Bringing the team members of a department together can sometimes be a tricky business. You may wish for people to get along and work together, but you can hardly force them to like each other. During the running of your business, you’re sure to encounter at least one conflict between different personalities. This is normal, but it can be soothed.
So, how can you ensure your team works together well despite not being guaranteed to like each other? Well, you give them every single reason for that to happen. Furthermore, it’s important that you avoid artifice. Some offices might hold a ‘friendship day’ in which we have to say something we appreciate about the person next to us. You’d think this would be a very saccharine and overly enthusiastic approach for a team leader to take, but it happens.
How to bring your team together
So, how can you make the most of this and help your team gain that family feel without forcing them in a strange social direction? Believe it or not, achieving this is actually more than possible. It just takes a little time, energy and consideration to get things right. With those three things, the following advice will aid you in your approach:
Special Work Days
Special work days can help everyone come together in a manner that is wholesome and often co-operative. Now, the introduction to our article gave an example of a negative ‘special work day’ that might be seen as artificial, but they can be pulled off well with the right leadership. For instance, ‘bring your child to work day’ or ‘no work uniform’ days (in certain industries) can be fantastic for bringing your staff together.
Even something simple, such as celebrating the birthday of a colleague, can be nice. Purchasing a few cakes and a few party poppers can help them feel special, and it gives your staff a reason to bond. Now, this is the point where we suggest that celebrating days like this aren’t a ‘tool’ to bring people together in a measured manner. You should have fun with these decisions too. We conduct special work days not because they might convince staff to perform more overtime this week, but because it’s nice to build up that atmosphere. It helps your staff feel pride in their workplace. It also allows them to feel as if they matter, and are noticed. If you can achieve that, then you’ve invested in your company culture with care and fellow feeling.
A Great HR Department
Let us continue by suggesting that despite the first example given, helping staff feel noticed is never a substitute for actually listening to them. Blowing out candles on a cake is great, but if your HR department isn’t taking an accusation of sexual harassment seriously, then you’re unlikely to move forward as well as possible.
A great HR department uses confidentiality as its baseline. It also becomes the enforcer for the behaviors at work. It’s also important to keep this department strong without militarizing it. An off-color or somewhat clumsy joke said by a staff member should not lead them to be sat in front of a panel lamenting their entire career decision thus far. However, nuance and contextual thinking must be applied at all times. It must also apply to every single one of your staff. A staff member must never feel unable to speak about their treatment at the hands of a manager.
This seems like common sense so far, but you’d be surprised how easy it can be for companies to forget the basics when it comes to HR management. Furthermore, without sounding insensitive, it can be easy to make your corporate culture too limiting and aggressively regulated, to the point where silliness in the office is interpreted as something it’s not. For instance, light banter in a friendly context could be taken as pure insults by someone who isn’t sure how to take it, and that can sometimes leave your HR department at a loss. If staff aren’t taken care of, they will feel uncared for. If your HR department is overbearing, this can limit natural and regular friendships from developing between people. At some point we have to have absolute no-tolerance policies for racism, bullying, sexual harassment, homophobia or bigoted remarks in the slightest, while also leaving room open for clumsy socializing (that of course shares nothing with the prior examples).
With clear policy outlines, trained staff, and positivity as a standard, you will be sure to move through this social minefield with care and grace.
Award Shows
Award shows can be a fantastic means of celebrating the best workers in your business. This can be a lowkey affair where you hand out prizes during an afternoon of the office, or you might book a venue, book a caterer, and have your staff come, suited and booted, to your main event.
This can help everyone come together, enjoy a glass of champagne, and reflect on the business year. It can also help you add a little sense of occasion to the end of a calendar year, often near Christmas. Just be careful with how much alcohol is provided, and just what songs the DJ plays. You don’t want this getting out of hand.
That being said, sometimes these awards can be quite prestigious, and may lead your staff to work even harder this year. For instance, Dominoes Pizza often host their quick pizza-making championships in which staff compete for a trophy. Now, that might seem a little overbearing, and it is, but it can’t hurt to organize a little fun or to mention those golden stars in your business you feel deserve the attention. With a few prizes or a raffle to bring everyone together, fun can be had, and you can seal the end of the year with fellow feeling.
Christmas Festivities
Everyone loves a good Christmas celebration, and curating one for the office can be a great use of your time. Of course, the first step is to make sure it is run appropriately. It’s simply not on for your managers or leaders to be overly inebriated and setting a bad example. But, it can be nice to do something special for this occasion.
You might decide to switch up your venue with a nearby business in order to provide a wonderful Christmas party. If you run a bowling alley, for instance, you might give a free Christmas party to those working in a local restaurant, and hope they provide the same for you in your dealings.
No matter what you select, a few lovely additions can be a great idea. From a fun raffle to corporate crackers that help everyone get together and spread the love, this most wonderful time of year is a great means in which to bring everyone together, and to close the corporate calendar until you return once more.
Celebrating Employees
Celebrating employees is also a great place to start. You don’t have to wait for Christmas to notice them. Employee of the Month, or treating your team to an experience after they smash sales records for that month can be a lovely idea.
Of course, you don’t have to only celebrate employees simply because they are contributing to your business. If a team member is leaving after ten years, you might leave them with a lovely parting gift from all of the team. This can help you show your appreciation for those that stayed with you over a relatively long period.
Perhaps a staff member has recently become even more qualified as part of your placement program, and can now aid with specific complex projects. That’s something to notify the team of as well, even through a simple congratulation in your weekly newsletter. When you celebrate employees in this way, you let them know that you’re paying attention to the path of their career. More importantly, it shows you’re rooting for them. After all, why wouldn’t you wish to root for those who dedicate their lives to working for your brand?
Lunch/Smoking Areas
Sometimes, it’s not a major event or award you have to give out to bring people together. Sometimes, it’s just letting people enjoy their natural workday with a few normal and welcomed accommodations. For instance, ensuring the workplace is well ventilated and cleaned can be a great idea, because it helps the environment feel comfortable and well-utilized.
Furthermore, ensuring that your communal areas are well kept can be a great idea. You may decide to designate a welcome common room for everyone to eat their lunch in if required, or instead of banishing your smokers to the front doors (for other people to walk through the smoke cloud), you may provide them a small, sheltered area outside of your building for them to safely enjoy their break. This way, you design the office to work for your team, not against them, and certainly not in spite of them.
With this advice, we’re sure you’ll be able to bring your team together – without the artifice.
*DISCLOSURE – This post has been written by an outside source.
