If you’re working flat out and getting nowhere, have you looked up and wondered how your team are functioning? Could they be more productive? More independent? Does your management style fit their needs?

3 Steps to a tip-top team

In my other life as Performance Manager for Uncommon Knowledge, I’m responsible for building and maintaining a tip-top work team.  My first step in this process was to find out what stage our team was at, and I’ve written about it here. You can easily adapt this process to suit your own situation.

What makes me laugh?

This month I’d like you to tell me if humour is taken seriously at your work in this tiny 2 question survey. I’m curious to find out if laughter and humour is an encouraged or a sackable offence. Let me know…

What does is take to get recognised around here?

Thanks again for taking the time to fill in the “What does it take to get recognised around here?” survey.  It’s an emotive area, with

• 66% of you have a manager who recognises outstanding performance.
• 40% of you have a manager or company who reward outstanding performance

You told me about a range reward and recognition, some good, some bad and some mis-placed.

• “Praise (public & private), bottles of wine, cards, time off”
• “There are several streams of rewards within my company and it is encouraged to recognize the efforts that our team members put out. As you may know, however, not every manager does that. My manager does it but I also have to ensure he is reminded to do it as it is important.”
• “We have the "Gem Award" for employees who go above and beyond. Each year, 5 (of 500) employees receive the award and their families are invited to a recognition dinner. Nominations are made by managers; the selection is a peer-review process where the previous year's winners review and choose the current year's winners.”
• “Our company gives lip service to recognizing outstanding performance and gives out awards annually, but the true reward around here for outstanding work is more work and fewer people to do it with.”
• “While annual review contained several 'Exceeds Expectations' the overall increase was the standard corporate 3%. Mention made of long hours to get job done, no reward to compensate for 60 hour weeks.”

Warm Regards

Lyndsay Swinton
www.mftrou.com

PS If you participate in the survey I’ll let you in on the results next month :o)

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Tuckman’s Stages of Team Development: Forming, Storming, Norming and Performing
Is your team forming, storming, norming or performing? Tuckman’s stages of team development provide a recognised structure to help shape up your team.

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