If you have a position that you need to fill, then there is a high chance that you would hire someone to fill it. This is great because it gives you the opportunity to find someone who reflects your business values, and who genuinely cares about the success of your company. The problem is that even if you do find someone who fits the job well, that doesn’t mean that they are going to work well with your team. It may be that they are an extrovert and the rest of your team are introverts. On top of this, it may be that they are just not a team player in general. If this is the case, then you have a serious problem on your hands. It’s vital that you solve this issue as soon as you can because if you don’t, then you may find that you end up struggling to get everyone on the same page.
Poor Communication
Lack of communication is a huge reason why so many teams do not perform as well as they could. It doesn’t matter how syndicated your team is because if they do not communicate well, then you may find that tasks don’t get done as well as they could. You may also find that they do not understand the task to begin with, and this is the last thing that you need. When you look at the worst-case scenario, you may find that your team end up leaving the company, purely because they are not happy with the way things are being run and this can put you at a real disadvantage.
So how can you, as a manager, solve this? It’s important to implement effective and secure communication lines and policies, whether this is over instant messaging or via phone calls. You can read more about why upgrading your communication systems can be so effective and make it easier for your team – and any clients – to communicate with each other.
Poor Leadership
Another driver behind a team not performing well is poor leadership. Failure to communicate can be one of the biggest reasons behind poor leadership. It is not the only one either. Good leadership will encompass a wide range of skills. You will need to make sure that you delegate properly and that you also keep your team focused. If you can delegate well then this will also work in your favor, so keep that in mind.
Low Engagement
If you know that your team are not performing as well as they could, then it may be that they have various environmental pressures to deal with. They may also be struggling with disengagement as well. When your team don’t like their job, or if they do not feel valued by the company, they won’t try as hard. They may not take their role as seriously as they should be, and this can translate to even bigger issues later down the line. This is the last thing that you want, but there are ways to combat this. It may be that you focus on implementing some form of employee engagement software or that you implement a rewards program. Remember, the best employee recognition software should always cater to the needs of your company.
Poor Motivation
It is also important to know that poor performance can come down to your team not being engaged enough. It may also have other root causes though. One of them could be mental fatigue. Your employees may also have feelings of self-doubt or even personal stress. Getting to the root cause may take a great deal of time but it is a very important issue for you, as a team leader to solve.
Poor Job Fit
When people are in the completely wrong role, it will make work much harder. The reason behind this is simple. People tend to work better if they have a job that actually lines up with their strengths. Unfortunately, leaders and managers do not often have a clear picture of what traits are needed for each role and this can impact the job fit for every employee. Behavioral reviews and various other tools can help you to shed a bit of light on things like this so you can avoid making bad decisions in the future.
Lack of Training
When employees find it hard to perform tasks or even function as part of a team, it may be that they do not have enough training. Just because your team have college degrees doesn’t mean that they are automatically suited to the job. You still need to provide them with comprehensive training so that they can achieve their full potential. If you can do this, then you will soon find that your team improve the quality of their work and that they are also much happier in the workplace. This can work wonders for your organization.