Productivity isn’t just about how much your employees are able to get done. It’s about how well they’re able to work as a cohesive unit. No matter how well people work on their own, how they work with each other is what really matters. When you’re overseeing a fresh team without any previous work experience together, you need to use tips like these to make productivity one of your company’s best qualities.
Getting to Know Everyone
Assuming everyone works the same way is a bad way to do things when managing a team. Keep yourself close to your team by finding out how each person operates and what their likes and dislikes in the workplace are. Not all of their requests can be satisfied, but your employees will appreciate that you’re trying your best. When there’s a conflict, you can use your understanding of each employee to intervene in a way that shows respect to both sides and to your employees on the whole.
Discovering a Tempo
You can have goals for your team, but they should be adjustable based on the individual and collective performances of your employees. A proper rhythm needs to be developed according to how your team works. Figure out if there is a disparity between demand and production and where it’s coming from. It could be that one employee isn’t tagging emails in a way that lets others stay on top of things in a much smoother fashion.
Utilize Incentives
Incentives can be a huge motivator for employees to work together. Establish incentives for collective goals such as a party for meeting a certain sales quota by the end of a financial quarter. This can let your employees feel as though they’re actually working towards something together. Ensure that everyone matters in at least some capacity at every step of the way.
Give Specific People Specific Tasks
If you vaguely tell a group of people you need someone to do something in particular, you shouldn’t hold your breath until it gets accomplished. Your chances are immensely better if you assign tasks to a specific person or persons. This is an example of the bystander effect where people are reluctant to act if there are others around. Give each member of your team specific tasks so there’s no uncertainty about who needs to do what.
When employees enjoy each other’s company, productivity increases, and work doesn’t feel like work. You cannot force chemistry, and some people might only get along on a professional level, but that’s okay as long as respect is still a part of your workplace. Your team is new, but these tips are timeless.
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