How to build an effective team charter

What is a team charter?

A team charter is a document that outlines a team’s purpose, goals, and approach. It helps get everyone on the same page about the scope of the team's work and how they will collaborate. 

A team charter defines how a team will work together and make decisions. It explains communication methods, meeting schedules, project collaboration tools, and conflict resolution processes so everyone can collaborate seamlessly.

When creating a team charter, consider what's most important for your team to define and agree upon. Keep the document concise but comprehensive, and revisit it regularly to ensure it aligns with your team's priorities and processes as the project matures.

A tool such as Confluence allows you to see work progress, share updates effortlessly, and build on each other's input. This level of connectedness and transparency is vital to a high-performing team.

Why do you need a team charter?

An effective team charter lays the foundation for a team's success. It establishes a shared understanding of the team's purpose, goals, and working approach. Confluence helps you measure success and outline the progress of any key results or objectives. 

Once you have an outline, establish ground rules for how your team will work together. Discuss collaborative communication, meeting schedules, and conflict resolution approaches among the team. If you value transparency, accountability, and inclusiveness, write these in your charter to align everyone with company policies.

After establishing expectations, identify necessary roles and assign people to fulfill them. Clearly outline each person’s responsibilities so there is no confusion. For example, you may need a project manager, content creator, or designer. Be specific about each role’s expectations. Review your charter as a team and make any necessary revisions collaboratively. 

Project documentation, like a team charter, should be considered a living document. It should be regularly revisited and updated throughout the project life cycle. An effective team charter lays the groundwork for a highly collaborative, focused, and successful team. It fosters collaboration and accountability, setting a positive tone for future projects.

What to include in your team charter

Once you have your team together, create your charter in a collaborative work environment such as Confluence, where your team can outline the details of your project in one place:

• Establish your team’s main objective and continue discussing the main goals. Outline the team’s mission to provide direction and motivation for future collaboration. 
• Specify each person’s responsibilities to avoid confusion and duplicate efforts. List the key roles on your team and the general expectations for each position. 
• Create standards of behavior to help your team work together efficiently. Discuss preferred communication methods, response times, team meeting schedules, and availability. Determine how you will hold each other accountable and brainstorm conflict-resolution strategies.
• Revisit your team charter periodically to reassess priorities, revise roles, update milestones, and make necessary changes to processes or ground rules. Also, meet with your team regularly to discuss what’s working and address any challenges so workflows stay current.
• Give your team a shared workspace to outline the project's purpose, define responsibilities, set expectations, and make revisions. A well-crafted charter sets your team up for success by facilitating collaboration and enhancing communication.

Creating a team charter step-by-step

To successfully create a team charter, you must adequately prepare, brainstorm, draft, review, and finalize the document. 

1. Preparation

First, gather team members and explain the purpose of creating the charter. Clearly explain the goals, roles, and working relationships of cross-functional teams. Define the scope and objectives of the charter to keep everyone on the same page.

2. Brainstorming

Next, conduct a brainstorming session to facilitate discussion and alignment within the newly formed team. This discussion should help members identify the team's mission and goals, agree on core values, define individual roles and responsibilities, set brainstorming rules, and establish communication norms and preferred tools. Encourage all team members to participate in the brainstorming session.

3. Drafting

To ensure success, assign a person to compile the information into an initial draft and task them with keeping the document up to date. This document should compile all the information gathered in steps one and two.

4. Review and feedback

Show drafts to your teammates for review and feedback. An outside perspective can help identify gaps, mistakes, or issues. Meet with your team regularly to discuss what’s working, address challenges, and ensure alignment on key goals. Tracking your team’s progress using software like Confluence is an easy way to monitor key performance indicators as your team prepares to set goals for upcoming quarters. 

5. Finalization

Revise the draft based on the team’s feedback and ensure consensus among all involved parties. Distribute it to all members for final approval. An effective charter helps position your team for success through enhanced collaboration and communication for each project.

How to implement a team charter in your business

Your company’s team charter is a living document that evolves with your team. To successfully implement the charter into your team’s operations, follow these best practices:

• Hold a kickoff meeting: Introduce the charter to the team to ensure everyone understands its purpose and importance.
• Conduct regular reviews: Revise the charter periodically to keep it relevant and aligned with the team’s goals.
• Participate in ongoing communication: Engage in continuous dialogue and collaboration to reinforce the charter’s guidelines.

Benefits of a well-crafted team charter

A well-crafted team charter has many benefits, including:

• Provides clarity and direction: With a well-crafted team charter, everyone understands the team’s goals and priorities.
• Improves productivity: With roles and responsibilities clearly defined, teams work more efficiently.
• Enhances collaboration: A shared understanding of team dynamics leads to better teamwork.
• Solves problems proactively: Addressing decision-making and conflict resolution upfront helps prevent future issues.

Use Confluence to create an effective team charter

With Confluence, teams can easily create and share a team charter. You can add sections for your mission, priorities, responsibilities, guidelines, and more. All project-related knowledge is centralized, making it easily accessible and allowing your business to progress. No matter the size of your team, project information and company knowledge are findable and up-to-date through AI search functions. When you’re ready, you can easily share with the whole company.

Confluence allows you to invite peers to collaborate through real-time editing and inline comments, keeping everything logged and searchable. It brings everyone together to craft and maintain your team’s charter, building shared ownership and alignment from day one. A well-crafted team charter is the first step to effective team collaboration.

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