7 Tips for Effective Team Building

Performance statistics show that effective teams will outperform people working individually, especially when the pressure is on or when diverse skills are needed.

Essential in building effective teams is real effort and input from managers to nurture it, galvanising the team around a common goal and increase productivity.

Effective team building is essential for embedding company values and workplace culture, building trust, confidence and loyalty as well as improving team morale and motivation.

There is no one-size-fits-all formula for creating a great team as every team will develop and grow in a unique way, but I’ve put together my top tips to help you get the most out of your team.

1. Think Carefully about your Recruitment

Recruiting the right people is the first step in building a great team. Review and refine your selection process to ensure that the people you recruit fit into your working culture, share your business values and have the right skills and attitude to help you achieve your core business goals.

It can be beneficial to involve your current team in the recruitment process for a different perspective and will help with integration and engagement.

2. Define success

It’s important to define success for both you and your business. Once you know what success looks like, and your team understand that too, you’re in a much better position to lead and develop your team towards that goal.

Having strategic objectives in mind when building your team will help solve business challenges and boost employee engagement.

3. Establish clear and measurable goals

In order for a team to be successful, they need to have a shared goal and purpose. You should clearly communicate the goal of the team and ensure everyone understands their individual role in working towards that goal through individual objectives.

Make sure that there is a golden thread running through individual goals to team goals right through to business goals. This way, you ensure that

everything is aligned with the overall business success you wish to achieve.

Be sure that the goals are frequently discussed, ambitious, specific and transparent and set milestones and deadlines to keep everyone on track.

4. Create a positive work culture

Most organisations will have a set of values that reflect their company vision and are embedded in the organisational culture even if these aren’t yet written down. A positive work culture aligned to these core values will increase engagement and productivity in the workplace as employees feel part of the bigger picture and understand how they’re contributing to the company’s success.

You could also plan team activities to take place during the working day, such as getting lunch together. Simple things like this can give your team the opportunity to get to know each other better on a personal level and build trust.

Even a small communal area for colleagues to catch up can make an enormous difference.

5. Strong & Effective Leadership

For a team to perform at their best, reach their goals and those of the Company, they need effective leadership.

Leaders must lead from a position of trust, respect and accountability and not only welcome feedback but be prepared to act on it too.

Leaders who have the ability to create the conditions for their teams to best motivate themselves and foster a supportive but high-performance culture will win, as their team members feel able to do their best work.

6. Work on effective communication

An important part of effective leadership and building a great team is having constructive and honest communication with employees. Make sure they’re clear on what’s going on within the business, where their accountability lies and who is responsible for what as well as where their performance is great and where it needs more work.

Be prepared to practice active listening too. Enable your employees to have a voice and be heard.

Building regular lines of communication within your team will create transparency and encourage employees to share their opinions, experiences and ideas.

Great and regular communication will support improved morale, strengthen teamwork and ultimately enhance productivity.

7. Celebrating success and dealing with failure together

Celebrating success together makes the entire team feel valued and appreciated. It develops their trust in each other and will motivate them to continue working effectively as a team.

It’s just as important to stand together in the face of setbacks and failure. Avoid putting the blame on a single employee but focus on learning from it and finding the best solution as a team.

Discussing when something hasn’t quite worked and sharing accountability for failures will strengthen trust, team bonds as well as highlighting areas for improvement.

If you need a confidant to discuss where your team is at right now verses where they could be and how to get them there, contact me and I’ll be happy to help.

Written by Heidi Skirrow.