DNA of a High Performing Team

What does a high performing team look like?  Should I hire a receptionist/front office person?  How do I best mix different generations of employees?  How do I make sure my team members are a good fit for each other?  How should I determine my benefits to attract the best talent?  Below are some ideas that will help guide you:

Should I hire a receptionist/front office person?

Most sales leaders are in charge of growing their sales and taking their business to the next level with Walmart and other key national accounts.  So the question that each individual person has to answer is…how much time are you taking out of your day to do simple tasks that you can pay someone else could do for you?  For instance, if your time is worth $75/hour…should you be doing tasks that someone else can do for $20/hour?  If so, the real question is…can you afford not to hire a receptionist.  If you’re being paid to do high level work, you’re cheating yourself and your investors if you’re not doing the high level work they’re expecting from you.

If you determine you need someone, keep in mind you don’t have to hire a person full time.  There are many very qualified people who would love to work part time.  I’ve had conversations with many female candidates over the years who would love the opportunity to stay engaged in the workforce in a challenging position, work part time and still have time to be a mom.  Unfortunately those positions don’t come around that often.  This could be a win, win.  From your perspective, you can get a really good employee who you don’t have to hire full time.  And you’ll have a very loyal, happy employee who values the opportunity to work and contribute but can also balance other important priorities in their life as well.

How do I best mix different generations of employees?

This is a great question.  For many years I’ve been perplexed by companies who let some of their most tenured employees go.  A mix of Millennials and Baby Boomers allows input into your business from different perspectives.  Chances are good that the Millennial employee is going to bring a technical savvy and awareness of social media that a Baby Boomer won’t.  On the other hand, the Baby Boomer is not afraid to pick the phone and talk, or better yet, meet in person to help build the relationship.  Both perspectives are needed…it’s called diversity.  We hear that term a lot, but don’t necessarily relate that to diversity of ideas and approaches to the business.

How do I make sure my team members are a good fit for each other?

This happens during the interview process.  All the employees who will interact with the prospective new team member need to meet with this person and get everyone’s buy in.  If all the appropriate people are allowed to share their input, they are more apt to try and work things out when things get tough versus not trying as diligently.  Also, by allowing everyone to be part of the interview process, the new employee is getting a real good idea of what he/she is walking into.  The team is also aware of who’s coming on board and feel like they are part of the decision making process and part of the team.

How should I determine my benefits to attract the best talent?

The best approach is to think in terms of a pool of money for your benefits and realize that everyone has different needs and is motivated by different things.  For instance:

One employee may be a single mom and health insurance may be extremely important.

Another may have a spouse who has great benefits and doesn’t need health insurance coverage at all.  Vacation time may be much more important to this person.

The bottom line is, the companies who think outside the box and offer some flexibility on their benefits will be ahead of the pack in attracting and retaining top talent.  Think flexibility and give your employees choices and options and they will be more loyal to you for it.