Do More, Together: 5 Effective Ways to Improve Collaboration Among Employees

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StrategyDriven Managing Your People Article |collaboration among employees |Do More, Together: 5 Effective Ways to Improve Collaboration Among EmployeesNobody ever said that business was easy.

50% are forced to cease operations within 5 years of starting up. Of course, numerous factors separate the best businesses from the worst. One thing’s for sure though:

Companies with employees that don’t work together face an uphill battle.

Collaboration boosts everything from operational efficiency and effectiveness through to the working environment and company culture. Communication, morale, and teamwork all get better.

In other words, it’s good for business.

Want five tips for improving collaboration among employees? Keep reading.

1. Set Up Post Work Activities

Getting to know each other better is key to collaboration.

After all, employees are more likely to work well together when they’re friends and not just colleagues. Setting up activities outside of the office facilitates that relationship-development.

Being outside of the working environment is important. Without their usual tasks and responsibilities to complete, employees will relax and strike up a conversation; they’ll hear each other’s stories, laugh, and find common ground.

This is a recipe for better communication and relations within the office as well.

2. Run Team-Building Exercises

Team-building is another classic route to better collaboration.

Every aspect of these activities and exercises is intended to bolster relationships and communication. They bring people together around common goals and foster team-work in the process.

More to the point, they’re fun!

Good team-building tasks inevitably make people smile, laugh, and bond. They learn lessons to take back into the office.

3. Ensure Strong Leadership

This one’s a little out of left-field.

However, it’s impossible to overstate the importance of strong leadership in encouraging collaboration. Someone that leads from the front and by example will set the standard of what’s expected from their employees.

Good leaders set their expectations of employees and support their development. They’ll keep people on track with roles and responsibilities, and work to improve their confidence.

All told, employees feel empowered, supported, and valued. Feeling like an important part of the team, they’re more likely to contribute to it and collaborate with it.

4. Create Sharing Opportunities

Employees should feel empowered at work.

They should have the chance to speak up, voice their ideas, and share their thoughts with the group. Everybody should have a turn to talk and to feel part of the discussion.

It’s the job of any manager to make this happen.

Quick-fire morning meetings, scrums, time-outs, and group-thinking opportunities will help.

5. Employ Collaborative Technology

A dynamic team will also benefit from tools specifically designed to improve collaboration.

Software or apps, such as Slack, that enhance communication provide a good example. Employees can share messages with ease, post notifications, share documents, and discuss particular issues.

Utilizing these resources, alongside others such as an appointment scheduler, will keep everybody in sync and on task. Productivity will improve and operations become more streamlined.

Time to Improve Collaboration Among Employees

Businesses are more likely to succeed when staff members work together.

Hopefully, the tips here will help your company improve collaboration among employees and boost your chances of success in the process.

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How To Keep Your Employees Happy & Driven

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StrategyDriven Managing Your People Article |Employees|How To Keep Your Employees Happy & DrivenIf you are a business owner, hopefully, you are one of the people that realizes that the most important part of your business is your employees. Believe it or not, even in modern times, there are still a lot of business owners out there that put their employees at the bottom of the pile and more often than not, this comes back to haunt them.

In modern times, if you want to succeed in business, you have to not only do everything your competition is doing, you have to do it better, and for you to be able to do things better, you need the people on the front line to be working at their most productive.

Today, we are going to be looking at why your employees may not be performing at the height of their abilities, and why you may be doing things that cause this. After that, we are then going to be looking at some of the things you can do if you really want to get so much more from your team.

Why Your Employees May Be Slacking

As a business owner, we understand it’s going to be an annoyance if any of your team is underperforming, but, have you ever stopped to find out why they are doing what they are doing?

The sad truth is, while you may have an employee that is trying to get away with doing as little as possible, the chances are that the employee simply feels wasted and undervalued. While this may be difficult to comprehend, it’s actually one of the most popular reasons for an underperforming team member, and as you will see in the next section, it’s rather easy to fix.

So, if you are looking for a way to increase the overall atmosphere in your office and you also want to see your team perform at an all-time high, then maybe you will want to consider some of the tips below.

Offer A Good Benefits System

The first thing we are going to be looking at today is what you are offering to your team that makes them feel valued.

If you are one of many business owners that simply employs somebody only for them to find out that there are zero benefits and nothing to be gained from working at your company, then now is the time to consider making a change to this.

By offering things like Accuplan Benefits Services on top of medical and dental plans, you will suddenly see a change in the attitudes of your team. By giving your employees something that shows them that they are more than just a number to you, you will find that the productivity rate rises exponentially.

Offer Incentives

While we are on the subject of making the team feel valued, it may fall within your interests to offer your employees incentives for reaching certain targets.

