How to Build High Performing Teams in 2018

If you’ve ever been part of a successful team at work, then you’ll know just how vital the right combination of attributes and attitudes can be for developing a high-performance business.  

Success in the average company is no longer about individual performance. If you want to get ahead of the competition, then you need to find and recruit the perfect blend of professionals, who know how to perform together towards a pre-established goal.  

Without the right structure and guidance, the candidates you bring together in your organisation will be nothing more than employees working in the same place. To create an exceptional brand, you’ll need to unite new and existing hires into a cohesive unit.  

What better time to start, than with the beginning of a new year?

Step 1: Choose Diverse Talents 

When it comes to creating teams, a lot of managers assume that it will be easier to connect people with the same skillsets. While this makes it more likely that you’ll build a group of experts with the same personalities and ambitions, it also means that you won’t achieve the diverse thinking strategies and support networks common in productive organisations.  

A better way to make sure that your new recruits will work well together is to work alongside a professional recruitment agency to hire people with a broad range of skills either with full-service agency help, or the ability to post job adverts across the channels were your ideal hire hangs out.  

While you’re looking for critical skills among your applicants, you can also check for essential personality features that might indicate a candidates’ suitability for your company culture.
 

Step 2: Build Focus on a Common Goal 

If you want your team to work at its best, then you need to make sure everyone on your staff knows exactly what they’re striving to achieve. Your goals need to be explicitly clear, as do any guidelines you have in place for how people can achieve those must-have results.  

Keep in mind that the “why” driving your employees can be just as important as the “what” – particularly when it comes to millennial hires. This generation of recruits want to know how their contribution is making the world a better place, therefore connect your business goals with an overarching sense of purpose aligned with your corporate vision.  
 

Step 3: Create a Supportive Environment  

High-performance staff know how to get together regularly and discuss their progress, concerns, and any ideas they might have for improvement on a current project. If your team can’t communicate easily, then the chances are they won’t be doing their best work.  

Though the ‘feelings’ of your hires might not be the first thing you think about when you’re trying to build your bottom line, the truth is that happier employees who feel free and accepted by the company they work for, are more likely to deliver excellent results. Make sure you support creativity and excellence from your recruits by: 

• Establishing an environment where all ideas and feedback are appreciated.  
• Letting people know what they need to do to start a meeting. 
• Encouraging your people to support each other’s strengths and development areas.  

Step 4: Understand the Expertise 

You can encourage your employees to give you their best as much as you like, but if you’re not placing them in situations where they can thrive, then you’re only going to get limited results.  

From the moment you start interviewing your new job candidates, look for ways that you can support their skills, by making sure that they’re surrounded by the right resources and the right team members.  

Look at how different people within your project group might be able to help others strengthen their skills with internal mentoring, and think about whether investing in new technology and tools might make your team more efficient. The more you understand your industry and the people you’re working with, the more you can create an environment conducive to success.  

Not sure where to get started? Ask your employees for their advice in meetings, polls, or business-wide surveys.  

Step 5: Celebrate Success and Learn from Mistakes 

Finally, no matter how exceptional your staff members might be, your organisation will likely face both failures and success on the path to your goals. The key is knowing how to respond productively in each scenario.  

If something goes well for your company, make sure that you celebrate. Let your team know that they’ve achieved something notable and provide them with the recognition they crave so that they can continue to feel motivated to deliver great results.  

On the other hand, if you encounter a challenge, encourage your employees to come together and try to determine what went wrong – without pointing fingers. If everyone can agree on a problem within the current strategy, they can also agree on what needs to be done to fix any issues, and therefore improve efficiency in the long-term.  

The more your team learns and grows together, the more they’ll bond, which makes them a naturally more efficient group.