How to improve the performance of your teams?

A drop in motivation, a loss of commitment, work-related discomfort, ineffective management or poorly defined objectives: these are just some of the factors that can impact on the productivity and efficiency of employees and jeopardise a company's survival. But what levers can you activate to improve your team’s performance? Here is our advice.  

Measure the performance of your teams

First of all, it is important to evaluate the performance level of your teams. This initial  diagnosis is essential for detecting potential weaknesses and their causes. To do this, define precise KPIs (key performance indicators): rate of achievement of objectives, respect of deadlines, absenteeism rate, quality of work performed, spirit of initiative, commercial results obtained, profits earned, level of productivity and operational efficiency, ability to manage tasks and time, autonomy and initiative taking, etc. This detailed assessment will also help identify the strengths and weaknesses of each employee, as well as the areas for improvement and the possible resources to be deployed to remedy the underperformance of the employees concerned.  

Ensure the well-being and development of your teams

You should remember that a happy employee will undoubtedly be more productive. The quality of life at work, individual fulfilment and the feeling of belonging are indeed powerful motivational levers which have a direct impact on operational performance. To improve employee well-being, you could, in collaboration with your human resources department, implement several changes, such as:

• Creating comfortable workspaces that are conducive to concentration and productivity.
• Maintaining a positive, caring climate and managing conflict.
• Building team spirit.
• Organising teambuilding activities to foster team cohesion and collective intelligence.
• Organising corporate events (dinners, seminars, sports activities, creative workshops, etc.).
• Conducting regular individual interviews with employees to keep abreast of their needs and expectations.
• Delivering benevolent feedback.
• Creating a close and trusting relationship with each employee.
• Establishing decent salaries and working hours; allocating vacations and breaks.
• Offering employees the possibility to work at home.
• Training employees and helping them to develop their skills and reach their career goals.

 

Value, encourage and reward teams

To ensure the commitment and efficiency of your teams on a daily basis, you must value the qualities and skills of each employee, and reward individual and collective successes. It is therefore up to the manager to thank, encourage, show gratitude, reward initiative and effort, congratulate, etc. Consider offering bonuses based on results (to reward the performance of your sales representatives, for example), gift vouchers, invitations to events, salary increases, etc.  

Adjust your management style

If the collective performance of teams is too low, this may be the result of a flawed or ineffective management style. Many management styles, including directive, participative, persuasive, delegative, etc, exist. A manager who thus exercises a directive leadership and who shows excessive authority may instead consider adopting a participative management style. With this type of management, employees are very involved in strategic decision-making, the manager plays a veritable coaching role, and all individuals are placed on an equal footing. This horizontal management mode can therefore be very effective for guaranteeing the motivation of teams in the long term and for boosting performance. In addition, the role of the manager is to inspire leadership, demonstrating on a daily basis interpersonal skills such as active listening, optimism, enthusiasm, dynamism and emotional and relational intelligence. To learn more, read our article: "The 10 essential qualities of a good manager".  

Adopt an agile management style

To maximise team performance, it is recommended that you adopt an agile management style, which seeks to optimise every aspect of project management to boost operational performance. Agile management emphasises transversal and transparent communication, quick decision-making, and encourages creativity, innovation, collective intelligence, adaptability, interaction, initiative taking and collaborative work. To set up an agile organisation, the manager must train teams in agile methods and tools (e.g. Scrum, Kanban, Lean method) and integrate them into a continuous improvement process. Using the SMART method (simple, measurable, achievable, realistic, temporally defined) to reach the set objectives is also key.  

Create a strong and engaging common vision

Creating and conveying a clear and inspiring vision is another essential criterion to boost performance at work. The local manager must therefore take care to communicate strategic orientations with conviction and enthusiasm to ensure the support of teams. In addition, the corporate culture must be clearly defined and shared with employees. Indeed, strong and meaningful values (ethics, integrity, sustainable development, know-how, etc.) will generate a sense of pride, belonging and commitment to the work, which will contribute to strengthening motivation and productivity. Moreover, if the underperformance of the teams persists for a long time and threatens the profitability of the company, it will be necessary to call upon an interim manager. This high-flying leader, with solid industry expertise, has all the human qualities and managerial skills needed to successfully manage, motivate and unite teams. At WAYDEN, our interim managers, true leaders, know how to activate the performance levers necessary to preserve the competitiveness of the organisation.