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Assembling Individuals Into The Best Team

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No team comes together overnight; most people are so focused on doing their own job to the best of their abilities, that they often fail to consult their colleagues on what needs to be done. Just because they’re all doing different jobs, does not mean that they’re not all working towards the same goal. As a team leader, you now have the unenviable job of turning all these hard-working individuals into a strong team. Unfortunately, this is sometimes easier said than done; on an average workday, most people would rather focus on their own workload than think about the bigger picture and how their job affects someone else’s tasks. To help team leaders on the challenge ahead, here are a few tips to help them bring everyone together.


Team-building exercises

Whilst getting them to do trust-falls or play Blind Man’s Buff would probably cause them to resent you, team-building exercises gives you the chance to bring your employees together, and maybe even share a few jokes if the right opportunity presents itself. That way, there’s something social that they can all share, which helps them to bond and unite. Alternatively, try an exercise to get to know every team member on a personal level. That will help you get to know them, and allows the team to view one another as people, not just co-workers. Anything you can do to build trust between co-workers will develop team cohesiveness, and it will make it easier for everyone to think of themselves as part of a unit, instead of one of many employees.

Promote communication

Communication is key to making sure your business runs efficiently. Technology has provided companies of all sizes with a very efficient tool to improve team communication; while you should never underestimate the value of the phone or email, instant messaging apps such as Slack, Hipchat, or Campfire instantly pass work updates to your colleagues. You can also use them to share files, start conversations for group projects, and automate tasks. This is faster than typing an email and waiting for the recipient to type one back. Good communication also means that you have to be clear about goals, deadlines and expectations for each business term. Sometimes efficiency can drop because employees haven’t been updated about new company goals, or the communication about new business goals weren’t clear. As the team leader, you have a better idea of the company’s business goals, but you need to accurately communicate it to your employees if you expect productivity to remain high. If emails aren’t clear enough, arrange a meeting and encourage your employees to ask questions. It will go a long way to preventing further confusion.


Make sure everyone has support

As the team leader, whenever your team is at work they are under your care. This means that you have to provide them with enough support for them to do their jobs properly, whether it’s making sure the IT support is always on hand whenever the computers are down, providing them with further training, or just making sure you have a good open door policy. If someone on your team is having problems with a co-worker, their workload, or something personal that is affecting their work, then make sure they know they can come to you without any judgements. Encourage everyone to give you feedback on their work environment and policies, so that you can tell upper management what is working and what needs improvement. Productivity will improve as a result of a more positive office morale, and your team will work better for you if they feel supported.


Assemble the right individuals

When hiring someone to do a job, it’s also important that they know how to work well with others, and know to collaborate or work independently as necessary. Everyone has different strengths; your campaign strategist might have excellent ideas, but they might be terrible at communicating these ideas with the rest of the team. If someone on your team is consistently struggling to meet deadlines or contribute to team projects, find out what it is they need to get them on everyone else’s level. Chances are, they are just not the right fit for the rest of the team and they might be better off somewhere else.

Ultimately, a good team comes together when they have a leader that inspires them. Someone who knows how to give instructions, but doesn’t micromanage. Make sure you take on a few tips to become a great team leader.

How to Help Employees Communicate by Email More Effectively

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Email is still considered the primary communication tool in the business world. Today’s business landscape may have shifted further towards video conferences and short messaging platforms, but the majority of formal business communications are still conducted via email. There is no sign of emails being replaced by other means of communication either.

Despite the common use of emails, not all professionals know how to use them properly. This is exactly why we still see mistakes such as incorrectly using CC instead of BCC happening in the real world. As an employer, you can play a more active role in helping employees communicate by email more effectively.

Email-Related Training

Despite the importance of emails, most email etiquette and skills are learned through experience and real-world practice. Sure, there are a lot of resources and websites that specifically share email-related knowledge and tips. That said, very little formal training is provided in school or corporate training programs.You can reduce the number of mistakes your employees make when communicating via email by providing them with such training programs. They are easy to find and will even help employees fine-tune their email content for effective business communication.

