How to Build a Strong Team of Employees

Describing a company with words like “success” and “power” makes it easy to picture a cutthroat and competitive environment. However, the productivity of a workplace shouldn’t depend on the employees’ fear and shouldn’t feel like an office-themed Hunger Games.

Successful and powerful companies work best when employees adopt a team mentality and work together to fulfill long-term goals. Here are a few tips that can help you build a strong team of dedicated and loyal employees:

Establish expectations from the start

New team members and employees usually arrive as blank slates and are open to any number of company cultures. Make sure you take advantage of this openness and establish your expectations from day one. Set ground rules and make your goals clear from the start, not just in terms of a three-year plan or sales targets but also in terms of the kind of environment you’re planning to achieve.

Do you want to establish a culture of shared problem-solving, shared decision-making, and shared responsibility? If yes, then make sure you clearly say so.

It’s also important to create a safe and comfortable working environment so your team members are not always on their guard when working with others. One way to do this is to conduct a thorough employment screening before you invite anyone to join your team.

Focus on EQ

Great leaders believe EQ to be even more important than IQ. If one has a high EQ, it simply means that they practice emotional intelligence and treat their employees like actual human beings instead of viewing them as living drones.

They also understand that every individual is motivated by a different thing. Some team members love working towards shared goals. Meanwhile, others thrive on healthy competition, either with a different team within the same office or against a completely different outside competitor.

Remember to embrace the different types of motivation and different work styles, as treating the individual differences of your team members as an asset instead of an obstacle will certainly go a long way in building a strong team of employees.

Use positive reinforcement

Shaping employee behavior and conduct with positive reinforcement instead of negative reinforcement is highly effective. Rather than criticizing your team members’ mistakes, try to create a positive working environment by pointing out behaviors and events that you especially liked and encouraging your team members to do the same.

In short, motivating your team members with positivity is far more productive than reprimanding those who messed up.

Reward good work

All individuals love the recognition of their hard work. If you have a large budget, make sure you show your appreciation by giving financial bonuses. However, if you are a startup with not enough cash on hand, use other ways to show your trust and gratitude.

One effective way to reward good work is delegation. If an employee shows excellent judgment, give them the authority to make important decisions that you might have once entrusted to no one except yourself.

If you discover that they’re particularly responsible and smart with money, allow them to use the company credit card. It’s advisable to keep finding small ways to show your appreciation towards the efforts of your employees.

Communicate

Your team members need to know where they actually stand. Are you happy with their efforts? Do they need to focus on something in particular? Assume that your employees want to know.

It’s important to brush up on your communication skills, as effective communication is the key to building strong working relationships that last for decades.

Bottom line

Strong, high-performing teams don’t magically appear out of thin air. They require careful planning and cultivation from a leader with specific goals, a code of ethics, and team values. Without this leadership, your employees will simply be coworkers. Hopefully, the aforementioned tips will help you build a strong team of employees!