How shared experiences can build high-performance teams

How shared experiences build high-performance teams

In the fast-paced business world, you need a team that is not only engaged and in tune with your company strategy, but also packed with high performers. In order to reach that point, your employees must be equipped with the right tools and have a common purpose to strive towards.

Building a high-performance team starts with a strong leader and a foundation of trust.

Leading from the front

A strong team starts and ends with a strong leader. Before you can craft that high-performance team, it’s important to look inward and recognise your best traits as well as your flaws. Only then can you start to work on improving any faults that may impede your ability to lead. Seeing as a recent study found only 42% of managers said they received leadership training, it’s well worth seeking out fellow leaders – at the very least – to improve your abilities as a leader.

Shared experiences = trustworthy co-workers

When you think about the most famous leaders in the world – whether that’s business, politics or sports – money is often an overriding factor in their success. But a Deloitte study found that only 10% of millennials define a “true business leader” as someone who’s focused on financial results.

What does this mean for modern leaders? It’s means the definition of “leadership” has a very different description for the new generation of workers. You can start to build a solid foundation of trust with your employees by taking the time to understand what they see as important. And by discussing – and creating – shared experiences together, you can foster social capital that will automatically feed into a higher-performing team.

A common purpose

Everyone has their own goals. Some are short-term personal targets, such as completing a self-development course or finishing a half-marathon. But others are tied to their workplace. Those are the goals you should know about as their leader.

Take the time to sit down with each employee – as well as together as a team – to get clarity across how each staff member fits into the business as whole. From there, you can build outwards and begin meshing the team as one that’s focused on mutual goals.

What are some proven team-building activities?

Once they see themselves as a team, your employees will gain a sense of group empowerment. But don’t praise your leadership skills just yet – that trust in each other must be constantly fed in order to blossom.

Team-building activities are a great tool to harness the collective strength of your employees and also improve their engagement levels both inside and outside the workplace. Escape rooms, fun runs, cooking classes, social nights, team trivia, bubble soccer – the choices are endless, and it’s key that your employees have a say on which team-building exercises excite them the most. You have shared goals in the workplace, so why not have them for external exercises as well?

Recognise and reward your employees’ good work

It’s not enough to simply go out for a game of footy a couple of times a year and expect the team to build itself. Your employees want you to invest in them as people – not just as worker bees. In fact, Deloitte found that one-third of millennials would choose employee wellbeing, growth and development as top priorities if they were in charge. But they also think just 20% of their leadership team are making the same choices.

To truly invest in your staff, you need to invest in their goals. That means not only working with them to create shared goals within the framework of your business operations, but also rewarding them along the way. This could be something as small as praising their good work or starting a leader board that recognises the best performers for each week. Whatever promotes a positive work culture is good for both business and your employees.

Common hurdles – and how to overcome them

Even if your workplace is made up of the most intelligent and hardworking individuals, your team will still encounter hurdles along the way. However, a simple three-step process can help you clear those hurdles before they have a chance to knock your legs out from under you:

1. Use technology to build relationships in your team: Whether it’s introducing a rewards and recognition program for your employees, or keeping everyone on the same page with a social communication platform, the smartest workplaces investigate and implement new technologies to help their teams succeed.
2. Keep your team motivated: Know what motivates staff? When their leaders have a stake in their success. Whether it’s daily interactions or in more formal review settings, always take advantage of moments to discuss opportunities with your employees. Could they take on an additional task that will teach them a valuable new skill? Are there training programs that could upskill them and put them on the leadership path? By investing in your employees, you invest in the growth of your company.
3. Establish and document your processes: It’s easy to get caught in a rhythm of managing employees ‘fast and loose’, and while it might work in the short term, when inevitable new hires arrive you’ll have to start all over again. Instead, document your processes – both formal and informal – so you can refer back to what does and doesn’t work. A minor investment of time today could prevent any hiccups occurring down the line.

Overview

• A strong and successful team starts with a committed leader who can build up trust with their employees.
• Millennials place high priority on wellbeing, growth and development – and successful managers will foster mutual goals to invest in their employees.
• Effective communication, motivation and documentation will help managers to overcome hurdles and build social and trust within a team.

Looking to turn your staff into a high-performance team? Request a demo today.

Sources:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidsturt/2018/03/08/10-shocking-workplace-stats-you-need-to-know/#51b8b101f3af
https://www.jibe.com/blog/8-stats-on-millennials-and-leadership-in-the-workplace/
https://www.onpointconsultingllc.com/blog/how-to-overcome-the-4-biggest-hurdles-to-leading-virtual-teams

A manager’s guide to maintaining a happy and healthy workforce

A manager’s guide to maintaining a happy and healthy workforce

In a competitive market, many companies find it hard to hire and then retain the best possible talent. While high attrition rates can be due to a number of varying factors, the most common cause of staff turnover is unhappy workers.

In order to treat your employees well – and keep them happy and healthy – you need to listen to their needs and design a workplace that works with them to reach both their personal goals and the business’s.

Work-life balance for reduced employee stress

Before exploring wellness programs or changing up the workplace, you can get your employees in a better headspace by focusing on their needs, namely work-life balance. Flexible working arrangements have become popular in recent years, and it’s worth investigating whether it could work for your business.

Could parents with young children take time in the mornings and afternoons to take their kids to and from school, and then make up those extra hours at home? Is there a fantastic new hire on your radar who lives out of state – and could the offer of remote working with daily teleconferences get them to join your team? There is so much more to work-life balance than just time off – and best of all, each circumstance is unique to the individual and the business.

Keep things changing

Within the office, it’s easy for employees to get bogged down in the day-to-day rigmarole. But an easy way to promote wellness is to promote constant change in their workdays.

