Your staff are literally the engine that keeps your business moving forward. While owners or senior managers will drivers the business towards success. Your team are the power that allows for the business to grow.

Thus, it is important you are able to foster an environment where your staff are able to perform to the best of their abilities. In today’s competitive marketplace, you must constantly engage with and mould your staff, from the superstar to those in junior positions. This will make it easier to recruit and then retain your key team members.

Get to know your team

It is interesting to think that most of our adult lives are spent at work, alongside our colleagues. To say that not spending the time to get to know them and build a proper relationship would be a failure, is an understatement.

Many people want to feel their colleagues and managers see them as more than a cog, an interchangeable piece in the machine. Show them that they mean more than this by taking the time to understand what makes them tick, what their goals are and where they see themselves. By spending the time getting to know them, you will be demonstrating you care about them on a deeper level than just as an employee.

Open communication lines

A common reason why employees, both locally and remotely, decide to leave a company is due to the lack of communication or support. Regardless of what stage of their employment they are at or experience level, it is critical that there are clear and effective means of communication throughout your business.

From the beginning, clearly outline your expectations, workflow pathways and feedback methods. By establishing this structure early on, your team will be able to work it into their day-to-day operations without any issues. It will also give them a good picture of how they can progress through the company as it will provide them with the key KPIs they will need to meet.

Celebrate success

Everyone loves getting a pat on the back or a well done from time-to-time. So make sure you regularly find ways to celebrate the success of your team throughout the entire company.

There are a number of ways you can achieve this, whether you bring it up in a Monday morning meeting, send out a company-wide email or privately take them aside. Whichever you choose, try to keep it as consistent as possible, so not to show favouritism and risk alienating certain people.

Additionally, do not overlook the small wins, as they are just as important as the large, company changing successes.

Get rid of those lagging

This may sound harsh, but it is an important part of building and retaining a high performing team. Do not be afraid to cut those employees that are lagging behind.

Firstly, people who are performing poorly will be negatively impacting your business’ performance. Ultimately, this will impact your bottom line. Secondly, it will affect the attitude and performance of everyone around them. If they see that someone who is constantly dragging the chain not being punished, it might snowball and create a ‘who cares’ atmosphere.

Empower

There is nothing worse than having a micromanaging boss hovering over you and stunting your growth. In order to get the most out of your team, you need to empower them to grow and make the position their own.

So if you want to entice your employees to grow, give them the opportunities to manage their own assignment, maybe mentor another or show them the pathway to success within the company. By empowering them to grow, you will be increasing the likelihood they want to stay on and make the position their own.

Additional opportunities

The best and brightest employees will always be seeking to improve, both professionally and personally. You need to encourage this and foster it.

Encourage your team to broaden their knowledge, even if it is on company time. Allow them to take a day off for an industry event, pay for an online training course or constantly challenge them with new work. Not only will this demonstrate your long-term commitment to them but it will also bring new capabilities to your business.

These principles apply for all your employees, regardless of how big your team is or how many offices you have. The key to your business reaching the vision you have set out is your staffs’ commitment and willingness to get behind you as a leader.

The best way to do this is by simply keeping your finger on the pulse and regularly engaging with your team. If you are able to do this, it will be easier to train and retain your key staff, thus, growing a team that is capable of pushing the business forward.

At Deployed, we strive to help Australian and New Zealand businesses grow strong and productive remote teams. If you already have a team, let us know if there is anything we can do to increase their abilities. If not, get in touch today and let’s have a chat about how a remote team can improve your business.