Building a work team that runs like a well-oiled machine is one of the most surefire ways to protect your company from competition today and in the future. Efficiency and productivity emerge in organizations that focus on making sure that teamwork is possible and that information sharing is routine across an organization. The tight-knit work teams in these companies share information freely and broadly across the organization and, therefore, tend to have happier customers, better employee retention and higher productivity. Use the following tips to oil the gears of your machine and compete more effectively: –
Evaluate information flow
Informed teams are competitive teams. With this in mind, create a system to ease the sharing and flow of information across your teams. Do you have an information “blockage” with one employee? Do you lack technology to make it easy for your team members to coordinate efforts? Weaknesses like these can prevent even the most satisfied and well-intentioned teams from collaborating in a way that is essential to retain and increase competitiveness.
Research and implement best practices
Give your team the opportunity to do their best work by educating them about how things are done best. Each industry and discipline has best practices. Management best practices are also readily available. Regularly gather and share information on best practices in order to give your team the information they need to build their skills.
Two implementation details can help with the success of this information sharing. One, determine if your team needs support in building the skills needed to attain the level of expertise required to do these best practices. Two, ensure that best practices are presented to your team as something to strive for as a means of improving their work experience. This is a better approach than holding up best practices as an example of team shortcomings.
Provide a flexible working environment
Well-run companies tend to have programs in place that provide training, career advancement and flexibility. Whether these programs are formal or not, employee satisfaction, improved morale and the associated productivity increases can be tied to how a workplace accommodates an employee’s needs and preferences. Staff members who have the opportunity for advancement or skill building are more likely to feel satisfied with their jobs and more likely to do their best work. Likewise, those who are allowed some flexibility — whether it is time off for personal responsibilities or occasional telecommuting to manage a long commute — are also likely to be happier.
A line can be drawn for many teams between satisfaction and the ability to focus, work hard and share information required for the company to do great work.
Create an environment that encourages mutual respect
Another way to describe this is to “limit the number of annoying people on your team.” One or two people who horde information, speak negatively or ignore deadlines or otherwise challenge team work can derail your productivity and diminish your competitiveness.
It’s quite easy to justify keeping these staffers in place if they contribute intellectually, creatively or otherwise. Their contribution equation though, needs to include the cost they extract from the team. One way to arrive at this cost is to determine how many incidents (missed deadlines, comments, etc.) occur over a given period of time. Arrive at a time or financial cost for each incident and do the math. Also keep in mind that each time this person “strikes,” other team members are affected and lose productivity because of frustration.
Focus on retention
Team strength builds over time and the stronger your team, the more competitive your company. Learn what is required to keep your teams intact and employed with you and then create a retention system. You can conduct research within your company to learn what changes can positively affect retention. Speaking with key team influencers in your organization to get an on-the-ground perspective may also help.
Tool you need to become Best Run Business: –