Teambuilding: 10 Tips to Improve Team Focus, Morale and Results

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November 13, 2008 - Sharon Feltham

If you're serious about improving your team's performance then at the beginning of every year plan and schedule time for each of the following activities. These activities bring your team on board; they keep the team focused, and they prevent many of the problems that undermine a team’s ability to perform.

1. Reconnect with the vision and mission
Help your team connect with the bigger picture and bigger purpose by revisiting your company’s vision and mission statement. They provide the coordinates and context for all team activity and the motivational source to drive performance. However, given that visions are never ending, they can appear unobtainable, so translate yours into a meaningful and achievable three-year vision.

2. Provide structure, clarity and direction
Allocate time to ensure everyone on your team understands the business plan and priorities for the new financial year. Plans help people understand what needs to be done to fulfill the company’s mission and what needs to happen within the next 12 months. This provides clarity and direction -- critical requirements for high-performance teams.

3. Reduce overwhelm and provide accountability
Break your 12-month plan into 90-day plans. This assists with the prioritization and targeting of time and resources, while increasing action and accountability. Ninety-day deadlines are more immediate so they focus team effort and attention.

4. Conduct a quarterly review
Each quarter, review your three-year vision; 90-day goals and progress toward your 12-month business plan objectives. Things change and goal posts move so determine if objectives and strategies are still relevant. Re-prioritize and reallocate resources where relevant.

5. Conduct team meetings
Don’t underestimate your team’s need for high-quality communication. It’s a key factor in high performance teams so make team meetings a habit. Establish a regular day and time and only reschedule in emergencies. Regular team meetings are vital to keep the team on track, motivated and focused. They enable you to communicate priorities and progress, and they assist with the early identification of problems, concerns, ideas and opportunities.

Where a team is comprised of many smaller teams, sub teams should use a “10-minute talk,” preferably before the start of work each day. A quick check in on attendance, shift changes, reallocation of work and problems from the previous day keeps everyone informed and up to date.

6. Schedule regular performance reviews
Ideally, this type of one-on-one meeting should be part of your performance appraisal process, but if you don’t have one you must schedule time to meet with every team member at least once every six months. Review their progress; discuss their performance and any issues or concerns. You should also discuss personal goals to identify appropriate developmental opportunities. Don’t ignore this, as it’s a key factor in staff satisfaction and retention. And you'll ensure each and every team member is aligned and focused on achieving team goals.

7. Take time to build relationships
Make time for regular informal one-on-one meetings with all your employees. A quick check-in on workloads, issues or concerns and small achievements builds better relationships leading to long-term loyalty. People feel valued and problems won’t escalate. Early detection prevents the “bad apple” syndrome and prevention is far less costly, time consuming and painful than the cure.

8. Improve results by building skills and knowledge
High performance teams are highly skilled teams and yet training is often the first casualty when teams get busy. Unskilled and poorly trained staff cause more problems and cost in the long term so plan ahead, designate time and allocate additional resources to ensure staff keep up to date with their professional development and technical skills.

9. Develop your team rewards and recognition plan
Involve your team in developing a team reward and recognition plan. This can include rituals such as individual awards and commendations and team events to celebrate milestones and achievements. Social events are important for morale and relationships but delegate their organization to team members -- it’s a great way to promote team building.

10. Remember the personal touch
Build morale with your personal recognition system. This should include verbal acknowledgments, informal written notes (avoid email if you can) and where appropriate, more formal letters for exceptional achievement or contribution. Keep on top of this by using a monthly or weekly bring-up system. Ask yourself “Who do I need to thank this week?”

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Sharon Feltham is an organisational development, training and development consultant and founder of Excellerate in the Bay of Plenty, New Zealand. With more than 25 years experience she supports organisations with the development of their people and the performance of their teams. She can be reached at http://www.excellerate.co.nz where you'll find free resources, tips, techniques and tools to build skills, lead, coach and develop teams with confidence.

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