Embracing And Investing in Your Team in the New Year
94% of employees state they would consider staying at a company if they felt the company invested in them and valued them. Not only does this level of investment and engagement reduce turnover rates - one of the largest operating costs for companies - but it increases team productivity.
It’s simple: someone feels valued, so they feel happier coming to work, so they are more excited about what they can do, and so they are more productive.
The question then becomes, how can you invest in your team in meaningful ways? We all know that culture building takes more than happy hours, ping-pong tables, or other random company get-togethers. Culture building requires intention and quite a bit of managerial energy.
Here are three simple, but effective ways to embrace your team and show them you are invested in them:
Critical Feedback Times
Probably one of the most clarifying and highest ROI initiatives is engaging in Critical Feedback Times. Jack Welch referred to these at a company meeting while he was at GE. CFTs are the reverse of a company town hall. During Town Halls, leadership shares company goals, updates, initiatives, and other policy announcements with employees. These are great opportunities to keep employees in the loop and connected to leadership’s vision.
On the flip side, it is essential for leadership to understand the day-to-day of employees. Employees are your on-the-ground intelligence. They are the ones executing initiatives and are the ones with insight into the inefficiencies, team issues, and gaps. Holding CFT meetings provides an open table for employees to talk directly with high-level managers about their perspectives, and their feedback on how the company is doing. These meetings, when done properly, can provide a lot of clarity - or at least begin conversations around how to improve. They can be done quarterly for large teams or biannually for small and medium groups.
Budget For Learning
Setting aside a small budget for employees to take courses and certifications is the easiest route to investing in employees. During performance and goal reviews, managers can discuss with employees which skills they need to expand, and from there, employees can research-related courses and certifications. The employee feels valued and the company gets a more knowledgeable employee.
Another learning route to explore is bringing in guest speakers for intensives or lunch n learns. This is often done for leadership training but can easily be expanded to employees. Bringing in experts on personal finance, team collaboration (like the team at Auxo), or positivity and productivity (like Michelle Gielan) can quickly provide employees with actionable knowledge.
Empower Your Team With Trust
A 2021 study found that 59% of managers still micromanage their employees. We all know micromanagement is bad for business - it slows down goals, decreases morale, and increases turnover rates. Embrace your team by empowering them. Trust your team to get their job done. This is easier to accomplish when you have efficient processes in place and easy ways for team members to collaborate. Efficient (and documented) processes give employees the freedom to execute tasks while giving managers the confidence that the execution will be up to par. It also provides management with clear KPIs to discuss if execution is lacking.
Let 2023 be about embracing your team so that you can conquer your goals and grow with confidence.
If you’re looking for more ideas on how to invest in your team or you’d like help with one of these three initiatives, reach out to me and my team here.