5 top tips for managing a growing team.

'The ones who think they are crazy enough to change the world are the ones who do'

Growth, it’s what every successful business strives to achieve year on year. From turnover and profit, to products and services, we all work to targets to keep our business profitable and thriving. Inevitably, as our businesses grow, so will our team.

A growing team can bring new and exciting opportunities for a business. From years of relevant experience to fresh ideas, new team members can help to push a business in the right direction and inject energy into an established team. BUT new team members also mean change, and change for many, particularly in the workplace, can be a challenge.

How will a new team member affect your current team? They have ways of working efficiently with one another; they know their role inside out, know each other’s quirks, the systems used and protocols followed, the workarounds and flexibility that are regularly needed.

With that in mind, how can you effectively grow your team and make significant changes without creating conflict and challenge?

Here are my five top tips to ensure harmony in a growing team:

1.????Communication is key

Vulnerability and uncertainty are two areas common in teams that are growing, and whilst direction and process can’t necessarily fix that, effective communication can.

Effectively communicating changes before, during, and after can help remove the uncertainty felt through any growth transitions.

Ideally, everyone should be working from the same knowledge base. By this, I mean encouraging collaboration. Making your current team part of the process can help those challenged, feel less vulnerable. Using ‘open book’ leadership and management strategies and being transparent will ensure your team understand why new members are joining, what they can bring to the business, and everyone’s part in new and collaborative targets.

Ask your team how these changes impact them, ask them to offer suggestions for positive change, ensure you have regular ‘brainstorming’ meetings. When you effectively manage the process through clear communication you can see issues coming before they become a full-on challenge.

2.????Ensure suitable systems are in place

I have already alluded to the likelihood that your team is comfortable with current systems and processes. Before you train a new team member, check whether what you have now, is still fit for purpose. With an expanding team, there is a good chance that you may quickly be outgrowing your current systems. (which could be as simple as using shared documents and spreadsheets). If you are used to a team of two or three, injecting a couple more can mean workloads suddenly become overwhelming and confusing, and that is when friction increases.

A growing team is usually a result of a growing business. It provides the perfect time to introduce a new project management tool, new systems and processes to keep workloads and team members organised, collaborative and efficient. It also allows you, as the leader and manager, to keep an overview of everyone’s workload, delegate tasks, prioritise jobs and ensure your team is working efficiently.

Teamwork , Monday.com, and Hubspot are all software examples that can keep your team on a collaborative and efficient track.

3.????Appreciate your current team

A growing team usually results from a thriving business. Your current team members are doing such an excellent job that the business is growing, and therefore you need to add extra resources, which includes further additions to the team.

When change occurs, your team may feel vulnerable and insecure. Workloads increase, new systems are introduced, and all their excellent work can be taken for granted, especially when you are focussed on a new team member or you ask your current team to train a new team member, and where additional jobs are being added to their to-do list.

I have already talked about clear communication and inclusion, and appreciation should closely follow. Be sure to recognise, thank, praise and reward team members for their efforts. When someone is doing a great job, a simple personal message of thanks can make a huge difference to wellbeing and a feeling of being valuable – even better, a small gift, perhaps treating the team to lunch on a Friday to say thank you.

When team members actively receive praise and acknowledgment, this can inspire collaboration and team spirit, which is precisely what is needed during times of change. Keep recognition consistent and straightforward and, where possible, in line with your organisational and cultural values and vision.

4.????Establish a clear corporate culture

Speaking of culture, consistently communicating the organisation’s culture, values, vision and beliefs, can really inspire team collaboration. Effective communication establishes a clear corporate culture within your team, ensures they are clear on the company’s vision and mission and understand where the business is heading and how it intends to get there.

When new team members join, be sure to onboard them with the company’s culture at the forefront of their induction, consistency is key to a strong team. Part of a collaborative culture would include you organising regular team activities outside of work and your training and development plan being at the forefront of growth. Put in place personal development plans with your team to encourage individual and group training and career development and ensure you are constantly and consistently delivering your vision.

5.????Manage conflict

In an ideal world, we are liked by all, and we enjoy the company of everyone we meet.

In reality, conflict happens, whether personally or through workplace pressure.

Conflict at work is not uncommon and a key symptom can be motivation or lack of it. Your team will likely come from diverse backgrounds; they will have varying opinions and beliefs; they will have different personalities and will have worked in different businesses with different cultures.

Conflict can lead to hostility very quickly unless managed effectively.

The theme emerging from this article is communication, inclusion and reward, and managing conflict in the workplace can be reduced by allowing everyone a voice to share their concerns. There are many other symptoms of conflict, too many to detail here. I have found that there can be an underlying feeling of resentment within organisations that the managers and leaders may not be aware of, so make sure you check in with your team regularly.

In a nutshell

Growing your team means change, and change requires effective and proactive leadership and management in all that you do and deliver through your team.

Lead by example, keep abreast of any issues that may arise, involve your team (both new and existing) in the process, communicate regularly throughout and you won’t go far wrong.

If you are looking for support with effectively leading and managing a growing team, book a discovery call with me today.