Working late tonight or spent last weekend at your desk struggling through a mountain of work? As a small business owner, long hours go with the territory but could all that overtime be avoided by encouraging staff to work as a team?

We all know that teamwork is central to the success of a business’ workforce, big or small, so how do we make this happen and benefit from the productivity, employee satisfaction and loyalty that it brings?
 
Some helpful tips from Microsoft bCentral:

Match tasks to skills

It’s good sense to match your employees’ skills to the role they perform in your business. If a team member excels in communications they should have a prominent customer facing role – handling queries and complaints or making sales.

Letting people work in areas they excel in not only helps your business by offering excellent service but improves employee morale – we all like being successful.

Identify roles and responsibilities

It might seem obvious but a lot of employees are not aware of what is expected of them and what role they have within the company. To get the best out of your employees everyone should understand their own job role and how it impacts the success or failure of the team. 

If each employee knows exactly what they should be doing and knows where their responsibilities lie, it leaves no room for tasks or queries to fall through the gaps – and there will be no more excuses for missing deadlines.

It also means that each employee knows why they are important to the business and how their work impacts that of their colleagues – something that isn’t always clear in fast growing businesses.

Ensure information is accessible to all

Make sure every employee has access to important customer information if employees are going to work well together. How can your team work collaboratively on something if everyone’s working on separate versions/drafts/copies?

It’s frustrating when team members are on different wavelengths. Shared workspaces is an option here, as these reduce confusion, completion times and help with project management as they show clear drafting stages and approval processes.

Communication is king

Ensure your team is equipped with the right communication tools so they can work together. Choosing the right tools depends on your business needs. Small business owners should investigate what tools are best for their company and make decisions about the choice of tools based on the nature, needs and customer type of your business.

For example, if your employees are always on the move, a WiFi laptop or a smartphone that lets you access the files away from the office would be a good choice.

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By bCentral  on   Jul 10,2008

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Keywords

Microsoft    efficient working    flexible working    productivity   

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