Creating Cohesive and High-Performing Teams

Overseeing a team can easily become the most difficult part of any management position. You are essentially bringing together a group of people with different backgrounds, different values, and different personalities, making them spend over 2,000 hours per year together, expecting that they will function seamlessly while striving to reach a shared goal.

That sure sounds like a headache waiting to happen.

 The good news is that it can work so long as you understand your role in making it a reality. Building an effective hiring process to attract the right people, understanding what your team wants, and developing a shared culture for the group are all the steps you should consider as you are trying to build a team that works.

The first step in building a team that works is to design an effective hiring process. Hiring the right people at the right time to bring the right skills to your team is key.

We have all been through great hiring processes, and we have all been through awful hiring processes. The worst hiring experience involved three key mistakes:

1.      Not being considerate of the applicant’s time.

Remember the company that you got an interview with and required a bit of a commute, which was fine since you were aware of this upon interviewing. The problem was that you were requested to meet at the office five separate times, with meeting lengths ranging from 15 minutes to over 2 hours, all while being told each meeting was going to last one hour. You planned your day and commute around the expected one-hour interview. The lack of consideration for your time is a frustrating experience and doesn’t give you much faith in the company.

Another inconsiderate time-wasting practice is asking applicants to submit a variety of documents on three separate occasions. Again, a proper interview process would require all the needed information up front.

2.      Lack of communication

As a business, you do not need to provide daily updates to your candidates, but letting them know the interview process upfront is a common courtesy. If your company requires 10 interviews, 3 tests, and a copy of every essay you have ever written, tell the candidate. If there is one interview and you are going to decide at the end of the week, tell them.

Have you interviewed where you were told there was a 2-step interview process - one with the hiring manager and one with the rest of the team? And, unfortunately, that is not how it happened. You went in for the first interview, went back to meet one more team member, met two more in the meeting after, the fourth was with the final team member, and the fifth was with the owner of the company. You were told they were not able to make their schedules match up to get the whole team into a single meeting. If this were true and had been explained in advance, that would have been fine. Worse, you got the job, and unfortunately, after working there for some time, you realized they do this to everyone. In fact, they were all available for scheduled meetings. Again, this is not good business practice, and it wears on employee morale.

This will not create a happy candidate. This kind of practice may cost you the perfect employee because they may stop showing up and be sufficiently fed up with your company. Who would want to work at a place that lacks communication skills?

3.      The length of the process

The next bad practice we all remember was being told you would need two meetings, and that they were deciding at the end of the following week. It turned up that you were not even finished meeting everyone by the end of the following week. Or the week after that, or the week after that. The whole process took about 6 weeks from the time you received a call for the first interview to the time you received an offer letter.

To be fair, some positions absolutely require five meetings and six weeks. C-suite positions and high-level management positions are good candidates for long hiring processes. But most are not that kind of position. Most positions should have taken no longer than two weeks to fill.

Conversely, the best hiring processes are handled quite differently. For many positions, you may still meet a fair number of people and must submit documents, so make the process clear. 

·        Everything is communicated upfront, and the process is structured.

Companies like this have clearly spent the time working on their hiring process. Upon calling the candidate to come in for an interview, tell them exactly who they will be meeting with on each occasion, when those meetings will be, and how to dress for each meeting. Tell them what to bring, where to meet, and the exact structure of each meeting.

The happiest candidates that will turn into happy employees will have had three interviews scheduled within the first phone call and know exactly what to expect for each one. They will also be able to submit all needed documentation (certificates, licenses, resume) in advance so that the entire department has time to review before meetings.

Even though it may be a multi-meeting process, it will go smoothly, and everything will happen exactly as stated in that first phone call.

·        You are quick to make decisions.

With such a structured hiring process, applicants can only assume that the way they make decisions on new hires is equally structured. Because of this, you will be able to give an official offer letter(s) the day after the final meetings are over. It is also important to note that just because your company may not be hiring, take advantage of a strong candidate who approaches you. They may bring great value, and if you have your hiring process in place, you will not be wasting anybody's time, including your own. 