Now, when it comes to incentives, it doesn’t really matter if it’s in monetary form or whether you offer an hour off, you will find that this is enough to increase the productivity of your team tenfold and it also promotes a little healthy competition in the office too.

While some business owners see incentives as bribery, it’s actually far from it. You have to look at things realistically when it comes to your employees and see that while you may bank most of the profits, they are only getting a very small portion of that for a lot of work.

When you offer them an incentive, it’s more a way of saying thank you for everything you do.

Nurture And Promote

The final thing we are going to look at is the opportunities that you give to your team. We understand that for some businesses it won’t be viable, but if there comes a time when you need to hire a member of staff, why not look internally and ask if a current employee would be interested in expanding their horizons.

While you may not have a team member that is qualified, there is nothing stopping you from offering them a route into a different career with you. By doing things this way, you already know how hard working the person will be, and it will also cost you less while the employee is training.

Many companies are now employing this technique, and it has been shown to not only increase productivity, but it also increases employee retention rates massively.

Giving Your Employees All The Resources They Need to Work Better

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StrategyDriven Managing Your People Article |Employee Resources|Giving Your Employees All The Resources They Need to Work BetterWhen was the last time you checked that your employees had the right resources to do the job? Supplying them with the right resources is more than just making sure they have the correct equipment, although this is a major part of it too.

For a well-rounded employee to be able to do their job properly, how you treat them and understand their specific job role plays a big part in how they perform for you. No one wants to be paying employees who aren’t doing the job well or even at all. So, what can you do in your role as their employers to make sure they have all the resources they need to do the job?

Equipment

In every single job role you come across, there will, of course, be the need for equipment. This will take many different forms, depending on the sectors and type of business you are in.

Whether this is making sure you have a solid infrastructure in place for employees to do their jobs properly and deliver customer service, making sure you have the best epson drivers in the office for your printing needs or state of the art tech for workers who need to stay connected on the go.

Making sure you have provided staff with the right products, systems, apps and devices to do their job efficiently will play a part in making sure the job is done and done well.

Training

It can be tempting to skip out on making sure training is completed and completed thoroughly. Don’t. If you don’t make sure your team is well trained, then chances are, they won’t be able to perform as competent as you need them too.

Ignore the fact you are against the clock, have time restraints or any other issues and focus on making sure all your staff, new and old, are able and confident to carry out their job role properly.
Neglecting this will end up in sub-par customer service and corners being cut due to gaps in knowledge. So cut the mistakes and make sure everyone is one the same page

Motivation

Are your staff looking forward to the day ahead and today’s workload? Chances are if they don’t have the right support system in place or are over/underwhelmed and lacking in motivation they won’t be doing their best work for you!

Look at how you interact with staff and how you and the job itself comes across. Is there anything you can be doing differently or stop altogether? Staff feel more motivated to work when they know what they are doing is appreciated and their opinions and suggestions are taken on board.

Staff meetings are a great way to get everyone together to discuss new ideas and ways of working together as is one on one meetings. Take anything that is offered onboard and see how you can create a better working environment that fosters creativity and encourages people to work more efficiently and productively.

Why Every Company Needs a Current Talent Strategy

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StrategyDriven Talent Management Article | Talent Strategy | Why Every Company Needs a Current Talent Strategy

Having the right people in the right jobs at the right time is essential for achieving your business objectives. And to do that well, you need a current talent strategy that connects to your business strategy and a culture that nurtures people. I write about this in great detail in my newest book, Evergreen Talent.

When’s the last time your company created a talent strategy? Three years ago? Five years ago? Never? This could explain why you’re unable to find and keep the talent needed to fuel business growth.

The results from a new McKinsey Global Survey confirm the positive effects of talent management on business outcomes. According to respondents, organizations with effective talent-management programs have a better chance than other companies of outperforming competitors and, among publicly owned companies, are likelier to outpace their peers’ returns to shareholders.

Here in the U.S., we have a record-high number of job openings. Unemployment rates continue to drop, making it even more difficult for companies to staff their organizations. When it comes to acquiring and retaining talent, employers are no longer in the driver’s seat.

Unfortunately, many talent plans were written at a time when the labor market wasn’t nearly as tight as it is today. These plans are no longer viable.

No doubt it can be disheartening to think about all the time and money you’ve invested in something that hasn’t had much of a shelf-life. However, here’s the good news. A talent strategy can be created in one day, thereby freeing you up to do what’s most important – implementing the plan.

Creating an effective talent strategy plan

Here’s what sets effective talent strategies apart from the pack.

