With the start of the new year, many business owners may scramble to get things ready for what’s coming. They are deep in the planning stage and are filled with a mix of excitement and nervousness. It is crucial to bring your team into the planning stage as they will have a hand in the day-to-day processes of your business. Whether they are interacting with customers, taking inventory, or managing marketing efforts, they are all important to the business and to each other’s individual efforts.
It is crucial that your employees feel like they are set up for success because to win in the marketplace you have to win in the workplace. The more successful your employees are in meeting the goals and expectations, the more success the company will have.
This time of the year is the most important time to implement team-building tactics and to improve team dynamics.
The first thing you can do is delegate more effectively. The point of hiring employees is to hire people who can take on the smaller or more tedious aspects of the company, freeing you up to focus on the overall direction of the business.
If you are still doing some of those tasks that you were hoping to free yourself from, then you have hired them for nothing. And overextending yourself is a futile attempt to “protect” your business.
Make the best use of your team by delegating responsibilities to them based on their skills and attributes. Give them tasks that you know they can excel in or that they may be able to grow into. Ask them their intentions and interests and translate those into responsibilities. The key here is improving communication between you and the team.
You can also delegate more effectively by creating timely and attainable expectations that your employees can meet. Give them enough time to learn and complete the responsibility and be there as a guide to help them along the way, engaging with them at a level that does not require too much from you.
On the topic of learning, another way to build your team is to hold monthly training sessions.
While most employees go through initial training or onboarding and learn along the way, it’s easy to forget some key concepts along the line. Even as business owners, we know we can’t remember everything we’ve learned, so holding these monthly sessions can be beneficial to you as well.
These sessions can cover anything that will forward the progress of your company. Here are some ideas:
You don’t always have to host these training sessions. You can hire outside trainers or you can have your employees be trainers. This is a great way to give responsibility to the team, boost employee engagement, and will put a spotlight on their individual skills as they teach on subjects they are highly-trained in. This may also help you discover individuals who may have leadership or managerial potential.
This leads to the next topic, analyze your organizational chart. Ensure the members of your team are all in the right seat. This is a difficult but crucial step to take in your business, the earlier in the year, the better. This may require you to remove people from leadership positions that have not been effective in their roles. Or move them to leadership positions that better fit their skills.
However, this can also mean promoting employees who have shown exceptional resolve and improvement this past year and reward them for their progress. If you would like to know more about which employees to promote to leadership positions, you can read this article here.
Updating your SOPs (Standard Operating Procedures) for Key Results Areas is another way to make sure everyone is on the same page. Identify key results areas in your business: sales, marketing, etc. Go over the current procedures you have and revise them to make them more streamlined. If you don’t have any yet, take the time to create them.
If you are planning on hiring new employees this year, having updated procedural documents will make the onboarding process a lot easier and smoother. This will make sure they are being trained with the same knowledge that current employees have.
These are just a few things you can do to make sure your team starts the year off on a wonderful note. Doing these things at the beginning of the year will make managing later aspects of your business so much easier. These are also suggestions that will help improve communication and trust within your team and increase client retention.
The best way you can start the new year is by hiring a Certified Business Coach to keep you accountable for all of these tasks and make sure you are always giving the best version of yourself to your team. You should absolutely take advantage of our complimentary Business Strategy Session with our Business Coaches. This is a 2-hour deep-dive strategy session to discover opportunities in your business. Register Today!
I am a certified Business Coach, providing business help, business advice, business coaching and mentoring services to successful and emerging business owners. I have a passion for helping businesses like yours grow and become profitable, so you, the business owner can enjoy the lifestyle you deserve.
As your Business Coach and advisor, I will help you deliver the results you desire using proven tools, methodologies and systems, tested and perfected over tens of thousands of businesses worldwide for over more than two decades. I will hold you accountable for your results and just like a sports coach, push you to perform at optimal levels. Let's schedule a complimentary Business Coaching session to get started.
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