Belbin Case Studies

How Organisations Across Scotland Use Belbin Team Roles in Practice

Introduction

Belbin Team Roles are straightforward to explain but they only prove their real worth when applied in practice.

The case studies on this page provide some examples of how organisations have used Belbin, different situations that prompted the need, the reports used and the sessions run. They also summarise what was achieved.

The case studies cover a mix of teams across the public sector, national charities, energy, oil and gas operators, manufacturers and not-for-profit organisations.

From small teams to whole organisations of 600+.

From half-day team away days to organisation-wide deployment.

Whatever your need, Belbin can provide a practical solution that works.

How a Belbin Engagement Usually Works

Belbin workshop delivery can be facilitated in person across Scotland, the wider UK and internationally, or online via Teams or Zoom where required. Most of our work follows a similar approach, whatever the sector or size of team.

Start with a conversation.

We talk through what has prompted the enquiry, understand the need, who is involved, define any issues and what a good outcome would look like. Some organisations arrive with a clear brief, others know something is not working but have yet to define it. Both are common starting points.

Reports completed in advance.

Participants receive an email with instructions and complete the Belbin Self-Perception Inventory online which takes around 10 to 15 minutes. Where Observer feedback is included, colleagues are invited to contribute feedback. Completing reports beforehand means no workshop time is wasted on administration and everyone can arrive with their own report to work from where needed.

Sessions built around reports.

A typical workshop covers an overview of Belbin theory, talking through each person’s Individual Report and how different Team Role combinations interact. This includes opposite styles, where most day-to-day friction can occur, and communicating with different styles. We also focus on the Team Report, which shows the group’s collective strengths, gaps and blind spots. Workshop sessions typically run from two hours to a full day depending on the requirements of each team.

End in action planning.

Learning that stays in the room can cost the organisation financially and in time and may return very little from the investment. We always aim to close a workshop session by asking each participant / team to identify two or three practical things they will do differently back in the workplace.

Follow up.

Session notes and any actions are typed and circulated. We ask for informal or formal feedback to assess how effective the reports and session were.

The Reports Behind the Sessions

The case studies refer to several different Belbin Reports.

In brief:

The Individual (Self-Perception) Report sets out a person’s preferred Team Roles, their strengths and their allowable weaknesses. It can include Observer feedback from colleagues for a fuller picture.

The Team Report combines individual profiles to show a team’s overall behavioural make-up. Collective strengths and what it may be missing.

The Working Relationship Report compares two individuals and highlights where they may complement each other and where friction may be more likely.

The Job Profile Report defines the behavioural requirements of a specific role and the Job Comparison Report compares a candidate’s profile against them.

The GetSet Report offers an accessible alternative for apprentices, graduates and others at an early career stage.

Where Belbin Is Applied

Belbin can be applied across a wide range of team based situations including:

Newly formed teams

A restructure, a merger or a new leadership group which brings people together for the first time as a team.

Understanding the team’s composition and what development stage it is at can help play to strengths before bad habits set in. This can make it considerably easier than unpicking this as the team becomes established.

Team Development

Where a team is heavily focused on project or task delivery, with performance-based rewards, defined structures and clear accountability, Belbin explains the behavioural strengths and gaps that team structure alone does not reveal.

Team away days

A common starting point. Where a team wants to work more effectively together. A facilitated session can help give them a shared behavioural language and a neutral basis for discussing how they operate.

Leadership and management development

Leadership and management teams are often composed of people appointed for functional expertise rather than behavioural balance. Belbin helps make leadership style composition more visible, and works very well alongside 360-degree feedback and one-to-one coaching.

Recruitment and selection

Defining what a role requires behaviourally, and assessing candidates against it, adds a dimension that CVs and competency interviews cannot achieve alone. Using Belbin effectively can help reduce bad hiring decisions.

Onboarding and internal moves

Helping a new or transferring employee understand where they might best fit during onboarding, and helping the team understand what they may be gaining behaviourally from their new colleague.

Managing conflict

A personality clash is often the result of a predictable difference in Team Role preferences or style. Using the behavioural language of Belbin can help build greater understanding, diffuse tension and resolve conflict.

Remote and hybrid working

Remote or hybrid teams often lose the informal observation that allows colleagues to read body language and understand each other better.

Understanding behavioural preferences more explicitly with Belbin can help compensate.

Sector Experience

Belbin is not a sector-specific assessment. The behavioural dynamics of a team are much the same in a council office or an offshore engineering business. Our work with Belbin across Scotland and beyond has covered a highly diverse range of sectors including the public sector and local government, third sector and not-for-profit organisations, energy and oil and gas sectors, engineering and industrial services, manufacturing and consumer goods, and professional and financial services.

