12 Small Team Benefits To Consider When Building Teams

Companies usually decide whether to create a small or large team based on the size of the project. Some projects may require large teams, but small teams offer many benefits for team members, the client and the organization as a whole. Learning about the advantages of a small team can help you decide if this structure suits your project and can help your team reach its goals. In this article, we explain why small team benefits are important and explore 12 significant benefits for you to consider when building teams.

Related: 11 Benefits of Teamwork

Why are small team benefits important?

Small team benefits are important because they help managers and their teams understand why they should consider reducing team size. Professionals may assume large teams lead to greater productivity and success because more team members can complete tasks, but large teams may have a higher risk for miscommunication and disorganization. You can avoid this risk by learning about how a small team could yield better results for your next project.

12 significant small team benefits

Here are 12 benefits of small teams in the workplace:

1. Improved communication

The larger a team is, the more people each team member communicates with to stay updated and collaborate on the project. Working with multiple people can lead to confusion, as ensuring each team member has accurate information can be a challenge. Because smaller teams have fewer members, they may find it easier to communicate effectively with each other about the progress of the project and resolve concerns before they become bigger issues.

2. Higher engagement

Building small teams that consist of professionals with different backgrounds and levels of experience can create a mentorship environment among members. When there are fewer members and each has useful knowledge and skills to contribute, engagement often occurs naturally. This allows team members to work together organically to solve problems and reach project goals.

3. Increased productivity

Smaller teams may have an improved ability to manage each member's specific roles and tasks and stay organized throughout the project. When members complete their assigned duties efficiently can access resources easily, the team can increase its productivity. This can help the team stay on schedule and complete each phase of the project efficiently.

Related: 20 Team Meeting Ideas To Improve Productivity and Engagement

4. Boosted motivation

Members of large teams may feel overwhelmed or overshadowed by a chaotic work environment, which can lead to discouragement. By establishing a small team instead, managers can help their team members feel more recognized and valued and provide encouragement and praise on an individual basis. Managers can also identify problems with work quality sooner and provide constructive criticism to help team members improve and feel good about their work.

5. Better collaboration

Collaboration in large teams can be challenging because everyone has different ideas about how to proceed with the project. Large teams often split into small groups for collaboration, because working in smaller teams makes it easier to work together. By creating small teams initially instead of a large team, managers can facilitate collaboration by allowing each team member to provide input, discuss their ideas and work together to reach decisions.

6. More innovation

When you have fewer people on a team, the team members have a better opportunity to learn about and encourage each other's strengths. This can foster innovation, as team members may feel empowered to create new strategies for reaching project goals. Members of small teams often have more time to communicate with each other about what they contribute to the team than members of large teams do, which can lead to new ideas and methods.

Related: 12 Key Characteristics of a Culture of Innovation (With Tips)

7. Faster progress

Members of small teams typically feel more motivated about their roles than members of large teams, which can help them avoid distractions that interrupt the flow of work. Meetings often take less time and are easier to plan as they involve fewer individual schedules. Because small teams communicate regularly, they may also have fewer disagreements. Working quickly and effectively often results in a positive project outcome.

8. Efficient management

Managing a large team can be challenging because of the difficulty involved in assigning tasks to each team member, monitoring their progress and ensuring your availability for their needs. Teams without efficient management often struggle, as good leaders give their teams the confidence to perform well in their roles. Small teams can help you avoid this issue, as managers usually find it easier to lead smaller groups of people.

Related: How To Successfully Manage a Small Team (With Tips)

9. Established trust

Members of small groups often trust each other, especially if they've worked together in the past. They can get to know each other in the beginning stages of a project and start feeling comfortable expressing ideas and opinions right away. Many professionals could make significant contributions to a project, but they feel discouraged by the inevitable competition that arises within large teams. Small teams allow them to overcome this challenge and create a trusting relationship with team members that can have a positive effect on the project.

10. Maximized resources

In large team settings, multiple people may work toward the same goal without realizing it. These repeated tasks contradict the purpose of having a large group, which is to have more people completing more duties to reach project goals faster. Smaller teams often serve that purpose better than large groups do, as they allow managers to monitor each team member's tasks and the resources they use to complete them. Managers may also have the ability to allocate more resources to smaller groups as they have fewer members.

11. Equal opportunities

Larger groups make it easier for members to act on their biases, whether unconsciously or consciously. With so many people involved in a large team project, other members may not notice when someone chooses only male colleagues to work with or avoids communicating with team members if they may encounter a language barrier. Smaller groups allow for increased visibility, which often discourages discriminatory behavior. They also encourage members to learn about each other and appreciate the knowledge and skills each person can offer.

12. Focused specialization

If you're building a team to work on a niche project, keeping the team small allows for more focus on the specific tasks the project requires. Many professionals within a company develop their own specializations within their field. You may find that relying on these few professionals to perform duties they've mastered is more effective than teaching a large team how to manage it because they have the particular skill set required to succeed in completing the project.