Creating a Great Team Culture - Part 1 of 2
Before we start let’s look at what De-Motivates a team…
- Client dissatisfaction expressed via comments to the team
- Perception of unfairness
- the perceptions that some team members are treated differently
- pay structures
- inappropriate reward structures
- unfair allocation of work
- lack of a career path
- unachievable budgets / working overtime for free to hit them
- Personal issues that are affecting the mood of an individual and possibly the team
- health issues
- exam failure
- family and relationship issues
- stress
- bullying
- Modern working practices,
- the changes in technology
- the working environment (open plan, pokey office)
- remote workers (not knowing what they are doing)
- time not being given to give added value service within the targets set.
- You coming up with “another crazy idea” which “won’t get implemented”
- A team member’s personal vision not being aligned with the company
- A team member’s values not being aligned with the company
What can we do to give the team a lift?
Some ideas are: -
- Run weekly team meetings that focus on the positives and what they can improve (rather than targets and complaints!)
- Team away days and events (but make sure you ask the team what they want to do).
- Sharing knowledge – so that the whole team get the benefit of any learning and are shown how to apply this within, and outside, the business.
- Share the Vision of the business. (The Positioning Roadmap can help you define this and be able to articulate it clearly)
- Have team development days where the team are engaged with developing the practice, setting targets and creating project teams to deliver them. (Ask AVN about the team days they run to engage your team)
- Teach the team about DISC profiles (or something similar) so they can adapt and understand each other’s behaviour better. (Some firms have tent cards on their desks with the persons profile as a reminder)
- Have a weekly team coffee/tea break for 15-20 minutes that allows everyone to connect as a team
- Casual dress Fridays
- Finish early on a Friday (Would your team be happy working 8.30-5.15 Monday to Friday and finish at lunchtime on Friday?)
- LISTEN! – Take interest in them and let them have an opinion.
- SMILE! – make the work environment a happier place by encouraging some Fun with a Serious Intent
- WALK the office – be visible and available to the team at agreed times.
- RING THE BELL! – at AVN we have bells on our desks that we can ring when something great happens – that can be completing a task or having a great conversation with an AVN member. The sound of the bell really lifts the rest of the team and encourages us all to share the good things that are happening.
What can we do to give team individuals a lift?
Some ideas are: -
- Give unexpected gifts -these can be small such as chocolates, wine or flowers, but they can also be bigger such as bonuses or an iPad but remember that the rest of the team can be seriously de-motivated if they do not feel the gift is deserved (so you should explain the ‘why’)
- Actually say “Thank you” or “Well done” – public acknowledgement works for some people but remember some prefer theses to be done in private
- Celebrate personal successes (work and non-work related)
- Give people their birthdays off work
- Give more responsibility. Often this is seen as recognition of a job well done and allows the team member to step up more.
- Understand each team members motivation and reward them accordingly
