Improved communication opens to door to build teamwork. Often, as a business grows, the addition of more people leads to problems with communication.
These can range from costly misunderstanding to not knowing exactly what function another department performs in an organization. You see this when a business outsources a task that someone in-house could have performed.
Growing businesses are like puzzles where the pieces are constantly changing. New hires and new projects can lead to confusion. It can be a challenge to keep up with it all. Not knowing can hurt productivity.
To build teamwork, some go about it in a big way with a special retreat. Leaders are taken out of the office and may have to face obstacle courses in nature. While these are fun and allow people to know one another in different ways, they can be costly and infrequent.
Does it make sense to instead make building teamwork an ongoing practice and one that wouldn’t require a large time commitment?
A process that creates these connections can happen when your executive or management teams meet. All attendees are required to make a brief presentation about a two things:
- Share a function of your department that some many not know. This could even be a mention of why a certain time of year is very busy. You give an insider perspective about your team. Don’t assume people know.
- Share a fun fact about one of your employees. This could be related to tenure, a strong performance, or a hobby.
Later, your meeting attendees share the information with their teams.
The presentation doesn’t need to be long. You’re giving a snapshot and not a speech. Many can accomplish the update in 60 to 90 seconds.
This investment of time allows everyone to know more about what people do on the job and who they are as people. These two things are invaluable as you build teamwork.
It’s about making connections between those who pass in the hallway. When you know more about them, you trust them more. When you understand their work, you’ll gain a shortcut when you need their help. All of this improves communication and productivity.
It’s not the same when employees feel like they’re surrounded by strangers. You may not go the extra mile for someone from another department because you don’t know him or her and or their job. You don’t develop shorthand with strangers.
Invest the time to build teamwork and the culture of your organization.
