Because the job market is going through a “Great Renegotiation,” job seekers have more choices and options than ever. We’re finding that candidates want to work for organizations that:
- Have values that align with theirs
- Offer flexibility to create a better work-life balance
- Provide supportive & authentic leadership
- Strive to be a part of something meaningful
Overall, individuals want to be a part of a high-performing team.
What exactly is a high-performing team?
A high-performing team is not defined from a purely operational and output standpoint—“meeting goals” and “increasing revenue”—but also describes a team that continuously motivates individuals to bring their best and engage in meaningful work every day.
That’s not a dynamic that can be built on numbers alone.
After spending nearly 20 years in Human Resources and now working in HR Interim Solutions Recruiting, I have learned the 5 keys to building a high-performing team:
1. TRUST
The foundation of a High Performing Team is trust. Trust is built through forming genuine relationships. Creating an environment in which trusting relationships can be built does not happen by accident. Leaders must be purposeful in creating opportunities in everyday work to connect to individuals at a human level, build routines for team connection, facilitate open communication, and make time for celebrating milestones and wins together!
One thing I do with my team at Versique is to begin our team meetings by taking turns sharing “a personal best and business best” highlights. This allows each person to share something important to them in their personal life, as well as an accomplishment at work, to further facilitate getting to know colleagues on a deeper level. This acknowledges and allows team members to bring their full selves to work every day.
2. Alignment
Having a clear purpose and vision that all team members connect to is monumental in establishing high-performing teams. If your employees understand and are engaged in your company’s vision, they’ll be far more likely to give their best performance and achieve success.
At Versique, we believe that “People make it possible.” We share a common vision that “People are the ultimate business advantage” and understand that trusting partnerships with clients and candidates is paramount in how we approach everything we do.
We see people as versatile and unique, each with the capacity for greatness. Our recruiters take time to get to know people and their past experiences, and even more importantly, learn what they are most passionate about as they consider what is next in their career journey. We listen to the needs of individuals and clients, and then our team rallies to unleash the potential for all!
3. Communication
It’s probably not surprising that frequent and effective communication is on the list of critical aspects for high-performing teams. It starts with establishing clarity of company and individual goals–not only what success looks like, but how to be successful with regular check-ins on progress made against those goals.
Creating channels for communication and routines for team and one-on-one dialogue will help support a culture of open communication for all to feel informed and able to share their ideas and feedback. In addition to connecting personally, my team provides the opportunity for each employee to share issues that are impacting them.
These check-ins facilitate discussion amongst the team and an opportunity to work together to take actions to address issues and find solutions together. But having a team meeting on the calendar is, in itself, not sufficient. Companies should ensure they are being creative and leveraging multiple channels of communication.
4. Collaboration
Creating opportunities for open communication, including discussing pain points, opportunities for continuous improvement, and working together as a team to find resolutions, is all under the umbrella of collaboration.
Collaboration is one of the best strategies to improve the way your team works together to solve problems. As a leader, it’s important to set an example by encouraging and appreciating diverse thinking amongst your team. New ideas lead to more innovation, efficient processes and increased awareness for everyone involved. Ultimately, it can help the team and organization succeed!
5. Fun
Celebrate milestones and wins. In short, make time for FUN!
We all get busy and have big goals to achieve, but taking time to recognize individual performance, celebrate team wins, and have fun is critical and links back to all of the previous characteristics of building a high-performing team!
Get input from your team on what they appreciate most and bring variety to the team-building activities–whether that be fun internal competitions, a team walk, a team lunch outing, board games, lawn bowling, sporting events, etc. The key is for leaders to schedule it—make it happen!
Create possibilities with the right culture
As leaders, we should assess our own effectiveness relative to these 5 characteristics frequently to ensure we are creating the environment necessary for a high-performing team to thrive. Regardless of how challenging the goal, with the right culture in place, all teams can succeed!
If you’re seeking support in evaluating the current state of your organization/team culture, Versique is here to partner with you. I would love to have a conversation to share my insights or explore leveraging one of our talented HR consultants. Let us provide for you an Organization Effectiveness Assessment and create actionable steps to drive meaningful change for your organization. Contact my team today.
