What is your first thought when you think business growth? Well, most leaders think of market shares and office spaces, while your first thought should be your team. The dream-team will deliver a fair share of the market share and even decide when you move to new, expansive offices.
If you put your employees first and let them feel treasured, they will treat their job as passion, as opposed to a 9-5 that pays the bills.
What Makes A Great Team?
First, talent is everything. If you can, only target those people who have the perseverance to grow with your company, as we all know that start-ups take a lot of energy and patience. You may not be in a position to pay top dollar, but you can make them feel appreciated in other ways. How do you keep them motivated? Apart from remuneration, benefits are quite motivating. Good (emphasis on ‘good’) medical care is especially dear to many people, as it is quite costly and way out of reach for most Americans. Getting them cover from a reputable healthcare provider that works closely with organizations such as Procured Health is one way to keep them in your nest.
Regular Get-Togethers.
Again, you do not have the funds to spend on fancy meet-ups, good food, and drinks. But who said they have to be fancy? You could organize as simple a get-together as a fun talk in the boardroom, say, on the last day of the month. You could get coffee and snacks, or just simple chitchat where you encourage them to speak out. Whatever they cannot let out in public, have an open-door policy where they know they have access to the boss.
That aside, quarterly team activities could strengthen the team. You could organize sports events that bring out the competitive nature of each person, even drawing out the more reserved ones. Any activity outside the office is always a good way of knowing each other. Note: everyone participates.
Free Meals.
A simple free meal could elevate the level of staff loyalty a notch higher than you thought. The cost of lunch and flowing coffee (and tea) could save you an even higher cost in staff turnover.
Have An In-house Shrink.
I know what you are thinking, “those people charge by the hour! Besides, my people do not need a shrink.” You could not be more wrong; well, at least about their need for a shrink. If your job entails long, stressful hours, you need to air it out. You could find a shrink that could take on your team for a negotiated cost, say once per month, where willing parties could go in and offload to an expert. You would be surprised how effective it could make your team.
Parting Shot.
It is not just building a team that will start with you. You want the kind that will give the best to you organization and see its growth to the top. Just remember to reward them when you finally get to the top.
