Enabling Your Teams To Thrive And Succeed

Today’s employees, especially in the post-pandemic workplace, are more self-aware. The pandemic shutdown gave workers a chance to re-evaluate their priorities. Now, they are seeking more flexibility, empowerment, growth and mental wellbeing. Employees’ new definition of success is dependent more on finding meaning and purpose in their work.

Talent shortage across the U.S. has hit unprecedented levels. In a survey conducted by the National Federation of Independent Business in January 2022, it was reported that 47% of employers and hiring managers who were interviewed said that they are having increased difficulties in filling the job openings.

Amid these circumstances, employers must understand the employees’ needs, and rethink certain policies to attract, hire and retain the best talent.

Here are some ways employers can help their teams thrive at work and eventually lead them to success:

1. Understanding employees needs

Employees are your partners in success. They enable your business to move forward. It is essential to offer them an environment that helps them to work at the optimum level. It could be as simple as giving them the flexibility to work on their preferred hours, on work-from-home or a hybrid model, etc.

It would also be a good incentive for employees if managers offer their high-performing team members a gym membership just to show appreciation. Holding frequent social events, awards ceremonies, celebrating work anniversaries, etc. where managers and employees get a chance to interact with each other in a more candid setting is also important.

2. Adequate training for employees

It is the manager’s responsibility to ensure that their employees receive adequate training for any new software or application used on an enterprise-wide level. An employee could be extremely talented; however, they just may not be aware of how to navigate around the system their organization has put in place. This would lead to wasted work time and may disrupt the business.

Therefore, any new employee should receive appropriate orientation on how to use the business’s systems. It is equally important that current employees are kept up to date if there is any change in the systems and applications.

3. Set clear business goals

Aligning work with goals is important for each team member. This helps employees be laser-focused on what all needs to be achieved and the steps that need to be taken to achieve them. The absence of this leads to low employee morale and motivation to complete work on time, disrupting business and restricting success. Not having a set goal may also sometimes drive talented employees away from your business.

There should be monthly and yearly objectives for teams against which each member of the team should be regularly audited and their performance measured. Furthermore, managers could reward the employees (as well as themselves) if a certain goal is completed in its set time frame. This would further drive success as well as create an amiable environment at the workplace because, many employees look forward to the reward.

4. Reskilling and upskilling your workforce

Employees today, seek opportunities to learn at an organization and rate it as one of the top reasons they would take up a job. Employers that create personalized career paths for their workers and address their need for continuous learning and professional development are rated among the most preferred employers. Individualized upskilling initiatives do not only help employees’s growth and development, but also enables employers to fill the skills gap.

Also Read: Team Leadership Skills that Develop High-Performing Teams