The knowledge, skill, and ability requirements for teamwork: Implications for human resource management

This study reviews the literature on groups to determine the knowledge, skill, and ability (KSA) requirements for teamwork. The focus is on: (1) KSAs rather than personality traits; (2) team rather than technical KSAs; and (3) the individual rather than team level of analysis. Fourteen speciJic KSAs are derived. Then, the implications of these teamwork KSAs for the mod@ation or development of human resource (HR) management systems are determined, and research issues are discussed. The use of teams has become an extremely popular work design in all types of organizations today. The enthusiasm for this work configuration is so strong that it might be considered a fad in modern management philosophies. As is often the case with such rapid innovation, the support systems needed to manage the changes have not been properly modified or developed. One class of support systems is the human resource (HR) management of work teams. For example, how should we hire, train, compensate, appraise, and develop the careers of employees in work teams? Are such HR systems the same ones we have used for managing employees working on independent jobs? A cornerstone of most HR practices is a thorough understanding of the requirements of the jobs. Therefore, the first purpose of this paper is to review the literature on groups to determine the potential knowledge, skill, and ability (KSA) requirements for teamwork. Then, the second purpose is to derive the implications of these teamwork KSAs for HR management practices. Focus of the Paper The purposes of the study can be further refined by describing the focus in several key regards.