5 Strategies to Improve Teamwork in your Startup

Embrace these teamwork strategies for your new venture

It is no secret that team effort always produces better results as compared to going it alone. Companies perform better when they are made up of strong, cohesive teams. A similar case can be made for companies just starting out.

Great startups are built on the backs of even greater teams. As the CEO of a startup firm, there are certain things you can do to build and maintain a strong team.

Below are a few actions you can take to ensure communication, collaboration and overall teamwork at your startup firm.

1. Develop and implement team-based reward programs

Encourage quality teamwork by creating consistent systems to reward teams within your various departments. Provide valuable incentives to those within your firm that continue to show outstanding performance as it relates to your company's mission and vision.

2. Encourage Community Engagement

Teamwork and overall productivity are greatly enhanced when teammates know each other well. This can only happen if your team interact outside of the work environment. You can help facilitate this by organizing and/or encouraging your team to participate in events going on in the community. You can even provide incentives to those who perform certain tasks and/or responsibilities in the community.

3. Outline Clear Roles and responsibilities

Studies show that we, as humans, and sometimes to our own detriment, function best when we have clear hierarchies. Especially when working in groups. This is the reason why since the days when we ran wild on the African plans, we have always selected and followed the leader. I know as the head of a startup, you may think that the wild wild west atmosphere in the office is great. I mean why wouldn't it be? Everyone seems happy. Right?

The truth is, your team is ( internally) begging for clear leadership and direction. Create team leads, positions, the whole nine, and assign clear roles and goals.

4. Pay them well

This is a freaking no-brainer. I promise you this, providing your team with ping pong tables, spa treatments, and a fancy basketball court will not distract them from the fact that they are barely earning a livable wage. I have seen many firms try this model and fail. Well, maybe not fail but fail to attract a quality workforce.

5. Create an open door policy

Critical to teamwork is communication. As I mentioned before. Communication between teammates as well as with you; the leader. You and your company can greatly benefit by allowing the ones who work for you to provide honest feedback without fear of retribution or being ignored entirely. This means you will have to first, check your ego, then create a streamlined system that allows your troops to tell you how you are doing and their feeling of the company as a whole.

Listen to the feedback and implement or try to implement the ones that are repeated the most, not the ones you agree with. Oh, and during implementation, it is critical that you le you team know that you hear them and that you are working on it.

A little tip for you. Enlist their help in the implementation if you can. Choose a new employee to head up the initiative. This will give them a chance to feel valued and the rest of the team to get to know them better.