High Performing Teams - I love it when a plan comes together!
A team of newly recruited crack operations members were given a short induction, signed a form, thrown some PPE and sent to work. This is a crime too many companies commit. These people promptly escaped and now they survive as soldiers of fortune in companies where they were hired and engaged as part of an A Team! If you have a retention problem, if no one else can help, and if you can't keep them...then maybe you need to look at how you can create an A Team from the onset. I pity the fool that doesn't capitalise on day one of a new team member's journey.
How to develop and sustain a high performing team
YOU NEED TO KEEP THEM! In an increasingly competitive labour market, with very low unemployment, it is definitely a situation where prospective employees are assessing their options and what is the best fit for them. So it's madness when all the hard work of selling your company and their role, is undone in the first days of them joining your team. It is true that people are motivated by:
Pay
Career Opportunities/ Progression
Work life balance
Flexibility
However, more and more people are looking for demonstrations that the company they work for actually cares about their physical, mental and emotional well being. This key motivation can be put in serious jeopardy as early as day one, if the onboarding process looks half hearted or an inconvenience. Generally, it is accepted that people create their first impressions within seconds. When successfully recruiting somebody and getting them to day one, that great first impression that was sown in the recruitment process is still fragile and needs reinforced. Why?
Although people will be excited and full of hope for the future, a lot of people can feel apprehensive about whether or not they have made the right move and if this company is the right place for them. Questions such as 'Will I fit in with my peers?' 'What will I be expected to do?' etc. Simple things like 'hygiene factors' ... 'Where are the toilets?' 'Where do I eat?'..., 'What are the Covid-19 protocols?' Things that are so simple, we take them for granted and forget that for new staff these things that would seem trivial to us, can be a source of worry for them. Bearing in mind for the new start, this is the beginning of a probation period where they are on trial, which in itself can be worrying for them. There is a school of thought that onboarding continues on into a 90 day process. Within this time people getting up to speed with the business, however in some businesses, people will be expected to already be making a performance based impact. People now expect and desire engagement. A company with poor on-boarding processes have double the chance of a high employee turnover. Engaged employees are 59% less likely to look for a new career in the next 12 months (Gallup). On top of this 33% of new employees quit within 90 days (Source) ...On-boarding is key!
In addition to new starts, why would your existing staff be any different? Why would they not want some of the aforementioned? If you have a high turnover of employees, It's highly likely on-boarding failed them too. It can be the source of unproductivity and disengagement. The world is changing, people are more aware and in-tune to wider benefits and feel good factors. This is truly the iceberg lying beneath the water!
'Almost a quarter of workers are actively planning to change employers in the next few months, a report has claimed, as part of a “great resignation” prompted by a high number of vacancies and burnout caused by the pandemic.
A survey of 6,000 workers by the recruitment firm Randstad UK found that 69% of them were feeling confident about moving to a new role in the next few months, with 24% planning a change within three to six months.' (Guardian)
With the huge costs and time involved in recruiting and training new employees, combined with the shortage of candidates due to low employment levels, retention is vital.
It is impossible to create or sustain a high performing team with inconsistency and lack of continuity
So what can you do? Create an onboarding program that wows! One that not only draws in your new starters, but is cross pollinated with your existing team...Lay the foundation for your A-Team! Combining on boarding and team building is powerful. It starts going to work on the apprehension and fitting in with their peers. You can take this opportunity to begin aligning people with your business visions and values, but also start to align your people with the things that they have in common. These are things that are generally outside of work and will help to create common bonds and a sense of unity, all vital for a strong team. We need to start to recognise that as much as work is important, it is an enabler to allow people to service the key things in their lives. Such as family, hobbies etc. Creating a high performing team is not easy, particularly in a workplace. This is because there is much diversity, such as departments and shifts. Bringing them together and aligning them in such a way, opens them up to then understanding that everyone plays an equally vital part in a high performing team. The journey of respecting each other's roles and responsibilities can then begin. This then begins to demonstrate to all your staff, that you care, that you engage and that you are prepared to lead.
