The 5Rs
Guideline for Understanding the Make-Up of a Team
You may wish to make observations with your team members about how your team functions. Whether you are an engagement team, a quality improvement team or a research team- the 5Rs can help help everyone make sense of how the team will function as a unit. It is a strengths based approach to understanding successful teamwork. It can also serve as a measurement tool when considering what adjustments to m ake in order to improve teamwork. The 5Rs are:
Roles
Roles
Identify all positions the team member will hold. Your role is the title you might wear on your badge during a meeting to reflect your point of view, the responsibilities you have and the resources you will provide the team.
Identify all positions the team member will hold. Your role is the title you might wear on your badge during a meeting to reflect your point of view, the responsibilities you have and the resources you will provide the team.
Respect
Respect
Identify how the team will establish and maintain reciprocal relationships and a healthy human centered environment for everyone on the team . Setting team norms and rules of engagement together will ensure that everyone will not just agree, but can follow them. Practice them and revisit the agreements you have set together often and regularly in order to hold each member of the team accountable to their shared responsibility for maintaining respect on the team.
Identify how the team will establish and maintain reciprocal relationships and a healthy human centered environment for everyone on the team . Setting team norms and rules of engagement together will ensure that everyone will not just agree, but can follow them. Practice them and revisit the agreements you have set together often and regularly in order to hold each member of the team accountable to their shared responsibility for maintaining respect on the team.
Resources
Resources
Identify what services or expertise each team member will offer the project. The budget will reflect the value your team has for stakeholder influence in research. The budget must also provide appropriate resources for supporting needs, learning opportunities, time, effort, transportation and technical training.
Identify what services or expertise each team member will offer the project. The budget will reflect the value your team has for stakeholder influence in research. The budget must also provide appropriate resources for supporting needs, learning opportunities, time, effort, transportation and technical training.
Requirements
Requirements
Identify what level of education, training, background, lived experience, expertise or skills each team member must have to be a member of the team before recruitment. Stakeholder requirements may be more challenging to identify as it is a new role on a research team. What is generally required of stakeholder partners is to have lived experience in the area of health or care under inquiry and to represent the needs of the study target community. Stakeholders can also be required to have influence in the community or to have relationships with other members of the target community of stakeholders. It is a bonus if a stakeholder partner finds the work of partnering for research meaningful and rewarding.
Identify what level of education, training, background, lived experience, expertise or skills each team member must have to be a member of the team before recruitment. Stakeholder requirements may be more challenging to identify as it is a new role on a research team. What is generally required of stakeholder partners is to have lived experience in the area of health or care under inquiry and to represent the needs of the study target community. Stakeholders can also be required to have influence in the community or to have relationships with other members of the target community of stakeholders. It is a bonus if a stakeholder partner finds the work of partnering for research meaningful and rewarding.
Responsibilities
Responsibilities
Identify what tasks each person on the team must do to fulfill their primary and secondary roles on the team. This is an important step to take with everyone on the team including stakeholder partners. Each person can help by developing their own preliminary list of responsibilities. Share these task lists with the entire team and adjust them regularly as needed to help the entire team function smoothly. If stakeholder partners responsibilities are related to their presence on the team then these responsibilities such as observing, listening, learning, asking questions , sharing lived experience expertise and voicing opinions are tangible tasks that can be set as valued contributions from the start of operations.
Identify what tasks each person on the team must do to fulfill their primary and secondary roles on the team. This is an important step to take with everyone on the team including stakeholder partners. Each person can help by developing their own preliminary list of responsibilities. Share these task lists with the entire team and adjust them regularly as needed to help the entire team function smoothly. If stakeholder partners responsibilities are related to their presence on the team then these responsibilities such as observing, listening, learning, asking questions , sharing lived experience expertise and voicing opinions are tangible tasks that can be set as valued contributions from the start of operations.
Coming together is a beginning.
Staying together is progress.
Working together is success.
Henry Ford