It is also a good idea to provide employees with training on the tools available to them. In Outlook, for example, you can sort emails automatically, forward emails with certain marks to other recipients, and even automate everyday email tasks (i.e. adding a calendar entry for meetings and invitations).

The Right Tools for the Job

There are also additional tools designed to really boost email productivity and effectiveness. Customer Relationship Management or CRM platforms, for example, are capable of handling, logging, and documenting email communication. These comprehensive databases enable sales officers to keep track of their conversations with clients without ever missing a beat.

The same can be said for research tools. Let’s say you want your sales team to connect with new potential clients. Provide them with a tools such as The Email Finder to be able to research and verify email addresses. Click here to learn more about email verification can really boost your employees’ email productivity.

Monitoring

Monitoring is always a tricky subject to discuss. Is it ethical to monitor business emails sent from @yourcompany.com email addresses? Ethics debates aside, email monitoring is a proven way of boosting the effectiveness of business emails nonetheless.

As previously mentioned, CMS platforms can now keep track of email communications between sales officers and clients. That simple tracking feature is very valuable when it comes to developing strong relationships with clients since it allows your employees to personalize the tone of the conversation based on past emails.

Tracking also gives you, the employer, a clear picture of how emails are helping the business thrive. This, along with the previous tips we covered in this article, will help you assist employees in using their email addresses more effectively.

Gain Their Respect: Be The Best Boss For Your Employees

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Being the head of a company and running a business comes with plenty of challenges; you’ll have to navigate your role as the boss day by day and ensure that you deal with things as quickly and efficiently as possible. The greatest assets you have as the leader of your company, are your employees; they are all essential cogs in your machine and need to be happy and motivated to do their job properly. As their boss; your staff will look to you for guidance, advice, and the opportunity to progress and develop alongside the business, so you need to be ensuring that you’re doing all you can to fulfill their needs.

If your team respect you; they’ll listen to you, keep a significant level of communication open with you, and you should be able to run a successful company with their help and dedication. The following are some things to consider to help you be the best boss your employees could ask for, so your business goes from strength to strength with a fully functioning team at the wheel.

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Communication And Feedback

Every employee appreciates the opportunity to share their thoughts, ideas, and worries with senior members of the team. Therefore, you need to ensure that you’re giving your staff ample and regular chances to speak and communicate. Set up brief morning meetings each day, with a longer meeting on a weekly basis. A staff meeting will encourage everyone to share their thoughts and bounce new ideas off one another. It’s also a chance to check on the mood of your company and make sure that everyone is on the same page regarding what needs to done or changed.

Make sure you’re there for one-to-one catch-ups with your employees; you’ll get a thorough understanding of how they’re feeling and you can pass on any feedback or criticism in a professional manner and private setting. You may come across challenging members of staff; you can check out the 10 ways of dealing with insubordination in the workplace and tackle any issues as soon as they arise. The rest of your employees will appreciate the action you’ve taken, and any problematic team members will gain respect for you and should improve.

Reward And Respect

There’s no better incentive to meet and exceed expectations than reward. Figure out what drives your team; get to know them i order to offer a reward that they’ll work hard to achieve. You can also let your team know how much you appreciate them with regular social events, like drinks and a meal, outside of the office environment. Relationships are often strengthened outside of the work setting, and you’ll understand what makes your staff tick a bit better. Take a look at 101 ways to reward employees without giving them cash and get some inspiration to gain their respect.

Try to remember what you wanted from a boss or a leader in the past; be a better version of what you expected, and you’ll have a loyal workforce behind you, ensuring your business progresses and grows.

How To Attract The Right Employees

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StrategyDriven Talent Management Article
Finding the right employees is no easy task, but it’s very important. Not having the right people in place can make or break your company. That’s why businesses everywhere are always trying to come up with the precise formula for drawing in the most ideal candidates for the job.

While it’s not going to solve all of your problems, there are important steps a company should take to ensure they’re bringing in worthwhile people to interview. It’s a waste of everyone’s time when the potential hire isn’t a good fit right off the bat. See how to attract the right employees.

