or multiple departments. This makes that buying experience more personal and more accessible for the customers. There are currently four telesales teams operating; this is because the company needs the expansion.

Are the teams provided the tools and resources they need?

We asked the people interviewed whether the team members were provided with the tools and resources they need to do the job. The overwhelming response was yes; the teams are provided with the tools and resources they need to do their job, followed by the bare minimum number of tools and resources to get the job done. All those interviewed stated that more tools and resources were needed in order to do their job more effectively. Currently, work is getting done, but if access to other systems and training could be implemented, it could lead to more productivity from the teams.

Conclusion

To sum up, team effectiveness is a multifaceted topic. Leaders, individual members, the environment, the tools, and resources all play into performance and productivity. We have learned that there may be a disconnect between how managers view their teams vs. how the frontline feels they work. We have explored how teams were formed, how they communicate, how decisions are made, and what incentives they have for performance and growth. The mission of the telesales team is being fulfilled. Still, we have successfully identified opportunities to improve operations, yield higher employee satisfaction, better employee retention, and increased revenue for the organization and company overall. Even with these improvements, "no organizational design or management style can guarantee success." (Fisher p. 27). We are optimistic that the leaders will take these insights into consideration to make improvements to the telesales organization.

Survey Results

Figure 1: Ranking team collaboration

Figure 2: Ranking team effectiveness

References:

Blumenthal, E. (2021, February 4). T-Mobile continues growth with another earnings beat, now at 102.1 million users. CNET. https://www.cnet.com/tech/mobile/t-mobile-continues-growth-with-another-earnings-beat-now-at-102-1-million-users/ .

Company Information: T-Mobile Network, Awards, Partnerships & More. Unlimited Plans, Cell Phones, Evolving 4G & 5G Coverage. (n.d.). https://www.t-mobile.com/our-story .

Dyer, W. G., Dyer, J. H., & Dyer, W. G. (2013). Team building: proven strategies for improving team performance. Jossey-Bass.

Fisher, K. (2000). Leading self-directed work teams: a guide to developing new team leadership skills. McGraw-Hill.

https://www.t-mobile.com/news/fact-sheets

Lieberman, L. (2019, June 27). bizjournals.com. https://www.bizjournals.com/kansascity/news/2019/06/27/tmobile-history.html.

Un‑carrier Network List of Firsts: T‑Mobile Newsroom. T. (n.d.). https://www.t-mobile.com/news/un-carrier-network-list-of-firsts .