Six musts in developing a successful hiring process to become a respectable company and avoid the pitfalls of a disorganized, disrespectful company: 

1.      Assign a Single Hiring Manager

There are many reasons why having a single hiring manager can set you up for success in hiring the right people for your team, including:

a.      No position bias. If you have multiple people meeting with a single candidate, there is a chance that someone on the team will not like that person, simply because they are threatened that the candidate will outrank them or have a more developed skillset. With a single hiring manager, especially if outside of the department, you will not have to worry about bias against the candidate.

b.      Team cohesiveness. When choosing your hiring manager, choose someone who aligns with your company’s vision and culture. This will ensure that those candidates this person hires will likely align with those values, as well as creating cohesiveness within your team, a team that will promote your company’s values.

c.      Avoid office politics. Give your hiring manager sole discretion over who to hire. Not making them report to someone else to make their decisions will make certain that the process can move smoothly and without hiccups.

2.      Be Flexible but Structured 

Developing a clear structure for your hiring process keeps candidates engaged throughout the process. A few things to keep in mind:

a.      The candidate’s time is valuable. You are likely not the only company this candidate is interviewing with, and not respecting their time could easily dissuade them from choosing to work with you. Be upfront about the time commitments of the interview process.

b.      Be flexible where necessary. If you are interviewing an out-of-state candidate, it may be necessary to expedite your meeting process in order for them to meet with all the required team members. Or, if expediting the timeline is not possible, offer to meet with them remotely. The right candidate may be ready to join your team, and your flexibility in meeting them could give you the upper hand.

c.      Speed is essential. If you like to draw out your hiring process, there is a strong likelihood that your best candidate will be snatched up by another company, and you will either have to settle for your second choice or start the process over again. It is completely acceptable to make an offer on the spot if the candidate is right. Don’t fall for FOMO (fear of missing out) with candidates you haven’t met at the risk of losing the right candidate.

3.      Know That Bad Hires Happen

You are going to hire the wrong person. Someone will fail at their job or not fit in with the team. It is going to happen. Interview processes bogged down with skill tests, personality tests, too many reference checks, and multiple interviews are created to avoid making the wrong hire. Unfortunately, no matter how well thought out the hiring process is, you will still make bad hires and, even worse, you may turn off the good candidates with outrageous hiring processes.

Know your red flags. Know upfront what you consider to be a red flag in a candidate. It may be that they are arrogant or only focused on money. Read through your company’s culture statement and create a list of red flags that would show a candidate is not the right fit. Similarly, as you are creating a list of red flags, create a list of great flags. Maybe your company supports volunteer work or is looking for a customer-focused team. Having a list of characteristics that you can easily highlight will help expedite your hiring.

4.      Always Be Open to Recruiting 

Just because you do not see an open position in your team doesn’t mean there isn’t one. Be open to talking to interested candidates regularly - they may be able to offer your company something you didn’t know you were missing.

5.      Employee Perks and Benefits

Now that your hiring process is bringing in a skilled team ready to work, you may be wondering about employee benefits and perks. More than 401ks and medical coverage, consider the new trend of ping pong tables.

Silicon Valley created a new way to attract employees with perks such as ping pong tables in the break rooms, cafeterias in the building, and bring your dog to work days. These types of perks started in the technology industry but have been spreading into startups around the country, giving them a higher appeal than cubicles and dim lighting.

Rather than doing what has already been done, forge your own path and create perks that fit your company’s values.

Here are a few ideas for perks that employees actually want to see:

·        Unlimited vacation

·        Gym memberships

·        Meals

·        Dry cleaning service

·        Flexible schedules

·        Remote work

·        Professional development classes

·        Paid time off for volunteer work

·        Cash

Things that employees do not want to see are cost-saving measures designed as perks. For instance, putting a ping pong table in the breakroom does little for company morale when there have not been any raises or career advancements for an extended time. Employees do not want company-branded gifts in place of a bonus structure. Winning a polo shirt with the company logo is much less of a reward for the top salesperson than a cash bonus or extra paid days off.

