3 secrets to building an awesome team.

Your organization is more than just the products or services it provides. It goes beyond cool branding, cutting-edge tech, or fine-tuned logistics. At its core, your organization is about people. From the decision makers to the interns you’re all one team with a common goal regardless of department or title, and it takes a high level of care to build up a solid roster that produces consistent results.

At LifeSpeak, we understand the importance of keeping your employees present, productive, and thriving. We know how to help our clients create strong teams of happy employees, and we apply our expertise within our own company. These are three of our secrets to starting and maintaining an awesome team.

1. Hire great people, and empower them to do their best work. Building a high-performing team begins with hiring high-performing individuals. It’s common for us to receive more than a hundred applications when we’re looking to fill a position. Achieving results, and being humble and team-focused matters a lot to us. That’s why after shortlisting applicants, we give candidates a challenge for which they present and discuss a solution. This exercise allows candidates to demonstrate their abilities and for everyone to see if there’s a fit.
   We also value potential and stand by the notion of giving everyone their chance to shine. For example, on the LifeSpeak Product Team we chose to offer recent university grads the opportunity to own projects that normally would be led by more senior employees. These tasks involved corporate branding, B2C communications, and leading key technology projects. In doing this we’ve learned that there’s a huge payoff to allowing employees to pursue projects that develop their skills and highlight their strengths and interests.
2. Energize and motivate people by showing them how their work impacts clients and customers. Do you remember your first day at your job? Chances are you were excited and full of ideas for how you would make a difference and improve your organization’s performance. Yet we know that today only about one third of employees report being engaged at work. For two thirds of employees, somewhere along the way something was lost and their motivation was negatively affected.
   Harvard Business School professor Francesca Gino states that employees are intrinsically inspired to make the world a better place, and that organizations should leverage the social aspect of work to motivate employees. Our culture at LifeSpeak encourages all employees to be close to the people we serve. High-performing employees, and millennials in particular, are looking to for a place that can empower them to make positive change.
3. Create a space where everyone can feel comfortable, productive, and supported. By this, we don’t necessarily mean setting up trendy offices with ping-pong tables and catered lunches (although those perks wouldn’t hurt!). We believe everyone should treat each other with respect and demonstrate a genuine willingness to help wherever possible. Our managers do this everyday by serving as mentors who lead by example and ensure each employee feels valued, respected, and heard.
   It’s also important to create a work culture with true psychological safety. In order to be be fully present at work, employees need to be able to express their thoughts and personalities freely. In other words, they want to be themselves. Moreover, life doesn’t stop between the hours of 9 and 5. People shouldn’t have to put on a “work face”. Issues like caring for aging parents, dealing with financial stress, or coping with mental illness can take a toll on work performance. We strongly believe all organizations should provide appropriate resources to help employees tackle these challenges so they can be as engaged, fulfilled, and productive as possible.

Supporting your employees, even when they’re not at work

If you’re wondering how your organization can holistically assist its staff and build a thriving team, LifeSpeak is the answer. We offer over 1500 expert-led trainings on topics like parenting, professional development, money management, nutrition, and mental health. Our goal is to help your employees address their concerns anytime, anywhere, so our resources are fully accessible online in the form of videos, podcasts, and PDF tip sheets. To learn more and to see the LifeSpeak platform in action, book a demo with us today.

Originally published at LifeSpeak.