Tips on how to create a successful onboarding process;
Create a programme - Be prepared and take time to cover the detail and plan as you would for other business critical processes.
Find a suitable venue, away from the workplace - This places importance on the team building aspect, workplaces can be distracting. Show them that you value their attendance.
Led by inspiring facilitators - If you have inspiring leaders within your business then encourage them to lead this; eg General Manager, Dept Manager etc. If not then bring in outside expert help to coach your leaders.
Inform people about your company - It is highly unlikely that in the recruitment process all key aspects about the company were covered or researched. This also gives existing staff a reset and a chance to further inform them. Companies move fast and staff aren't always up to date on change and progress. Promote the positives, talk about challenges, but qualify this with counter measures. Remember, people want you to be open, but not create worry.
Key policy communication- Its a great time to create the awareness on key policies, particularly with things like critical H&S requirements. However don't bring out every single policy that exists, this will lose engagement really quickly!
Cover hygiene factors - Everyday needs, eg workwear, welfare facilities etc
Participation from key personnel (Line Managers, peers etc) - A great chance for people to introduce themselves and for new starts to understand where the support and guidance will come from.
Involve existing team members - Align your staff, these are the people that will spend the most time together. Build on that from day one to make it a positive experience for all.
Ensure there is a robust programme that continues past the initial onboarding few days- Are there any key training that needs to be organised or provided? Has quality time been planned to make sure the new team members meet the wider team? Is required equipment etc ready? Frequent catch ups with line manager planned? Visits to wider operations, customers, supplier etc that can help the new team members really grasp what the business is engaging in? These are all essential to continue to immerse the new team members into the company culture.
Use team building activities - These activities form bonds and break the ice. Invest in specialist facilitators who can not only engage and motivate your staff, but also help draw out the amazing learning opportunities, such as:
· H&S considerations
· Teamwork
· Customer service
· Deployment of resources
· Time management
· Communication
· Collaboration
· Achievement
· Building of integrity
· Innovation
. Leadership
Many people would think that getting people in a room and just going through what the business needs or wants, is creating culture. Creating the correct culture is extremely important and it takes time, invested time. However, do not confuse culture with organisational goals or your mission statement, although both can help define it. Culture is created through consistent and authentic behaviours, not press releases or policy documents. You can watch company culture in action when you see how a CEO responds to a crisis, how a team adapts to new customer demands or how a manager corrects an employee who makes a mistake, or even how a new employee is welcomed into their peer group or the business. Again these are parts of the 'iceberg' that can be under the surface, eroding good or improved performance.
Helping to Promote and nurture the organisational culture, covering the collection of values, expectations and practices that guide and inform the actions of all team members. Furthermore, culture is a key advantage when it comes to attracting talent, retaining of talent and outperforming the competition. True alignment comes when the company's objectives and it's employees motivations are all pulling in the same direction.
So, it sounds great but what are the obstacles?
Of course, within a business this won't be the only thing going on so what are the considerations;
Inclination
Dismissal of the importance/benefit
Time
Resource
Cost
With studies showing that failing to retain staff can see organisational costs between 100%-300% of the replaced employees salary.(Harvard Business Review) With the percentages projected to change jobs or that already have done so, its fairly easy to establish that this cannot be ignored. Failing to resource and finance a step change in retention is far reaching. This is a major business risk!
Remember, Remember, Remember, this is the start, every journey starts with a single step but what an important step! Continuous engagement is required with ALL team members. The very best teams work hard at engagement and progressively improving their culture, they tend to be led well and inspired! This takes real leadership to reverse but the risk versus reward is a no brainer! Change is inevitable, build an A-Team and sustain an A-Team. Or don't but the outcome will be inevitable also. Take control, don't wait. Execute and one day you may be able to sit back, look at your high performing team and think 'I love it when a plan comes together'
If you have a onboarding, team building or employee engagement problem, if no one else can help...then you need to call Carpathia Consultants!