7 teambuilding tips for success.

Effective teambuilding helps to embed company values and workplace culture, and builds trust, confidence and loyalty. Building a strong team enhances morale and motivation, and contributes to the overall success of a business.

There is no one-size-fits-all formula for building a great team - every team will develop uniquely according to your culture, brand, mission and business. From goal setting to communication, here’s our top tips on building and managing a successful and cohesive team.

1. Invest in your recruitment process
   Hiring the right talent is the starting point in building a team. Review and refine your selection process to ensure that the people you hire fit into your working culture and have the right skills and attitude to help you achieve core business goals. Whether you have the internal hiring resource in place or you partner with a Recruitment Consultancy, investing in your recruitment process is worth it. It can save you time and money by reducing rehiring and training costs, and you’ll avoid the negative impact which employee turnover can have on team morale and performance.
   
   Involving your team in the selection process can help with integration and engagement on both sides. You could get the team involved at 2^nd interview stage; they can help decide if the candidate will be a good fit in the team, they’ll be well placed to answer interviewee’s questions about the day-to-day elements of the role, and it’ll be a great chance for the candidate to meet some of the people they’d be working with.


2. Define success
   It’s important to define success, for you and the business – once you know what success looks like, you’ll be in a much better place to lead and develop your team towards that goal. Understanding what you are trying to achieve at an organisational level will shape your priorities and approach. Is the business being impacted by poor internal communication, or office politics? Do employees lack motivation or feel their opinions aren’t valued? Having strategic objectives in mind when building your team can help solve business challenges and boost employee engagement.


3. Establish clear and measurable goals
   For a team to be successful, they need to have a shared goal and purpose. You should clearly communicate the goal of the team and ensure everyone understands their individual role in working towards that goal. Make sure that team goals are aligned with the overall objectives of the company. It is also important to establish goals that are realistic and measurable. Set milestones and deadlines to keep everyone on track – update your team on progress and celebrate team achievements as well as individual successes together.


4. Set expectations
   Ground rules can be simple directives or more general guidelines that enable a team to collaborate effectively. They can include pointers and expectations of behaviours, such as listening to and respecting colleagues’ points of view, being punctual, and sticking to deadlines. Encourage everyone in the team to commit to these rules, to develop trust and cooperation. As a team leader, it’s also important to set the tone and lead by example. An ideal time to set expectations is during the onboarding and induction process (read our article on Employee Onboarding here), but they should also be reiterated on an ongoing basis in team catch ups and one-to-ones, and reintroduced where needed for employees who have been at the company for some time.


5. Create a positive work culture
   Most organisations will have a set of values that reflect their company vision and are embedded in the organisational culture. A positive work culture can increase engagement and productivity in the workplace, as employees feel part of the bigger picture and understand how they as an individual are contributing to the company’s success. Plan team activities which reflect your working culture and are based around the business’s core values and behaviours. From informal socials to more structured team-building activities, it’s important to find fun and creative ways to bring your team closer together. Not every member of the team will be able to socialise out of work – they might have a busy personal life or a long commute, but it doesn’t mean they don’t value being part of the team, and they shouldn’t miss out. Try to plan activities which can take place within work, from grabbing a coffee to a team lunch. There’s plenty of ways to make sure everyone is involved and to allow your team to get to know each other better.
   
   Making the workspace more sociable can also have an impact on the company culture and team mentality; even a small communal area for colleagues to catch up, or a relaxed, open-plan dining area can make a difference.


6. Work on effective communication
   An important part of effective leadership is having constructive, honest communication with employees. Building communication lines within your team over time creates transparency and encourages employees to share their opinions, experiences and ideas. This can improve morale, strengthen teamwork, and enhance productivity.
   
   A good way to break down barriers in communication is to establish consistent performance feedback. Create opportunities for two-way feedback that can result in improvements both individually and organisationally. Steer clear from ‘micromanaging’ your team, which can make employees feel they aren’t trusted; instead, implement – and stick to – regular one-to-ones as well as team meetings. This helps to make sure everyone is on the same page and gives you the opportunity to recognise individuals and the team overall for their efforts and achievements.


7. Celebrate success and deal with failure together
   Celebrating successes together makes the entire team feel valued and appreciated. This develops trust in each other and motivates them to continue working effectively as a team.
   
   When experiencing setbacks and failure, work on solutions together. Avoid putting the blame on individual employees and focus on finding the best solution as a team. Discussing when something hasn’t quite worked and sharing accountability for failures can strengthen team bonds as well as highlighting areas for improvement.