In recent times I find myself managing more and more employees, with these new employees comes the opportunity to run a large team effectively. More recently I have taken to managing a broader team of SEO, Link building, Social Media and Content Marketing professionals.
(These tips are designed for people who manage teams of around 2-10 people)
I have decided to put together a list of 10 tips for managing teams, this is by no means a sure fire list of management tips, I have recently done 4 day corporate management course. I thought I would put together a post to provide some basic team management skills for people managing smaller teams.
Tip 1 – Set up Google Docs files for team members weekly work.
Make sure that you set up a Google documents sheet with all your teams tasks for the week and up coming weeks.
– It is advisable to make sure that all team members have their weekly tasks in a Google docs file, you can also use other team management software for tasks but from a cost point of view Google docs can work effectively.
You can sign up to Google Docs here: docs.google.com
Tip 2 – Make sure you have weekly catch ups (1 on 1’s with team members).
Make sure that you have set up weekly catch up meetings with each of your team members.
– My advice is to set up a weekly on going meeting for 15-30 minutes with team members.
– I also find that having your weekly 1 on 1’s out side the office can be good, get some fresh air and go and have a coffee.
Tip 3 – Make sure you have weekly Group meetings (with your initial team).
– Make sure that you set up a weekly group meeting where every one talks about the up coming weeks tasks, it is good to collaborate with team members because some may have less work on you can delegate work to other team members, it is also a good chance for team members to talk about any key events in the up coming week.
Tip 4 – Get to know your staff better.
– Try to get to know your staff better by going to events if they invite you, such as birthdays and BBQ’s. I think the best way to meet a new team is by going out on social ventures we usually have monthly events where people invite you out for birthdays, make the effort to go to them.
– Another thing you can do is organize team days out for half a day, where you go and do a team event for half a day, it can be any thing from a game of soccer, canoeing or even learning how to surf together.
Tip 5 – Give credit to team members when it is due!
– Make sure that you give credit to your team when credit is due, if you receive a compliment from a client or senior management be sure to pass this on to your team members, if it means sending a group all email then do it.
Tip 6 – Get employees to set up a personal blog.
– Try and get your employees to set up their own blog and blog about what they do in their job or talk about something they are interested in, in my eyes setting up a blog is a key to learning SEO and also developing content in which your employees love, in the end of the day it does not have to be a blog about work it can be a blog about an interest they have.
Tip 7 – Use time Tracking software
– Get your team to use time tracking software, its something important because if you want to show senior management how busy your team management, that is if you require additional team members you can effectively plan this way.
– A good example of time tracking is Freckle, it can be used quite effectiely: letsfreckle.com.
– Benefits of freckle is that it allows you to use graphic overviews of your team members capacity, it also shows who is working and who has time let on projects.
Tip 8 – Motivate your team members!
– Motivating team members is very important, if you are not setting your team members up with motivation on a daily and weekly basis them they may be left de-motivated.
– Challenge team members with new projects.
– Let them be involved with a big business pitch
– Let them test their skills on new business with some small clients.
– Provide training for them so they have the skills set to move to the next level.
Tip 9 – Follow up a negative with positive comments!
If you have to say something negative to a staff member, make sure you follow it up with some positive points at least 3. Everyone makes mistakes every now and then but be sure to follow up the mistake with some positive points.
Tip 10 – Setting Personal Development Plans for Staff
Set personal development and goals for your employees, employees need goals to work for examples of personal development goals can be the following:
– Setting long term goals for promotion.
– Setting training goals which you company may offer
– Setting Google tests as part of the development.
– Setting ROI based development on clients total spend.
– Setting feedback from clients on how they feel the specific employee has developed over time with them.
Finally remember to have fun when you are at work, it is important to enjoy what you do and get along with the people you are working with.