Team sizes have ranged from small groups of four through to large scale organisation-wide programmes covering hundreds of people.

Support provided can range from the provision of reports only, through to half-day sessions or large scale development programmes.

Case Studies

The case studies refer to our clients by sector rather than by name.

The team development work we undertake often touches on potentially confidential aspects of how individuals work together, and most clients don’t want that shared publicly.

Individual development and a newly formed leadership team

Engineering services Sector, 3 managers, plus a leadership team of 10

The situation.

Two separate needs: Three line managers needed development in management, leadership and communication skills. Separately, a recently formed leadership team of ten had not yet settled into working as a collaborative unit.

What we did.

For the managers: a 360-degree feedback report each, a one-to-one session to work through it and agree actions, and optional follow-up coaching every two to three weeks. In parallel, Belbin reports and a facilitated session for the new leadership team, covering how each person leads and communicates, the effect of their style on others, the working relationships between pairings, and the stages a new team moves through.

What it was designed to achieve.

Individual and collective development reinforce each other; a manager working on their own feedback behaves more effectively in the team. And the newly formed leadership team benefits from understanding its own behavioural composition early, before bad habits set in.

Large scale roll out across an organisation

Energy sector, Team size: 600+

The situation.

The situation.

A UK based operating unit which was part of an international operator wanted an accurate understanding of the behavioural strengths of their ten-person team. They wanted to identify practical ways to improve how they worked together as a multinational team.

What we did.

Individual reports with observer feedback, Working Relationship Reports and Team Reports, followed by a half day workshop. Alongside Belbin, the session drew on Tuckman’s stages of team development, Hersey and Blanchard’s situational leadership and Adair’s task-team-individual model.

What it was designed to achieve.

Effective observer feedback facilitation helped to enhance the overall behavioural understanding within the team. Focusing more on colleague observations helped everyone to understand their own behaviour and how it was perceived across the wider team. The gap between the two provided an opportunity for greater self reflection, learning and adaptation of behaviour in the workplace.

What Makes Belbin Sessions Work

Looking across the selection of Belbin case studies on this page, several things stand out as common themes:

Preparation done properly

Reports completed in advance, and Observer feedback gathered where the timing allows.

Observers should be colleagues who have worked closely with the individual for at least three months; four is the minimum needed to produce a report incorporating their feedback and six is recommended.

Senior level commitment

Where a manager or director attends as a participant rather than an external observer, the team takes the Belbin framework more seriously.

Follow-through is almost always more productive.

Addressing real issues

The most impactful sessions are focused around actual business objectives.

Whether looking at strategic plans, high performing teams, forming a new team, working relationships or
conflict.

Not just as a detached team development solution.

Mechanism for follow-up

Actions circulated, a review point set, and Belbin language starting to be used afterwards through one-to-ones and team meetings.

Without embedding learning, the impact of a well run team away day can fade within weeks.

Belbin language, not labels

Team Role preferences describe how someone tends to contribute, not what they are capable of. Behaviours can shift with change of role, team or experience.

The Belbin framework should help prompt questions about how people can really contribute to the team.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long does a Belbin session take?

Workshop sessions typically run from two hours to a full day. A two-hour Introduction to Belbin covers the core theory, individual reports and an overview of team reports.

A half day allows more time for analysing Working Relationship and Team Reports and more meaningful action planning, which is why a half day is the more popular option.

A full day session makes more sense when Belbin is combined with other requirements such as business planning, team development, recruitment or a conflict-based focus.

How many people can take part?

Most sessions are run with somewhere between four and twelve participants, which allows everyone to contribute and a greater level of interaction. Larger group sessions are also available; we have run sessions for entire organisations, either in a single session or through a programme of sessions for functional sub-teams.

Do we need to be accredited to use Belbin?

No. Reports can be purchased individually with no accreditation commitment, and we can facilitate any support sessions required on an ad hoc basis. Organisations using Belbin regularly often choose to have someone accredited internally so they can generate reports and facilitate their own sessions, which improves the control they have and can also help reduce cost, especially for higher volume report and workshop requirements.

Can Belbin be delivered online?

Yes. Sessions run well over Teams or Zoom, particularly for remote or hybrid teams where getting everyone in one room is a challenge. In-person delivery is always preferred for any workshop sessions, team away days or newly formed teams where the time spent together can sometimes matter as much as the session content.

What does it cost?

Costs depend on the number of participants, the reports used and the length of the session. Report prices are listed on our Buy Belbin Reports page, and we will always give you a clear, itemised proposal before any commitment. Discounts are available for volume and for not-for-profit organisations.