7 tips to build a successful business team

A successful business team consists not only of employees who are highly qualified but also of those who trust each other, support one another and share a common goal. While hiring employees based on their skills is important, it’s not enough. It’s up to the leaders to really lean into what makes their business team successful.

How can you ensure you’re building a business team that will offer the right skills, personality and drive to support your goals? Read on for seven tips to build a highly productive and effective team.

What you’ll learn:

• A successful business team works together to achieve a common goal or objective for the organization.
• Factors such as understanding your team’s strengths and weaknesses and embracing diversity can help your company be more profitable.
• Keeping employees motivated and engaged by celebrating wins and encouraging team-building activities can help them feel valued—while improving retention.

A successful business team is usually aligned by shared goals and culture. Eighty-eight percent of employees believe a strong company culture is the key to business success. A strong culture motivates teams to be more engaged and productive when these common values are shared.

Values connected to your company’s vision statement often create a more powerful and authentic team culture. Think about your organization’s core mission. What values tie into this mission or the vision statement of your business? Creating your company culture helps align your team’s goals and values to ensure your organization will thrive—and promotes a healthy work environment, too.

Each person on your team has a unique skill set. A successful team usually includes people with different strengths and weaknesses who cohesively work together, with the members relying on one another to achieve goals.

Identify and understand your team’s strengths and weaknesses so you can pair people up for specific tasks and projects. One teammate’s strength can negate another’s weakness. 

Workplace diversity is essential to a strong business team. Representation matters. Not every team member will have the same personality, skill set, age, gender or race. The team will have many different backgrounds and unique perspectives. By welcoming diverse views, your team can contribute alternative ways of thinking and cater to a diverse group of customers.

People appreciate feeling valued. And when employees feel valued in the workplace, they’re often more productive and happier—and more inclined to stay with the company, improving retention.

Here are just a few ways you can show your business team some appreciation:

• Ensure a healthy work-life balance. A good work-life balance helps reduce stress and burnout. Provide adequate paid time off for employees to achieve this.
• Be involved in their personal and professional growth. Know and understand your team’s personal and professional goals. This way, you can provide the right learning and development opportunities to help them grow and succeed.
• Invest in their day-to-day lives. Ensure your employees’ work environment is pleasant so they look forward to coming in or logging on every day. Consider investing in software or equipment that makes their workdays easier and more efficient.
• Celebrate and reward your employees. Start an employee recognition program that rewards wins big and small. Celebrate all accomplishments, from work anniversaries to sales victories. 

Transparency and communication can help businesses succeed by helping all team members feel involved and that they’re working toward shared goals. Keep lines of communication open at all times so employees feel comfortable collaborating and asking questions. They should have a clear understanding of project deadlines, their roles and responsibilities, and whom to contact with any issues or concerns.

On top of that, consider providing employees updates on the inner workings and health of the organization. This can boost trust and engagement from your team, which can have a positive impact on performance.

Encourage your employees to continue learning new things and then share them with others. Sharing knowledge can encourage innovation, boost creativity and ensure alignment on projects and goals. Examples include:

• Invite guest speakers. Research professionals in your industry and invite them in to talk with your team. This may be someone influential in your industry, a life coach or anyone who can inform your team and work with them on their career goals.
• Encourage your team to attend webinars and conferences. Provide your team with a budget to attend industry meetups. Encourage them to then share their learnings with the greater team.
• Provide a space for knowledge sharing. Invite your team to weekly or monthly fireside chats so they can openly share knowledge and industry learnings.
• Host brainstorming sessions and catch-up meetings. Brainstorming sessions and catch-up meetings provide an opportunity for employees to share new ideas collaboratively.

The best team-building activities, regardless of whether they take place within or outside the workplace, can build trust among team members and give them a chance to get to know one another and their unique skills. Boost employee morale with extracurricular activities such as:

• Icebreaker games
• Group volunteering
• Yoga sessions
• Happy hours
• Lunch-and-learn meetings
• Puppy therapy
• Team outings 

Building a successful business team takes hard work and determination. Create a strong workplace culture by ensuring all team members are aligned with your organization’s goals and values. Continue to show employees they’re valued by communicating effectively, celebrating wins and establishing camaraderie—efforts that go a long way in building a strong, efficient team.

Capital One looks forward to being your partner and helping you achieve your business goals. Compare our business credit cards and apply today.