Building a strong, productive team comes from a good foundation, hiring people who fit the culture and a focus on retaining employees. It pays to invest the time into building strong teams. A top multi-unit franchise operator, Mitra QSR, recognizes that, their teams are only as strong as the weakest member. Keep in mind the suggestions below in order to build a strong team all the way around.
First, What is the Purpose of Building a Strong Team?
A team is the lifeblood of any business, and the purpose of this lifeblood is to keep the business alive. Without a strong team, it is almost impossible to grow, scale, and run an effective business. When laying the foundation of building a solid team, start with the hiring process. Hiring individuals who are determined, goal-oriented, and a team player are huge in the endeavor of producing a strong team for any organization.
Building a Strong Team in 5 Steps
1.Focus on People
It’s worth the extra time and money to find and hire an employee who stays around long term and positively contributes to the company. A revolving door of bodies who just show up to work and clock out is costly. These employees are less productive and the time and money it takes to replace an employee is more. Take a step back during your hiring process to understand each person interviewing in order to determine if they share the same characteristics as your best employees.
2.Value Each Role
Everyone should feel like their role makes an impact on the company. By setting clear guidelines about what is expected of each employee and how their actions contribute to the bottom line, you give them a goal to work towards. When each person is on the same page about their expectations and are given feedback, employees feel valued and work harder.
3.Communicate
It’s important to keep open communication in the workplace. If some employees get bites of information that others don’t, it makes them feel undervalued. By keeping a level of transparency with all employees, it ensures they feel valued and appreciated.
It’s also beneficial to have quick, weekly check-ins in order to keep an open line of communication. During this time, discuss what they like about their position, what they would like to be doing and any scheduling preferences that can be addressed. Establishing an open line of communication increases the likelihood of finding out when issues with other staff members need to be dealt with.
4.Set Up Goals
From their first day to the last day of work, it’s important to create goals and the accompanying plans to achieve them for each employee. Common goals may include special training, career stepping stones and assisting in hitting store financial objectives. By creating goals for each employee, you give them a purpose for work and a reason to stick around. For example, if you set a goal to become a shift manager within their first six months of work and tell them what is needed to achieve that, they are more likely to stick around and work harder to achieve that goal (and it’s pay raise).
5.Celebrate
When teammates meet their goals or when the store achieves financial objectives, consider celebrating as a team. This is a prime time to bring people together and creating high-functioning, collaborative teams. Also, when a specific person receives great feedback from a customer, give them a shout out in front of the other employees. This creates a sense of pride and gives others something to work towards through positive reinforcement.
Overall, working to build a strong team lifts up all team members and positively impacts the bottom line. To hire the right team members who will add to your team, learn how Sprockets’ pre-hire assessments can help.