Learn How To Build A Great Team
A good team is made of people who know how to collaborate effectively. As a business owner, it's your job to find ways to help your team grow stronger and learn how to work together to solve problems. With suitable team-building activities, you can help facilitate positive relationships among employees.
Build A Great Team
1. Do a Good Job of Welcoming New Hires
It’s important that each team member feels like a part of the team from the very first day they are there. When welcoming them to the staff, be sure to give a proper introduction. Try to give them at least a small task for the day or have them shadow a team member so that they feel like they are contributing to the team.
2. Establish Clear Roles for Everyone
Productivity can often suffer if everyone doesn’t know what their specific role is on the team. Make sure that everyone has a written outline and an overall understanding of what their position entails. When team members know their role, they are able to confidently take ownership of their position and their work.
3. Embrace Each Individual
Everyone is different. Not only should you be seeking out a diverse team, but you should be able to cultivate the various personalities in effective ways. Find out what makes people tick and figure out how they can contribute to the team. If you’re having a hard time nailing down personalities on your team, consider taking personality tests like the Gallup Strength’s Finder or the Meyers-Briggs test.
4. Set Expectations
Unspoken expectations will always go unmet, so make sure that you let your staff know what your expectations are and help them find tangible ways to meet them.
5. Keep the Lines of Communication Open
Be approachable. If there is an issue in the team, it’s better that you know about it so it can be resolved as quickly as possible. Let your team know that the goal is for everyone to be able to work productively and efficiently so if there is an issue that is preventing that from happening- it needs to be made known.
Keep Your Team Great
1. Invite a Guest Speaker
Inviting a guest speaker is always a great way to shake things up a little bit and get people excited about new information in your industry. Bringing in the occasional special guest will contribute to establishing an environment that cultivates learning, which is extremely important to the growth of a small business.
2. Be Encouraging & Challenging
Show your staff that you appreciate them on a frequent basis. You don’t have to spend thousands of dollars massaging their egos, but telling them that they are doing a good job goes a long way. Be specific and personal in your praises. In addition to showing appreciation, you should also regularly challenge your staff by telling them what their areas of improvement are.
3. Acknowledge and Solve Problems Carefully and Quickly
If you notice an issue among your team, personal or otherwise, don’t wait around thinking that it’ll work itself out. The quicker the problem is solved, the less damage there is to undo. Approach team conflict quickly and carefully.
When it comes to building a great team, I like to think about this quote by Tina Fey, "In most cases being a good boss means hiring talented people and then getting out of their way."
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Read the Small Business Guide on “How to Build A Great Small Business Team” from our friends over at Xero, to learn more about keeping your employees happy and motivated.
