Everyone knows that being a good team member is an important skill in today’s office, but what if the team is rather inefficient and hard to work with? Whether you are a business owner, a manager or an excellent member of this team, it’s a lot you can do to boost its efficiency and finally see the results you have been looking for.
Here are a couple of ways to do exactly this, improve the teamwork and, ultimately, increase the overall productivity of the entire business. One small step in the right direction can easily be what you need to prosper, in the long run, as long as you’ve got the rest of the team on your side. So pull up your sleeves, launch that group chat, and get to work.
Ensure proper communication
The problem with teams is that, even if everyone wants it to be a success ever so badly. it’s not going to be smooth ride unless you’re able to communicate with one another. That might be easier said than done; if your team is not connected or aligned around a common goal, it doesn’t even matter if you have all the right communication tools in order.
A set of team norms might help you a bit along the way and it’s a great reason for attending a few of those team meeting – just make sure they actually have a purpose, though, otherwise it will just be yet another timewaster.
To communicate efficiently, it is important to implement rules and standards that guide team members as to how they are expected to communicate and, most importantly, what they are expected to do. No interruptions, speaking politely, and implementing a productive document culture may help you steer them toward the goal and hopefully improve the communication once and for all.
Get to know the team’s routines
As a manager, in particular, it is necessary to understand how the team works in order to give them what they need in order to thrive. Use tools for feedback, make use of incentives to reward the team, and give them the breaks they need at the right time – otherwise, it will be impossible to get to the core of what works and what doesn’t.
Once you’ve mapped out the specific environment of each team, it’s time to give them the communication tools they need to collaborate properly. Make sure you’re up to date on all their habits before you swap out the tools they use for communication – and, by all means, talk with them about changing any software beforehand in case they’re happy with the one they already have. Nothing feels sourer than spending time and money on an upgrade that will actually set you back later on.
Get rid of distractions
Finally, you need to have a look at how your entire office works. If there are a lot of distractions, such as clutter or constantly noisy phones, it’s going to make an immense difference for the team if they’re allowed to work in peace and quiet. Make an honest attempt at mapping out the biggest distractions, eliminate as many as you can, and watch how the productivity increases almost immediately.
You will never be able to get the team to the place they should be if they’re not able to focus on the task ahead of them. The biggest productivity-killers are, undoubtedly, clutter and noise and it’s why you should give your office a proper clean-up sooner rather than later.
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