Is your team performing at a consistently high level? Is the morale or ‘mood’ of your business dictated to you by one or more individuals in your team?
Every builder or contractor has a “Culture” or “Code of Conduct” including yours. If you haven’t intentionally defined the “Culture” or “Code of Conduct” in your business, then this will be decided for you by the people with the strongest personalities in your business. We’ve worked with clients who’ve had the morale or mood of their business dictated to them by one or two members on their team. If these individuals were having a bad day, then so was everyone else. Sound familiar?
Would you like a team that sets their own performance standards, holds each other accountable and attract more good people?
Having a Code of Conduct developed by your team which they take ownership of and hold each other accountable to helps set the tone for your business. You’ll be free to remove yourself from the business and backstop performance standards even when you’re not there. The right Code of Conduct also ensures that you keep your best people and attract the best people for your business.
For more specifics on how we can help your business in this area, contact us direct to book in for your free “Strategy Session” with one of our expert Business Coaches. Lets talk about your business and see how we can take you to the next level.
Case Study
The Challenge: Team Communication
The Cause:
Tim knew that the level of communication in business needed serious attention but he always seemed to have more urgent matters to attend to. He never made time to sit down and think about how he could improve how his team related to each other. Eventually (as with anything that gets ignored for long enough) the problem reached a point where Tim had no choice but to fix the problem.
The Business Pain:
Inefficiencies, delays and bottlenecks on jobs were too numerous to mention. Project management became a nightmare as changes in delivery dates of supplies and contractors was not communicated or done so too late.
Besides the endless ‘hiccups’ with suppliers and contractors, there were team relationship breakdowns due to the lack of communication. Some of Tim’s team were having personal problems, which affected their performance on-site. In one case, a new worker was going through a marriage separation but his team-mates were unaware of the issue. One day he got remanded for his attitude by a supervisor and responded aggressively because of the pent-up emotion he was feeling. There were other sensitive issues like these, which required better systems for communication.
The Personal Pain:
Tim often found himself in confrontational situations with either his team or contractors. Because Tim was naturally a soft natured person, these confrontations weighed quite heavily on his conscience. He would take the stress and worry with him when he went home and this impacted on his quality of life and the time he spent with his wife and children. Tim knew something had to give.
The Solution:
Tim searched for an answer and found that there were a number of choices available to him to alleviate the business and personal pain he was experiencing. He immediately set to work putting the following strategies in place:
- The first thing Tim did was to implement regular team meetings that had watertight agendas and a nominated chairperson.
- Each meeting started with an ‘Indian rain stick’ where each member of the team had an opportunity to speak uninterrupted about any business or personal issues they were having. This proved to be a very powerful process and put everyone on the same page as well as flushing out any minor grievances.
- Every two months, anonymous team questionnaires were sent out to the each team member to get their feedback on areas of improvement and their opinion on the management style.
- A monthly team bulletin was published and sent out to each team member updating them on any changes and inviting them to participate in regular social activities.
The Outcome:
The result for Tim and his team was a business with more open communication from top to bottom. On the business-front, mistakes, bottlenecks and inefficiencies were less frequent. Because team members were given an opportunity to express themselves in a safe and unthreatening environment, everyone had a good understanding of each other’s personal situation. The social events helped further galvanise the team and brought a fun and friendlier dynamic to the team. The culture within Tim’s team was starting to shift and it gave him more peace of mind and allowed him to enjoy a better quality of life with his wife and children in the evenings and on weekends.
For more specifics on how we can help your business in this area, contact us direct to book in for your free “Strategy Session” with one of our expert Business Coaches. Lets talk about your business and see how we can take you to the next level.