  1. The talent strategy supports the company’s overall business plan.
  2. The executive team is directly involved in setting the talent strategy and fully committed to the process.
  3. The senior leaders are heavily engaged in the implementation of the strategic talent plan.
  4. Line managers are directly responsible and accountable for identifying, developing, and retaining talent.
  5. Financial resources are provided to ensure the strategy can be successfully implemented.

What’s included in a talent strategy

What you’ll need to include in your talent strategy will vary depending on the industry, company size, location, local employment market conditions. This is why it’s a terrible idea to “borrow” a colleague’s talent plan and call it your own.

Imagine a 90-person company, made up of mostly blue-collar workers, trying to implement a talent plan designed by the folks at Microsoft. That’s nuts! A small company doesn’t have the resources that a large company has. Nor does it make business sense to take a similar approach when you’re not even in the same league. The Microsoft plan would be overkill for many businesses.

All talent strategies should include the following:

  • Identification of the organization’s goals, as set by the board and the executive team
  • Where the organization stands today in relation to these goals, in terms of talent
  • Any gaps that exist
  • Specific steps needed to close these gaps and achieve the stated goals
  • Identification of those individuals who will own the implementation of each part of the plan.

Success, not perfection

There’s a misnomer about strategic plans. Many leaders believe their plans have to be perfect before proceeding. The current hiring environment is so intense that winning the war for talent often comes down to who gets their first. Not who has the better plan.

When you are eighty percent there, execute your plan. You can and will need to adjust your plan as you go, which in turn will ensure your plan is always current.

© Matuson Consulting. All rights reserved.

About the Author

StrategyDriven Expert Contributor | Roberta MatusonRoberta Matuson, THE TALENT MAXIMIZER ®, is the President of Matuson Consulting and author of five books, including Evergreen Talent and the international bestseller Suddenly in Charge, a Washington Post Top-5 Leadership pick. She’s a LinkedIn Top Voice and the person that Monster.com and Staples turns to for advice on talent. Sign up to receive a complimentary subscription to Roberta’s monthly newsletter, Talent Maximizer.

How to Show Appreciation to Employees for a Job Well Done

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StrategyDriven Managing Your People Article |show appreciation |How to Show Appreciation to Employees for a Job Well DoneIt’s easy for bosses to take their employees for granted. Yet there are consequences if you do it all the time. One survey found that 66 percent of employees would leave a job if they didn’t feel appreciated.

Telling someone you appreciate them is one thing. But you have to show appreciation as well. Everyone likes to know they matter.

Employee appreciation week is a good start, but you should show appreciation all year long. Read on for four staff appreciation ideas that will boost morale at the office.

Buy Them Food

This is a basic method of staff appreciation. In fact, it’s so basic it can be easy to overlook.

Bring in a catered lunch on days where the workload is big and the deadlines are coming up fast. It’s a reminder that you see your employees as people, not just cogs in a productivity machine.

If you can, give them a few minutes to actually enjoy the food as well. If someone wants to eat at their desk, that’s fine. But it’s always nice to say, “The work can wait.”

Don’t Micromanage Their Time

Speaking of time, try not to be an obsessive bean-counter. Yes, that’s true even if you’re in an office full of accountants. If someone comes in five minutes late on a Monday, don’t scold them.

Now, if they come in an hour late, it’s fair to ask if something’s wrong. That’s especially true if they don’t call or text first.

But a significant part of employee appreciation is trusting adults to act like adults. You’re managing an office, not a daycare.

Don’t assume people are irresponsible or untrustworthy. As long as they’re getting the work done, it shouldn’t matter as much when they arrive or leave.

Allow Office Dogs

Pet ownership has a clear connection to better heart health. Yet not everyone has an apartment or house suitable for a pet. Other people might want dogs, but not want to leave them at home all day.

You can help out both groups by inviting dogs into the office. If a dog is well-behaved, there’s no reason why it can’t join its person at work.

Again, this is a way to show staff appreciation by reminding people that work is not the be-all and end-all of their existence. Encourage them to spend their break time petting dogs. Both the employees and the dogs will be better off for it.

Dogs are a gift for everyone. Check out gift ideas from Bonusly for more.

Remote Work Days

As remote working becomes more common, you’ll have a choice: Allow it or continue insisting everyone is in the office 40 hours a week.

The best businesses will offer more flexibility. You can start by offering remote work days every Wednesday, for instance. If that goes well, you can add more remote work options.

Not everyone will want to work remotely, and that’s fine. But it’s a good option for people who feel more productive in their home office.

How to Show Appreciation to Employees

Figuring out how to show appreciation to employees may feel awkward, at least at first. Yet that’s no reason not to try. The more you do it, the better you’ll get at it.

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