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Creating a company culture that embraces and enhances teamwork is essential to your ultimate success. The late J Richard Hackman, a professor, author, and expert on what makes a team excel contended that while personalities, attitudes, and behavioral styles play a role, what enables teamwork the most is creating the right conditions. Follow these “enabling conditions” and build powerful teamwork structure and attitude among your light industrial, administrative, and professional staff.
Compelling Direction: Communicate the company goals to your employees and how their role plays an essential part in those goals. But also give them department or group goals (depending on your company structure) and individual goals.
Goals need to be challenging, without being overwhelming. Easy goals fail to motivate and too difficult are defeating – and demoralizing. Provide incentive with the goals. Whether it’s simply recognition for a goal attained, more tangible (for example, pizza on the management or earning a couple of extra PTO hours), or even a promotion, everyone responds to acknowledgment for a job well done.
Strong Structure: For every goal, there needs to be a plan, a designated course, and role responsibilities. Diversity in teams enhances the opportunity to efficiently divide tasks – from the front office to the back; from the technical aspect to data recording to the functions requiring more social skills; assigning employees their roles according to their strengths enhances the productivity of the team as a whole. According to Martine Haas and Mark Mortensen in an article for the Harvard Business Review,
“Teams can reduce the potential for dysfunction by establishing clear norms—rules that spell out a small number of things members must always do (such as arrive at meetings on time and give everyone a turn to speak) and a small number they must never do (such as interrupt). Instilling such norms is especially important when team members operate across different national, regional, or organizational cultures (and may not share the same view of, for example, the importance of punctuality). And in teams whose membership is fluid, explicitly reiterating norms at regular intervals is key.”
Supportive Context: Providing support for your employees builds productive teamwork. This includes:
• Communication: Everyone needs to not only know what the final goal is but also what the mini goals or steps are that will move the team forward. They need to be kept in the loop when changes occur. Never rely on word of mouth, but provide specific information to each person involved.
• Tools: supply your employees with the appropriate tools to complete their tasks. Use quality -the initial cost may be more, but in the end, you’ll save both time and money by avoiding – or at least reducing – breakdowns and repair times.
• Moral Support: Take time to share encouragement, acknowledgment of work well-done, and express your appreciation. Furthermore, be willing to get in the trenches when necessary.
Shared Mindset: Foster common identity and understanding among your employees. Encourage positive connection between departments, as well as between smaller subgroups within a unit. Yes, a little friendly competition can be a good thing if everyone recognizes that they are all working together for the same ultimate goal.
Incorporating these four pillars of teamwork into your company culture can play an influential role in your company’s ability to attain goals, maintain productivity, and create a culture that retains talent. It can make the difference between just getting the job done and a motivated, happy, and thriving workforce.
Looking for employees with a team attitude? Connect with Lingo Staffing. We speak the language of On Demand solutions.
About Lingo Staffing
Lingo is a full-service staffing firm dedicated to providing top quality services to its clients and its candidate pool. With extensive knowledge and experience in light industrial, administrative, and professional employment, Lingo encompasses the capabilities and resources necessary to help you get ahead.
Our experience and commitment to client satisfaction make us the perfect choice to manage all of your staffing needs. Our staff guarantees exceptional customer service with an expedient response time.
Our experts are located at an office near you: Virginia, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Tennessee, and Georgia.
Lingo, the language of On Demand solutions. Contact us at an office convenient to you.