Written by: Anne Swenson, HR Coordinator, MidwestHR
A great team is the backbone of any productive and successful organization. Small businesses should always be seeking to build a “dream team” in order to effectively take their business to the next level. Follow the tips below to help your organization build a highly effective team:
Assign roles based on skills. A great team is comprised of people with differing skill sets. Having a group who all think alike and possess the same skills isn’t going to give you the dynamic results you are looking for. So, what you should do is seek employees who bring different skills to the table and pair them off. Instead of excluding an employee who lacks attention to detail, pair that person with one who has strong attention to detail. The combination will be stronger than if they worked alone. Two minds are better than one!
Include an analytical thinker. Many people assume that only strategic thinkers are needed for brainstorming new ideas or re-thinking workplace practices, but think again. Including an analytical thinker is the best thing you can do. Strategic thinkers are usually focused on the big picture and don’t worry as much about details. The analytical thinker will be able to pick up that slack by drilling down to the process and what specifically is needed to accomplish the task. A word of warning – everyone should understand that no project can be accomplished without thinking through the details. This will help the strategic and analytical thinkers to get along in the group setting.
Encourage open mindedness. Since your team will be comprised of people with an array of skills and backgrounds, encourage them to have an open mind and respect the skills and ideas of each other. Everyone brings something different to the table, which is exactly what you want, but be sure that the group is accepting of all perspectives. Also, inform them of the traits of each individual and how their role fits into the big picture of the team.
Expand innovative ideas. To encourage innovation with your team members, work on expanding their thinking by providing a new location. Changing your location for brainstorming meetings, preferably out of the office, is essential to encourage progress and creativity. Moving out of the same four walls psychologically removes the barriers or structures of the office environment, allowing for new inspiration all while keeping the daily office grind at bay.
Give them your support. A great team needs to know that they have a great leader who supports them under all circumstances. There is no quicker way to undermine a good team than to have a leader who is willing to throw them under the bus when the going gets tough. Giving unconditional support to employees in good times and when issues arise will make your employees feel valued and ultimately strengthen your team.
Please contact us to see if MidwestHR, a Chicago PEO, is the right partner for your growing company.
MidwestHR supports growing companies by helping them simplify their business through HR Outsourcing. MidwestHR is a Certified Professional Employer Organization (CPEO) headquartered in the Chicago land area. As a CPEO, we provide business owners, CEO and CFO leaders with relief from dozens of time-consuming HR & employment related functions, while helping protect the business from ever-increasing HR demands and liabilities. In addition, our clients have the ability to offer “Fortune 500 type” benefits, while being able to better control their premiums in the process.
MidwestHR regularly works with all types of businesses, including medical practices, surgery centers, non-profits, professional service firms, technology companies, printing companies, religious organizations, start-ups, manufacturing businesses, trucking companies and financial institutions.