Building an in-house team that not only thinks, but also produces and expands your business without independent thought: Strategies and techniques.
Expanding Business Teams for Growth
At the BERI AND DO: NEXT LEVEL conference, Nina Nikanorova, Marketing Director and CEO of the online service Bitrix24 in Belarus, shared her insights on building teams that foster growth in businesses. Here are five practical suggestions from her talk to help organizations attract and develop talent that boosts their bottom line.
Leverage Employee Mindsets for Enhanced Performance
Nina Nikanorova divides employees into three categories based on their attitudes towards work and interaction with colleagues: Trolley Drivers, Hedonists, and Partners. Understanding these groupings can help managers identify potential hires and improve the performance of current team members.
Trolley Drivers are 'victims of circumstance' who dislike their work, come to the office only to clock in, and do not analyze their day-to-day activities. On the other hand, Hedonists prioritize comfort, preferring to socialize and relax rather than immerse themselves in tasks. Partners, however, are goal-oriented and proactive, interacting with those who contribute to achieving results. Potential hires should show signs of being Partners. If a 'Trolley Driver' is already on the team, Nina advises that roles evolve over time, and a leader can help such employees grow into effective contributors.
Focus on Hiring Value-Added Employees
In the year 2025, corporate hiring practices will prioritize contributing to metrics over 'good guys.' Market leaders will seek employees who justify their place on the team by either generating revenue, improving processes, or reducing costs, sidelining cultural alignment and soft skills. To identify the right candidates, a job role persona, detailed profile, onboarding track, cross-functional matrix, project load, and digitized key processes can be put in place, helping standardize expectations and assimilate new hires.
Promote Employee Proactivity
Proactivity is critical for a self-growing team. Nina recommends allowing employees the freedom to take action, assigning them responsibility for their decisions. Instead of approaching tasks from the perspective of 'I need to,' encourage a mindset of 'I want to.' This approach builds proactive employees that help drive the team forward.
Foster Individual and Collective Goal Setting
Setting measurable goals provides a clear objective, enabling both the company and employees to focus on critical tasks. To make goals accessible to everyone, Nina suggests conducting regular strategic sessions, meetings, and utilizing motivational systems and task trackers to monitor progress and adjust plans as needed.
Cultivate Motivation to Combat Laziness
Laziness is not necessarily a character flaw but a conscious decision to avoid unnecessary tasks. To motivate team members, Nina believes in offering the 'right reward.' This could include recognition, the opportunity to reach personal ambitions, or monetary incentives. Managers must understand that what motivates one individual may differ from another, and the 'motivating carrot' must be strategically placed accordingly.
By applying these five lifehacks, businesses can build and develop a team that grows alongside their organization and contributes significantly to its success.
- In alignment with the shift towards value-added employees, futuristic hiring practices will favor individuals who generate revenue, improve processes, or reduce costs in 2025, relegating cultural alignment and soft skills to secondary importance.
- To facilitate a proactive business culture, leaders should empower employees by assigning them responsibility for their decisions, fostering a mindset of 'I want to' rather than 'I need to'.
- Encouraging individual and collective goal setting can help businesses focus on critical tasks and continuously adjust plans as needed. Regular strategic sessions, meetings, and the use of motivational systems and task trackers can help ensure measurable objectives are met.
