Whether your company is big or small, employees have to learn how to collaborate and work together as a team.
In this digital day and age, technological advancements have changed the way people work together. There are a variety of circumstances to consider: you may have employees who work in an office as well as employees working remote, employees who have a largely technical background and employees who only focus on administration.
Whatever the case, there are always factors to consider with each team member, which can make meetings a challenge. With so many different backgrounds, skill sets, and locations, how do you build a strong team that can take your company to the next level? Here are some of the tools we’ve found that can help your team grow together in success and increase productivity:
Project Management
Slack
When it comes to working efficiently together, teams need to communicate well. Email has worked in the past, but when you have team members who don’t work in the same office or employees who “forget” to respond to emails (you know who you are), it can be difficult getting a message across. Slack eliminates this frustration by letting users create chat rooms to discuss projects and tasks. Users can open multiple chats and add whoever they wish, making it easy for coworkers to discuss assignments amongst themselves. Users can also search for phrases and words within conversation history, which can help forgetful minds.
Igloo
Is your team mostly comprised of remote employees? Remote employees are becoming more common because it gives companies a way to be more flexible than a traditional workplace. In cases like this, you’ll need to find a way to bring your team together efficiently. That’s where software programs such as Igloo can help your company. Igloo creates a “digital workspace” where you and your team can communicate with each other about projects, track each other’s progress, give awards and recognition to one another, have social chats, and more. It’s the closest thing you’ll have to an actual workplace over the web, and it’s a great way for your team to build company culture even if they aren’t in the same location.
Workflow Strategies
Eat The Frog
One aspect of creating a successful team is learning how to increase productivity as a group. There are plenty of books and teachings on increasing productivity, including a method called “eating the frog.” The phrase comes from a Mark Twain quote, “If it’s your job to eat a frog, it’s best to do it first thing in the morning. And if it’s your job to eat two frogs, it’s best to eat the biggest one first.”
In the case of being productive, the challenge is to start the morning by doing the most important and the most difficult task on your list. These are tasks you may have been putting off but need to do. For example, if you’re a business owner, this could be checking your cash flow, trying to find business financing, hiring or letting go of employees, and other necessary but difficult tasks.
Working on the tasks in the morning will give you more than enough time to make progress rather than putting it off and procrastinating. Teams can learn to “eat the frog” together and work on the challenging priorities first. In this way, your team can get the most important tasks done and out of the way and ensure your company is able to move forward.
Grouping Tasks Together
Another productivity method is to group similar tasks together. For example, if you need to respond to text messages, make phone calls, and check email on your phone, instead of doing this throughout the day, set aside a block of time where you can do all of these tasks at once. Another example would be to do your grocery shopping, your dry cleaning, and your recycling all in one stop if each were in the same plaza. In this sense, you will get more done in less time while saving yourself from needless distraction interrupting your workflow.
Team Building
DISC Personality Test
Co-worker drama, toxic work environments, and clashing personalities can make or break a team and hurt the company. It’s one thing to have a talented team, but if your team members are not getting along, it can undermine the company’s goals. One way to preemptively diffuse workplace drama is through personality tests such as DISC.
The DISC test measures an individual’s motivators and characteristics such as dominance, influence, steadiness, and conscientiousness. The test has been helpful for organizations in understanding their employee’s strengths and weaknesses, which can be used to assess where each member will be most effective in the company. DISC training can also help teammates empathize with one another and understand another’s work style so they can adjust accordingly.
Finishing Thoughts
Building a successful team can be challenging and requires work on all fronts. The most important aspect to keep in mind is ensuring your team’s unity and communication as each member learns to give their best to help the company succeed. Business owners will have the challenge to keep one eye on the team’s dynamics and the other eye on the greater mission of the company. As you push your company’s mission forward, keep these tips in mind to support your team’s success.
