In sports, the best coaches aren’t always the coaches who win the most games or bring home the most trophies. They might be good coaches, but it’s also possible that they simply have the most talent on their teams. Instead, the best coaches are the ones who know how to do more with less. They’re the individuals who can take a roster full of misfits and “lesser” athletes and turn them into a winning team. The same rings true in business.
Almost anyone can step into a business with deep pockets and highly-skilled professionals and get positive results. But chances are, you won’t find yourself in one of these situations very often. You will, however, find yourself in scenarios where you have to bring out the best in a team of employees who aren’t performing as well as they could be. That’s the mark of a good business owner or manager.
If you’re reading this in hopes of learning how to maximize the productivity and output of your existing team, you’re in the right place. We’re going to share several tips that will allow you to do just that. Let’s check them out:
Table of Contents
Set Clear Goals
Every underperforming team has its own issues. But at the core of this lack of output, there’s usually a lack of clarity. In other words, employees don’t know what’s expected of them. Understandably, this leads to confusion and poor results.
If you want to put your team on the right path, it starts with establishing clear goals. And once established, you must communicate these goals in a clear and concise way that resonates with your team. This puts everyone on the same page.
Know How Your People Tick
Everyone is different. If you try to use the same tactics with each of your employees, you’re liable to ostracize certain employees. This plays out in various areas, including each individual’s proclivity for teamwork vs. individual work.
Some people prefer working individually, as it allows them to focus better and maximize their creativity. Other people would rather work in teams, as it lets them bounce ideas off one another and leverage the power of multiple minds. There are pros and cons to both, but letting employees have some control over how they work on a daily basis will usually lead to better collective results.
Choose the Right Incentives
For years, employers have used financial bonuses to incentivize employees to perform at higher levels. But an evolving body of research suggests that money isn’t always the best motivator. In fact, non-monetary incentives may help you motivate and retain more employees.
According to a study, 65 percent of employees prefer non-monetary incentives in place of monetary rewards. The most effective ones include work flexibility, rewards and recognition, extra days off, and even experiential rewards like day trips or a paid outing to a spa.
Non-monetary incentives work because they have separability. Financial incentives just sort of get thrown in with the rest of an employee’s earnings and forgotten about. An extra day off or free tickets to a baseball game give the employee something to remember. This results in a greater sense of appreciation.
- Eliminate Distractions
When employees are distracted, they’re unable to perform at a high level. Unfortunately, many of today’s workplaces are full of them. But if you can find a way to eliminate these distractions, good things will happen.
Start with digital distractions. Consider implementing some sort of distraction-blocking app that allows employees to toggle off websites that prevent them from doing meaningful work.
From a top-down perspective, reducing the number of meetings you hold on a weekly basis is a great move. This frees up each employee’s schedule to focus on deep work.
Mix Things Up
Teams that lack diversity don’t function as well as they otherwise could. (And we’re not just talking about race. We’re also talking about diversity of thought, personality, age, and background.)
Try mixing things up by infusing your team with different types of people. This will have the added benefit of inducing creativity and encouraging unique problem-solving.
Create the Ideal Team
Value maximization is the name of the game. If you can get maximum value out of your team, you’ll always have a job somewhere. And though it’s a difficult row to hoe, implementing the aforementioned tips and techniques will allow you to be successful. Put in the hard work and the results will follow!