Make the Best of the Team You Have
The HR Professionals at Achilles Group invest time, expertise and resources as we cultivate leadership capabilities within our client businesses. And, just as in nature, different seasons of business require adjustments in how we approach the challenge of nurturing the roots of competency and promoting healthy growth.
Cultivate Growth in Employees
To enhance your team’s effectiveness and productivity, it’s crucial to focus on cultivating growth in your employees. It’s not always necessary to incur additional expenses by hiring more staff. Instead, invest in developing the talents and skills of your current team members. This approach can uncover their untapped potential and transform your existing team into a powerful and self-sufficient force. At times if you take a good look at what’s growing in the garden and add in the right nutrients to the right area your crops will flourish without the need to add more stalks.
Last year corn production was at 200 bushels per acre in Iowa while in Texas the production was 122 bushels per acre. Now, if it was your business, would you rather produce 1,000 bushels off of 5 acres, or 8 acres with 3 more employees added onto your costs for the same output?
Steps to cultivate growth in employees to increase production and profits:
- Establish clear roles and responsibilities: Start by clearly defining each team member’s role and responsibilities. This can help avoid confusion and conflicts and ensure that everyone understands what is expected of them. Be specific and detailed in describing each person’s role and how it fits into the team’s overall goals and objectives.
- Create or review job descriptions: Along with defining roles, create or review written job descriptions for each position. This should include the key responsibilities, required skills and qualifications, and any other important details. This can help ensure that everyone is on the same page about the expectations for each position.
- Identify skills and knowledge gaps: Assess the skills and knowledge of each team member and identify any gaps that may be impacting team performance. This can help you determine what additional training or development opportunities are needed.
- Offer career progression opportunities: Provide opportunities for team members to grow and develop their careers within the organization. This can include training and development programs, mentorship opportunities, and promotions. By offering a clear path for career progression, you can help motivate and retain your top performers.
- Provide feedback and coaching: Provide regular feedback and coaching to help team members improve their performance and reach their full potential. This can include setting goals, providing constructive feedback, and recognizing their achievements.
- Foster open communication: Encourage open communication within the team and create a culture where everyone feels comfortable sharing their thoughts and ideas. This can help foster innovation and creativity and ensure that everyone is working towards the same goals.
- Foster collaboration: Encourage collaboration and alignment among team members to ensure that everyone is working together towards common goals. This can include team-building activities, regular team meetings, and open communication channels.
Assess functional team design: Optimize the utilization and capabilities of your current team. Plant people where they can make a difference, add in some equipping nutrients, water with coaching and continuous feedback and you will be on the way to producing abundant crops without the need to add new people costs.
Cross Training and Utilization of Key Employees
One of the best ways to promote healthy growth in the fields is through crop rotation. Changing up your planting patterns helps the soil to stay nutrient rich. In business terms this is called cross training and cross utilization of key employees. We gain team capacity as the individual experiences growth and development. These efforts lead to increased productivity, better outcomes, and a more engaged and motivated team.
Take the time to position, assess, and cultivate growth in your team so people are placed in the right spot to grow and to contribute to your overall profitability. At Achilles Group, we guide leaders in both the day-to-day decisions and in strategic planning to position your people for maximum impact on your profitability.
As your trusted advisors, we are an accessible and responsive extension of your team and work to make a difference in your business at an exceptional value.
Also related:
