Experts in Team Building, Team Development and Staff Conference Organising
Remember Bruce Tuckman’s wise words about new teams are as true now as they were 50 years ago: A new team will go through 4 stages of development Forming, Storming, Norming, Performing.
Having a high performing team does require all members to function as a unit but using this extreme a method to make this point is not necessary!
If you find yourself leading a new team here are 5 ways to get your gang performing from the outset: Read more »
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Follow us on TwitterSummer brings lighter days, not just in terms of sunlight but also in workload as clients and colleagues take their annual holiday, here are 10 tips to get the most from the next few weeks:
One idea to help your team is to buy ice creams for your team, spontaneously, one sunny afternoon
For yourself: Read more »
Make an enquiry Become a contact on Linkedin Follow us on TwitterKnowledge is a serious business, dominated by cerebral academics whereas the world of play can conjure up images of children, clowns and, for a few unfortunate souls born in the seventies, Timmy Mallett.
Reviewing play, against competencies
It’s a courageous leader that suggests that their team spend a day away from work, ‘playing’. Increasingly research suggests that play is not in fact the antithesis of learning – it could be the most effective way to develop people and improve behaviours.
Here are five reasons why: Read more »
Make an enquiry Become a contact on Linkedin Follow us on TwitterBeing a team in name alone is not enough. Having the right people on board, in the right roles and led by a strong leader will all help but it’s the day-to-day behaviours that make a truly great team.
Tuckman’s Forming, Storming, Norming, Performing team development model is as true today as it was in 1965.
So here are 7 day-to-day issues that make a truly great team: Read more »
Make an enquiry Become a contact on Linkedin Follow us on TwitterEmployee engagement is undoubtedly one of the key management phrases of the moment. So it should be, with Hay Group research reporting that just 15% of the workforce is ‘highly motivated’.
Aim for the Virtuous Circle rather than the Vicious Circle, this can positively impact productivity & profitability.
Blessing White’s 2011 Employee Engagement Report surveyed over 10,000 employees and found that 18% wanted greater clarity about their role whilst 14% wanted regular and specific feedback on performance. Both results suggest that if managers were to give regular face to face feedback morale would rise.
Gallup has found that engaged workgroups show stronger productivity and profitability, while safety incidents and absenteeism are reduced. They have calculated that these engaged organisations can achieve 3.9 times the earnings per share (EPS) growth rate compared with organisations with lower engagement in the same industry. Read more »
Make an enquiry Become a contact on Linkedin Follow us on TwitterA team building away day presents a unique opportunity to achieve a number of outcomes.
Getting out of the office on a team building away day can be a great way of motivating team members
On occasions the potential of time away from ringing phones, interrupted conversations and pinging emails can be lost due to rushed planning, unrealistic expectations or simply a lack of energy and fun within the agenda.
A good team building away day should achieve some (not all) of the following: Read more »
Make an enquiry Become a contact on Linkedin Follow us on TwitterIn the 21st century we might find ourselves in multiple teams spread across different countries, from diverse backgrounds and alongside people with distinct areas of expertise.
This group is definitely not working towards a common goal!
These groups might be organised or informal, led or self governing, labelled as teams, work groups, families or bearing no name. The factor that makes a team is not its name or its membership. The one thing that turns a group of individuals into a true team is their common sense of purpose.
Whether they are hockey players trying score more points than the opposing side or a business looking to improve profitability, these collections of people only become a true team from the moment they agree on the same desired outcome.
“A group of people working towards a shared goal”
So, if you and your colleagues don’t share the same purpose, you are not a team. Yet…
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This blog is an extract from the book: ’Teams – A short guide‘ (click link for a free preview of the book)
Make an enquiry Become a contact on Linkedin Follow us on TwitterWill your team be the same next year?
No. 2: Recognise and celebrate what has been achieved this past year.
If you are fortunate to be part of a stable and established team, don’t rest on your laurels. All that effort you’ve put in to team building could be lost within moments of the bells tolling the start of 2011. Here’s why: Read more »
Make an enquiry Become a contact on Linkedin Follow us on TwitterA recent survey of surveys indicates that response rates to engagement surveys are dropping. One company reported that just 30% of staff bothered to complete their most recent employee opinion survey.
Responding to a staff survey properly is very important and will impact the success of future surveys and staff morale.
When asked why, employees cite two primary reasons:
• The questionnaires are too long
• Nothing seems to happen with the results
Not the case at Cambridge Water where for three years they’ve been working with Fresh Tracks to monitor employee engagement. Read more »
Make an enquiry Become a contact on Linkedin Follow us on TwitterResearch suggests that staff resignations could make or break your organisation. If that’s not news to you the remedy might be.
PwC says firms underestimate the value of retaining their existing employees
With so much talk of recession and job losses, it may come as a surprise to learn that one of the greatest present threats to British business is resigning staff.
In a recent study PwC have estimated staff turnover can account for £42 billion in lost revenue to UK employers. They base their calculations on the cost of successfully recruiting and training new staff equating to one year’s salary per role.
Others have estimated that it can cost up to two and a half times salary to replace key leaders, taking into account the fact that additional staff might follow their resigning manager along with valuable customers. Then add the likelihood that some new recruits won’t work out and staff turnover starts to keep managing directors awake at night.
In the UK average staff turnover is 10.4% of employees, much higher than 7% in the US and more than double both France and Germany at just 5%.
So how can you retain existing employees? Read more »
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