How to Build a Successful Team in Business

A successful team will be the foundation of any efficient and thriving business, no matter what industry the company is in. Even in high pressure industries, having a good team will make a big difference and will dictate how the company progresses and performs.

In some industries where things move fast, such as in property sales where the ability to sell any property fast is important, having a team that communicate efficiently and effectively is as important as in a restaurant business, where front and back of house staff will need to effectively communicate.

Here are some key tips on how to build a successful team for your company.

Clear Communication

Good communication is at the heart of any successful team. What does this mean exactly? Well, it means setting goals which are clear and objective. As a business leader, your goal is to avoid confusion and miscommunication at all costs. This means ensuring that each team member knows what their role is, what they are working towards, what their objective is, and how it is being measured.

Setting goals that are measurable, achievable and with a clear deadline will help ensure the success for individual team members. It will also help them feel motivated when they have a clear goal to work towards and their progress is tracked regularly.

Teams typically work best when each member is accountable for their own actions and when they have a clearly defined role and task.

For clear communication, managers will need to make sure to listen and observe all team members and make sure that any decisions being made are fully informed.

Embrace Individuality

Within each team, you will find a range of personalities, skill sets and specific needs. If handled well, this is one of the great joys of working in a team as it means that one person’s biggest weakness is another’s strength.

In order to effectively manage a team, you will need to be able to see each team member as an individual and, as much as possible, understand their skills, their communication style and how they can grow within your team.

For the success of a team, individual members need to be given opportunities to develop and grow. Their individual success will help the collective growth of the team. This involves ensuring that team members feel listened to and like they have a platform to succeed and grow.

Putting value on individual team members and their contributions will encourage them to contribute more and help the overall growth of the company.

Make Your Team Feel Valued

It is no secret that employee wellbeing is directly correlated with the efficiency of a company. Whether you help employees with their sleep and rest by helping them purchase better bedding like goose down pillows duvets, or it you simply give them a little bit more time off to relax, improving their health and wellbeing is a very important factor.

When employees feel supported by their employers, they are more loyal to the company, more motivated, more productive and less likely to burn out or require extended periods of time off.

Appreciating your team and their efforts will make the workplace a happier place. It will help create a secure and positive working environment and also build trust between colleagues.

Celebrating the successes of a team, acknowledging individual contributions, and making sure your employees have certain perks (be it childcare, early finish on a Friday, extra holidays or healthcare), will help your staff feel valued.

Make Sure Employees are Secure

Always take the time to check in on your staff to see how they are coping more generally in their lives. For example, if employees are not totally on top of their ‘life admin’ and finances, they may find themselves less focused on work. If for example an employee tells their manager or colleague that they need to borrow £1000 for example, it may indicate they have money problems and may be in debt.

If this is the case, being able to detect and address any underlying problems will help solve the issue before it becomes a bigger problem. Also, by helping employees with their out of work problems where appropriate, they will in turn feel much more valued in the business, helping them perform better at work.

It is not just money problems which if addressed can help employees thrive. If for example a staff member has a family or even a pet emergency, allowing them to deal with it swiftly will help put their mind and emotions at ease, enabling them to work better for the business.

Don’t Micro-Manage

One thing certain to kill the sense of trust between manager and employee is micromanaging. It can be hard to give your staff members autonomy, but in general, people work better when they are left to get on with it and not constantly interrupted.

This is where clear, actionable and measurable goals become important. If an employee knows what they need to do and when it needs to be done by, they are responsible for delivering that work at a high standard by the correct time.