Choosing the perks that you implement in your company should also drive alignment with company culture. If the company regularly supports a specific cause, then paying employees’ wages to volunteer with that or similar organizations creates alignment. If your employees aren’t customer-facing and needed for a specific set of hours each day, then try flexible schedules or remote work options.

Whatever you choose, make sure to think about how these perks will be perceived by employees. You do not want to be the company that buys a ping pong table instead of offering career advancement.

6.      Creating a Culture

Once you have your perfect team hired and you have picked your employment perks, how do you foster a culture of retention and happy employees? There are many ways to build values that will be accepted by the whole team.

Start at the top. A team builds its rapport through interactions with management. And management builds its ideals based on interactions with company owners. Therefore, culture starts at the top. Make sure that owners and management agree on and share the same company culture and values. But more importantly, make sure they act on those values and let them shine through their work. This will permeate into next-level management and throughout every team.

Recognize values within your employees. Create a system of recognition when a team member is fully embracing the company culture. This can be as simple as creating a board that can be seen by all team members and can anonymously give shoutouts to those they see who embody the company culture. Or it can be something as big as a bonus structure for going above and beyond. Either way, consistent recognition of the desired culture will help the team align with those ideals.

Extend values outside of the company. Whenever your company has an opportunity to interact with the community, whether through volunteering, sponsoring events, or investing in new projects, keep those activities aligned with your culture. A tech company wanting to attract top talent may provide funding to coding boot camps, or a company that focuses on making their products green may allow employees to volunteer with an organization supporting that mission while on company time. 

Empower employees to embrace their talents. Acknowledge the uniqueness of each of your team members and support those talents as best you can. A firm created an entirely new position for one of their admin employees who had a side business of photography. They made her the internal content manager, putting her in charge of employee headshots, video interviews, and web content photography. They were able to see her talents and build her a position that not only improved her enjoyment of work but also created an exceptional benefit for the company.

Every team member is a leader. We often get caught up in titles and fall into a pattern of leadership and subordination. You will never find out who would make the next great manager unless you give that person a chance to lead. If you work in teams, let each team member have the chance to work in a leadership role, whether it be running the next meeting or managing a whole project.

Create a culture of communication. Managers who are unavailable to their teams often feel overwhelmed when it comes to the weekly meeting since the updates and questions come pouring in, leaving little time to discuss the next steps. Be available to your team, whether it be work questions or understanding what’s holding them back from performing their best. If you do this as a manager, you can encourage the same behavior within the team, creating collaboration.

Know your team’s personal goals. You never know if the entry-level employee you recently hired has a desire to work in management one day unless you ask. We all have our own short-term and long-term goals. Find out how your team’s goals align with their current position and where they want to go next. If you can help them grow within your company, then come up with a road map for their success. Maybe your new receptionist at the law firm wants to be an attorney someday. Help her gain the skills to move into being a paralegal while she goes to law school, and have a position ready for her as an attorney upon graduation. Employees who know they can grow with a company will be much more likely to stay with the company long term.

In Conclusion

Managing a team is indeed a challenging endeavor, but it is also an opportunity to foster growth, collaboration, and innovation. By understanding and appreciating the diverse backgrounds, values, and personalities of team members, a manager can create an environment where everyone feels valued and motivated. Effective communication, empathy, and a shared vision are key to overcoming the complexities of team dynamics. Ultimately, the success of a team lies in its ability to work together harmoniously towards a common goal, turning differences into strengths and challenges into opportunities.

If you are struggling in any of these areas, hiring, creating company perks, or building company culture, consultants and coaches can help. They are great at developing processes and creating employee retention at your company.