How to Build a Strong Corporate Team Environment
Of course, each corporate team has its differences. However, there are certain behaviors that they should all practice in order to run optimally. Having a positive, supportive and collaborative work environment not only benefits you as an employer, but it encourages employees to push themselves to work harder (and enjoy coming to work).
Strong, professional team environments are not built in a day. There will often be some effort required on the employers end to make sure your team is being set up for success. Are you looking for tips on how to build a strong corporate team environment? Look no further!
Value Each Member Equally
In order for a team to be successful, each member needs to feel like they are valued. Do your best foster an environment in which the intern feels just as worthy as the manager does; after all, each member of the team should be contributing something indispensable to the overall effort. Every employee should come into work with a sense of purpose and not like they are ‘just a number’.
Why is this important? If an employee feels undervalued, the likelihood of them producing good work plummets. They might feel disconnected and frustrated, and understandably so: it is human nature to respond well to praise and encouragement. In contrast, if an employee is singled out and given too much praise relative to their peers, it could create an unhealthy hierarchy, which is kindling for a toxic and competitive work environment.
Chances are you have hired each and every employee because you believe them to be valuable to your team. So, do your best to remind them of this on a regular basis!
Communicate with Your Team
Communication is something that not everyone excels at, but it is critical to the success of a team effort. By openly communicating exactly what is needed and expected from your team, its members will naturally have a much better chance at delivering positive results. Setting clear goals for each employee or department and having regular meetings to touch base is crucial to making sure everyone stays on track. Also, try to figure out communication methods that work for everyone on your team so that each person gets a chance to be heard. Emails, texts or messaging programs such as Slack help to accommodate everyone on the team.
Communicating when those goals are accomplished is important, too. Celebrate when team members achieve milestones – extroverts in particular respond well to this kind of feedback, and strive to be better because of it. In addition to delivering praise when it is deserved, managers must also acknowledge when things don’t go exactly as planned as well. Recognizing where and how things go wrong can give failures a positive spin by focusing on what can be done better next time, rather than dwelling on what went wrong this time (or placing blame). Communicating through the ups and downs encourages everyone to grow as a team.
Build Relationships
There is no obligation to become best friends with everyone on your team. However, there is virtually no downside to getting to know one another a little bit better. Some of the world’s most successful companies regularly engage in team building activities, and for good reason. Team building exercises are not only a great way for coworkers to develop relationships with one another outside of the office. It also gives them a chance to work together creatively together and learn skills which they can take back with them to the office. Hosting regular team building activities also shines you in a positive light as an employer, one that sees the value in connecting outside of the office.
Encourage Collaboration
Working collaboratively with one another benefits the entire operation. If departments or employees are isolated from one another, they can’t see the bigger picture. According to a recent study, 75% of employers considered teamwork and collaboration to be ‘very important’ – and it should be! Teams that are comfortable working together are generally more productive and successful. It is not a bad idea for team members to be well-versed in what their co-workers’ responsibilities are: if everyone knows how each moving part works, they can then make decisions with the entire company in mind.
What do you do to create an awesome work environment for your team? Let us know in the comment section or join the conversation on LinkedIn. And, if you need a little bit of help building your workforce, we can help with that. Reach out to a Dunhill recruiter today to find out how.