Consider promoting a change of scenery through small adjustments. Are employees allowed to decorate their workspaces however they like? Could you introduce walking meetings, so participants get a breath of fresh air and a boost to their daily step count? Would a splash of colour on the walls or a few indoor pot plants liven up the office? What about health-conscious perks like standing desks and ergonomic chairs?

There are so many ways that minor changes can lead to big improvements in staff morale.

Introduce personal wellness goals

Being conscious of the health of your employees is vitally important in the modern workplace – especially if most of your staff sit at their desks for the majority of the day.

While you may not have the time or the funds to hire a personal trainer for your entire office, you can work together with your team to formulate personal – and group – wellness goals. Start small with mini fitness challenges and twice-daily stretching sessions to keep the blood pumping, and consider signing up to fun runs for further team bonding.

Investigate employee wellness programs

Redii champions employee wellbeing, which is why we created our monthly #hellawella challenge. Each month, every employee works toward a personal wellness goal to achieve in a 30-day time period. Our recent challenge focused on personal fitness/wellness goals over the course of a month. Everyone formulated their own personal goal – whether that was losing a few Christmas kilos, focusing on meditation, being more committed to regular gym visits. Not only did we set up our goals to be personal and measurable, but we made sure we had fun throughout the 30-day period. It’s employee reward programs just like this that make the workplace a happier – and in this case healthier – place to be.

The number one rule? Speak to your employees about what they want

Fitness programs won’t necessarily work for every company. After all, a personal training business won’t get the best out of their wellness program if it’s focused on the very thing their staff do every day.

Instead, give your employees the power to decide what they want for themselves. Set up an informal session to discuss their goals for the future. Health isn’t just about exercise, exercise, exercise. Maybe an educational session about better eating habits would be beneficial. Or perhaps a challenge in the spirit of Dry July could be what gets your employees more engaged at work.

The most important rule is to speak to your employees about what they want. Once you settle on a mutual goal or challenge, everyone will be more invested in the short-term gains and long-term outcomes.

Redii provides recognition and rewards programs to make your employees feel valued and drive employee retention. Request a demo!

Sources

redii.com/linking-employee-recognition-with-employee-wellness/
www.dryjuly.com

How corporate social responsibility can produce happier employees

How corporate social responsibility can produce happier employees

When employees are invested in the success of their company, the benefits are manifold. Not only are they more engaged with their work, but they are happier and healthier, and they will align with the company’s vision for ongoing success.

Getting to that point can come about in several different ways, but one of the most popular modern strategies is utilising corporate social responsibility (CSR). Here’s what a CSR program can do for your company – and, more importantly, your employees.

What is corporate social responsibility?

CSR is a way of ensuring a company conducts its business ethically, and it’s becoming a popular selling point for businesses when recruiting new hires. Taking into account their social, economic and environmental impact, businesses can use CSR as a way to:

• Integrate with local communities.
• Develop relationships with customers and staff.
• Protect the environment and enact sustainable programs.
• Make socially responsible investments.

With 77% of companies citing corporate social responsibility as “important”, and 64% of CEOs increasing their investments in CSR, it’s a sign of the times how much people are invested in the betterment of the environment and society as a whole.

But just because CEOs are throwing money at CSR doesn’t necessarily mean employees will engage with it. As a leader, it’s vital to do your due diligence and focus on programs that are relevant to current issues and will increase your team’s spirit.

What are the benefits of CSR?

From giving them a sense of purpose to increased satisfaction levels, employees can gain huge benefits from a properly implemented CSR regimen.

A paper on how CSR affects employees within an organisation gleaned some fascinating insights into its key benefits:

• Enhanced employee identification: Rather than floating from job to job, employees working for a company with a CSR initiative felt “a greater sense of identity with the business they worked for”.
• Improved retention: Everyone wants to know how to reduce turnover, and CSR could be the answer. The paper found CSR can increase an employee’s intention to stay with their current employer, and even improve their overall commitment to the company.
• More attractive company culture: In order to maintain low attrition rates, you need to recruit and retain the best employees. CSR can help by making the company culture more attractive to potential hires.
• Better employee engagement and culture: When staff feel good about their employer’s CSR involvement, they have shown to be more and engaged and to perform better in their roles.

Volunteering for a happier workforce

Volunteering is one of the most popular forms of CSR in the modern workplace, and it’s easy to see why. Not only does it let staff step away from their desks and get out into the community, but it integrates them with local organisations and provides them with a sense of giving that only volunteering can generate.

Redii is firmly committed to volunteering initiatives – so much so that we participate in the Pledge 1% program. That means all our employees are given the opportunity to take two days out of their work year to volunteer at a charity of their choice. For happier, healthier and more socially conscious employees, CSR activities provides a platform for employees to feel more engaged.

How employee reward programs can help

CSR programs are only half the battle to get your staff fully engaged with the business. That’s why we combine our volunteering program with a rewards and recognition program. Redii staff who successfully complete their volunteering at a charity receive an award to showcase their community work. These programs allow employees to track their CSR contributions and facilitate positive behaviours that align with company values. Unsurprisingly, the recognition of their hard work and investment in the local community is often exactly what is needed to drive productivity back in the workplace.

You don’t necessarily have to follow the Pledge 1% example. There are so many different CSR initiatives that you can combine with a rewards program to boost employee engagement. Consider setting up an internal leaderboard so staff can follow and recognise their co-workers’ success in being socially responsible.

There are countless ways you can improve the workplace through corporate social responsibility – and you can take it to the next level by combining it with a rewards program for better employee engagement.

When utilised properly, CSR can boost team engagement and employee happiness. Request a demo today.

Additional Sources:

www.ed.ac.uk/careers/your-future/options/occupations/csr/what-is-csr

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4886691/