In recent years, research into business practices has highlighted the importance of team building. Team building can help a group of employees work together more efficiently and can increase employee morale. As more businesses have recognized the importance of team-building, professionals that are skilled in this area, such as Stephen Viets, have been in high demand. Managers who excel at team building have to adapt to a variety of situations and challenges, but they all have a few things in common.
Successful team builders always hire the right employees, get to know everybody, cater to their team’s individual strengths, create a specific team mission, and lay out ground rules. When done properly, team building can have numerous positive effects on an organization. Read on to learn 5 tips for successful team building for business managers.
1. Hire The Right Employees
The first, and perhaps most important, aspect of team building is to hire the right employees. In the past, many employers focused only on a prospective employee’s qualifications when considering their applications. However, many modern companies have begun considering an employee’s intangibles when considering them for a position. It is now fairly common for a prospective employee to be asked to take a personality test when they are in the pre-employment process. This used to only be common with large corporations that had rigidly defined hiring practices, but many small businesses have also started to require prospective employees to take personality tests. This, combined with an effective manager’s personal judgment, can help ensure that the right employees are hired.
2. Get To Know Everybody
One of the most important aspects of team building (and of business management in general) is getting to know everybody. This provides several benefits. First, employees will feel that their manager, and by extension the company, care about them and is invested in their success. Secondly, a manager that knows his or her employees well will be able to more effectively identify and utilize their unique strengths.
3. Cater To Your Team’s Individual Strengths
Once a manager has gotten to know their employees and identified their strengths, they will be able to assign duties accordingly. For example, an employee that has proven their negotiating skills may be assigned the duty of negotiating with a supplier. An employee who has proven their management skills may be assigned to lead a team under the manager’s supervision.
4. Create A Specific Team Mission
Creating a specific team mission before the start of a project has been proven to increase employee effectiveness. It is important that this team mission be clearly defined and put in writing, so team members can refer back to it at any time. This will save the manager time, as employees will not constantly be asking them questions about the team mission. Of course, a specific team mission will also keep each member of a team organized and on-task throughout the project.
5. Lay Out Several Ground Rules
Just as a specific team mission should be created before the start of a project, ground rules should also be clearly laid out. These two processes are closely related, and many managers will incorporate these ground rules into the team mission. This avoids the problem of overloading employees with information.
The Positive Effects Of Proper Team Building
Proper team building can have several positive effects. Employee productivity and efficiency will be enhanced. Also, employee happiness will be increased. This will help businesses retain talented employees. The happy employees will also spread the word about the positive work situation, which will help companies attract talented employees in the future. That is how employee management is meant to be done!