Technology

One way to attract candidates is to have updated technology. Having current computers, systems and an IT department is important. All of these aspects help draw in the right people, so they apply for positions at your company. It’s difficult to get any work done without modern technology, and smart candidates will recognize this and run the other way. You need it to do your job too. For example, xcdhr is an easily configured online self-service system for HR visionaries in ambitious, growing firms. This system makes your HR vision a reality by helping you attract and retain talent.

Culture & Strategy

Potential employees want to know that who they’re going to work for has a strategy and all of the latest gadgets and upgrades. Culture includes having a fancy office to display and a great management team to brag about. It encompasses how the teams celebrate successes and what the company does for fun and offers for volunteer opportunities. Candidates want to know that who they’re working for is going to respect their work-life balance desire. Culture is about the people who work there and how they carry themselves. If your culture is very attractive, then let that be known, so the right people come knocking.

Benefits & Incentives

A big magnet for potential hires are the benefits and incentives packages and competitive salary offerings. People want to know they’re going to get paid well and be recognized for their hard work. Emphasize the perks that are available, such as free coffee, a game room and Friday afternoons off. You have to be willing to give if you want to bring in the right people for the job. There are lots of companies out there, and yours needs to be able to compete if you want the best people working for you.

Career Path

It’s likely a potential hire is going to ask you about a career path in the interview. It’s a good idea to have an answer, instead of saying that you’re unsure. People want to visualize their future and know that they could be with your company for years to come. They want to be assured that their salary and bonuses will rise the longer they work for you. Have performance measures in place so you can track how well each employee is doing.

Conclusion

Finding rock star employees is a challenge. Your job becomes easier when you make your company a desirable option for potential candidates who are a good fit. This is how to attract the right employees.

5 Signs Your Office Space No Longer Works For You (And How To Fix Them)

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Your ideas and the skills of your employees will push your company forward, but your office space will be the backbone that allows them both to thrive. If your office is no longer working for you, it’s working against you – and no good can come from that. Below, we take a look at five telltale signs that something the office needs to change, as well as offering some useful tips to fix the problems.

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Your Surroundings Don’t Match

In the early days of your business, you were not so concerned about where you worked. Any office would do: getting your business off the ground was the important part. There comes the point, however, when reputation starts to become a factor. If you look around at the companies in the neighboring offices and realize they don’t have the same ambition as you do, it might be time to begin looking for premises that the go-getting companies call home. It’ll help you step up your game.

Your Staff Are On Top Of Each Other

As a business owner, few things are more challenging than trying to gel your employees into a cohesive, well-oiled team. This is all the more difficult if your office is overcrowded and your workers are always getting in each other’s way; it’s a surefire recipe for workplace tension. If you have room, build extra office space on your premises and give people space to breathe. The relatively small steel building cost will be a small price to pay it if it leads to a happier workforce, and it’ll also enable you to add more employees should you need to. People always work better when they’re happy in their surroundings.

Relaxation Is a Memory

If you’ve got a cookie-cutter office space, then it’s unlikely to be relaxing or inspiring to your employees. But adopting the Silicon Valley approach of ensuring your workers feel comfortable at work can have real benefits, and it’s worth putting in the extra effort to create a space for them to unwind. Add a bigger kitchen, or chilled out reflection zone. It’ll be money well spent, as your employees will be at their creative best when they feel calm and relaxed.

Meetings Aren’t Productive

There’s a school of thought that says meetings aren’t productive even at the best of times, but there’s no denying that sometimes they’re just necessary. However, you’ll find them all the more difficult if you have to add extra chairs to a room just to accommodate people. If you have an important meeting, rent a conference room at other premises until you’re able to expand your office.

Targets Are Harder To Hit

If you’re failing to reach your goals or deadlines are getting stressful, your office might be playing against your worker’s productivity. If you have a big project that needs to be completed, consider allowing your workers to work from home. Studies have shown it boosts productivity, and you’ll also be freeing up office space for the people who need to be there.