How to Help Your Employees Feel More Like a Team
There are many reasons why some employees do not feel like they are part of a team – even when they are physically right next to each other. It could very well be that there are some highly competitive personalities within the group that are more out to better themselves or get themselves noticed than push the team as a whole in a forward motion. Or it could be that they feel they aren’t relevant or are insignificant to the situation at hand - due to always being passed over in conversation and not ever being heard.
This is why it is important to make sure that you engage with all of your employees. Those who feel left out and not a part of the team, in general, will either stop trying or pull away altogether, leaving you with a void that then requires filling.
#1 Set team goals and delegate to employee strengths
It is important to set team goals to get a group of individuals working together. However, it is likely that they will all be working at different speeds and capabilities. To get the best from any team of individuals, you should already know their strengths. Delegating work in this way to everyone on your team or getting certain individuals to work together should also make the work come together on cue.
#2 Encourage communication between workers
Of course, to get a team to work in this way, you will have to encourage communication between team members. This is even more relevant to the modern way of working, as you could find that some, if not all, team members are not actually under the same roof, the same state, or even the same country. This is where it is a good idea to have an employee experience platform such as Simpplr that supports employee engagement, opens communication channels, and provides access to data that will be required when aspiring to reach any work-based goals.
#3 Take time to brainstorm ideas together
To make your team members feel a part of the business, you must involve them whenever you can. This could be at the point of product conception, in working out a product launch, or at the start of manufacture.
After all, it is likely that you have hired these people because of their individual talents and expertise; bringing their ideas to the table could, if nothing else, provide you with a viewpoint that you would have otherwise missed without them. Of course, you may find that these brainstorming sessions are held via a video link due to employees’ physical location and time zones.
Final thoughts
You need to make sure that you are talking to each of your team members and guiding them in their work by playing to their strengths. This will not only have them providing you with their best quality work but will also provide them with a sense of purpose and fulfillment. Encourage your workers to communicate. Building friendships and camaraderie will help them work together and support one another. This can be used to your advantage when you get them to put their heads together and brainstorm situations and projects for various scenarios.
