As your trade business grows, there will be a need to add new team members in order to service new and existing clients. Potential employees will come from different backgrounds and with different levels of experience. As the business owner, you need to be sure that the people you are hiring add value to your business.
Making sure that a team is working towards the success of the business requires the business owner to lead, inspire and manage the team. Here are some tips on turning individuals into successful teams that will help your business reach its full potential.
Share your vision
Paint a picture of the future in your employees’ minds. Knowing where you are going as a team is the first step in creating a sense of unity. As a business owner, you might have set goals for your business when you started, but your new team needs to be aware of these goals and they should feel like the goals are attainable and will lead to a better situation financially, in the form of promotions or experience and exposure.
Get your employees involved
Don’t let your employees work in isolation. Constantly update them about the progress that the company is making including any positive feedback from clients. If possible, ask for your employees’ opinions before you make some decisions. This will boost morale and productivity.
Use ‘we’ instead of ‘I’. This will create a sense of belonging and unity of purpose for the team. As a leader, one of your roles is to be a mentor to your employees. Engage them and give guidance where needed.
Define roles clearly
Clearly defining the roles of your team members will increase productivity and reduce bottlenecks. For example, if one person is waiting for another to finish a task, but the other person doesn’t believe that the task is part of their job description, progress will grind to a halt.
Consider team-building exercises
In any working environment, employees must work with a variety of personalities. The ability of your team to efficiently communicate and work together as one unit with a goal in mind can determine the future success of the organisation. Team building activities go a long way to achieving better workplace relationships that then have a positive impact on company processes and goals.
Advantages of team-building exercises include;
- Increasing productivity
- Improving communication
- Improving problem-solving skills
Celebrate and reward victories
Employee reward and recognition programs are one method of motivating employees to change work habits and key behaviours to benefit a small business. A winning system should recognise and reward two types of employee activity -performance and behaviour.
Salary increases and bonuses come to mind when one thinks about rewards. Salary increases offer a long-term incentive for employees to perform well, remain loyal, and continue to invest in your company. However, as a business owner, you should look at your company’s financial position in order to determine if you can make such decisions. For example, salary increases are large commitments, because they are long-term and continuous. Bonuses on the other hand are a cheaper but still rewarding way to give a monetary thank-you.
At Tradies Accountant we can help you review your businesses performance, giving you an indication of how well you are doing while highlighting major cost heavy areas and strategies to reduce these costs. This will help you in managing your payroll and budgeting for any financial rewards that you might want to extend to your employees. Our accountants and bookkeeper will keep you on top of your financials while aiming to increase profitability.
Contact us today.