The start of the New Year can be an interesting and challenging time of year for business owners and employee’s alike.  Some people return to the workforce refreshed and enthusiastic about resuming the previous year’s assignments, while for others the break has been a time of reflection and reconsideration resulting in a change of direction.  It is often hard to sustain a strong sense of team unity when there are potentially disruptive staff changes occurring, either through resignations, dismissal or transferrals.  These individuals need to then be replaced, resulting in further work for those who are handed the responsibility of recruiting them and also bringing them up to speed on company policies and procedures.  

Although initially it may seem like a superfluous and costly exercise, dedicating half a working day towards focusing specifically on team building can often bring benefits that are instantly beneficial but difficult to define.  Altering your company’s environment from an individual-within-a-group mentality to a cohesive team approach requires cooperation from employees at all levels of the company, junior to senior, contract to permanent.  Redefining goals can help refocus your team for the year ahead, as staff may not always realise the impact their individual contribution has to the overall success of the business until it is outlined in front of them.  Discussing the previous year’s achievements can remind people of what they have the potential to achieve when they work together, helping to motivate them throughout the year ahead.  

The dynamic changes considerably as team sizes increase.  Small teams can benefit from being tight-knit and efficient, as individual tasks are often interdependent on their co-workers progress and inadequacies are easy to pinpoint.  As a team increases in size, the likelihood of encountering difficult or uncooperative employees can increase.  It is important to counter-act this behaviour as soon as possible, or it can bring down the team through the ‘bad apple’ effect.  Efforts can be made from the outset to avoid these types of employees and recruitment agencies are experts at ‘smelling a rat’ when it comes to suspect applications.  An unstable work history, coupled with an ambiguous lack of references are an instant giveaway if there is no reasonable explanation, although often a gut feeling can be the first sign of concern.

Building a sense of trust within a team is an essential ingredient for success.

Building a sense of trust within a team is an essential ingredient for success.  In an environment where communication is open and team members are able to rely on their colleagues and managers, small hurdles will tend to be solved quickly rather than escalating unnecessarily.  While it is not possible to control or accurately predict the economic or environmental fluctuations that we are likely to see in 2006, your business will benefit by having your team united and encouraged to make the best of what comes their way this year.  Remember, there’s no ‘i’ in team!