Category: Managing Teams

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Managing Teams

Tips For Building Your Team’s Psychological Safety  

By Helen Akhidenor 

Psychological safety is the shared expectation among employees that they will not be embarrassed, rejected, or punished for sharing ideas, taking risks, and seeking feedback. It does not mean that everyone is nice to each other all the time. Instead, it encourages open dialogue, honest feedback, and constructive conflict resolution, ensuring that everyone feels valued and heard. 

Psychological safety directly impacts an organisation’s bottom line. It is, however, harder to build psychological safety in a hybrid or remote work environment because interactions are primarily virtual. These then present unique opportunities for leaders to forge connections through intentional and authentic communication. 

Read on to discover tips to build your team’s psychological safety: 

  1. Prioritise Learning Over Execution  

When projects fall short, pause to analyse the situation rather than rushing to fix it. See setbacks as valuable learning opportunities that can fuel team discussions and collective problem-solving. This approach fosters an open dialogue devoid of shame, empowering team members to speak candidly about challenges. 

  1. Encourage Experimentation  

Innovation thrives on the willingness to explore new ideas. Promote a culture where taking risks is welcomed and define success in terms of hypothesis testing rather than certainties. This mindset not only encourages creative thinking but also reduces the fear associated with failure, making team members more likely to share bold ideas. 

  1. Foster Curiosity 

As a leader, demonstrate curiosity by asking questions that challenge the status quo. This behaviour not only initiates meaningful conversations but also establishes an environment where vulnerability is accepted. When leaders show that they too have room to grow, it encourages team members to embrace their learning journeys. 

  1. Own Your Mistakes 

Acknowledging your fallibility is essential for promoting psychological safety. By transparently discussing your errors and taking ownership, you set an example for your team. This openness cultivates an atmosphere where team members feel comfortable admitting their mistakes and learning from them collectively. 

  1. Nurture Team Values 

Clear values and norms are integral to maintaining psychological safety within the team. Create a shared mission statement that outlines the principles your team should follow. Regularly revisit these values to ensure they resonate with evolving team dynamics and encourage accountability to uphold them. 

Building a psychologically safe team is a continuous journey that requires commitment and effort from leaders. By implementing these practical tips, you can create an environment where team members feel empowered to express themselves, take risks, and contribute to the organization’s success.  

Remember, fostering psychological safety not only enhances team dynamics but also drives innovation and performance, ultimately leading to a thriving workplace culture. Embrace the challenge and watch your team flourish. 

Equip HR and managers with tools to engage, recognize, and drive performance. Explore HumanManager 

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Managing Teams

Key training needs for remote teams 

By Akin Omojola

Once a benefit for only a select few, remote work is now an integral part of our professional fabric. Since the pandemic in 2020, about 49 percent of sub-Saharan African enterprises have retained a remote work culture in one form or another. This transformation ushers in training and learning needs that traditional office settings often do not require.  

Managing a remote team comes with its challenges, including ensuring that team members have the necessary soft and technical skills to thrive in a virtual environment. To achieve success in remote teams, you must identify, and address employee learning needs as stated below: 

  1. Effective Communication 

Remote teams convey their ideas and feedback via written and verbal communication. As such, team members should be coached on effective communication, email etiquette, project management/messaging platforms, and virtual meeting tools to avoid misinformation. 

Remote team members can empower themselves with courses on e-learning platforms or workshops focused on effective communication in a virtual environment. Beyond teams, organisations must also communicate clearly with all employees through regular news feeds, intranet chat lines, and online townhall sessions. 

  1. Time Management 

Remote work offers flexibility in terms of when and where team members work, but it also requires significant levels of self-discipline and time management skills. Team members must be able to prioritise tasks, set deadlines, and manage their time effectively to meet project goals and deadlines. 

To enhance time management skills, remote teams can utilise project management tools and calendars to organise their workload and track progress.  

Another key issue is meeting management. Organisations should adopt a single application for virtual meetings to avoid clashes and stick to meeting schedules as a corporate culture. 

  1. Technology Know-how 

Remote teams rely heavily on technology to communicate, collaborate, and complete tasks. As such, remote team members should be proficient in using a variety of digital tools and platforms to work effectively in a virtual setting. This includes familiarity with video conferencing software, project management tools, filesharing platforms, and other technology solutions that facilitate remote work. 

  1. Security 

Remote work comes with data security risks. New and modern frameworks should be adopted, and all employees should be aware that data security is their joint responsibility. Network hardening should be implemented since staff work from different local uncontrolled environments. Data loss protection (DLP) policies and technologies may be employed in addition to employee training. 

  1. Team Building 

Remote team members should build strong relationships, establish trust, communicate openly, and work effectively with colleagues from diverse backgrounds and locations. This can be done through regular meetings or check-ins to maintain connections and build rapport with colleagues, as well as virtual team-building activities like online games, group discussions, or collaborative projects.  

Team leads and human resources managers are also responsible for tracking engagement and mental stress among employees. Full remote organisations could sponsor physical hangouts periodically to foster a better corporate identity. 

Lastly, remote teams have unique learning needs that must be addressed to ensure their success in a virtual work environment. By investing in training and development opportunities/Platforms for remote teams, you can empower your employees to work effectively and collaboratively, regardless of their physical location.

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Managing Teams

10 Pitfalls to Avoid During Performance Appraisal

Performance appraisals have proven to be one of the best ways to improve employees’ productivity and enhance outcomes.

This periodic evaluation of staff performance provides feedback on their strengths and weaknesses, enhances subsequent output, helps identify and reward high-performing members of staff, and determines appropriate salary upgrades.

Despite its numerous benefits, a lot of mistakes — sometimes known as rater errors — from a supervisor’s biased viewpoint can result in low morale, anxiety, poor job satisfaction, or even loss of job. It is therefore pertinent that supervisors, managers, and human resources personnel understand these biases and how to eliminate them during appraisal exercises.

These few points present some of the pitfalls that must be avoided and how to overcome them:

1. Central Tendency or Grouping

In this instance appraiser rates staff in a not-too-good or not-too-bad category. This is unfair to employees who really deserve a higher grade.

In this light line managers should establish and agree on SMART Key Performance Index (KPI) at the beginning of the appraisal period and evaluate performance against these goals. Also, observable behaviour should be documented over the entire performance cycle through attachment of supporting document on HumanManager Management Software.

2. The Halo or Horns Effect

This occurs when the appraiser allows specific positive or negative factors related to the employee’s work affect the overall performance assessment.

Line managers should track, and document performance based on agreed KPIs daily, weekly, monthly, bi-annually, or annually. Identify specific behavioural attributes that support your ratings and be sure that none is influenced because it is particularly admirable or irritating.

3. Bias or Holding a Grudge

This is when the appraiser makes an employee suffer for past behaviour, irrespective of the positive output at work or when the appraiser judges the employee based on factors like state of origin, gender, religion, age, disability, weight, height, marital status, etc.

No fair rating can be gotten when subjective orientation is introduced. Line managers should ensure to focus on the employee’s work, not on personal matters, unless those personal matters affect the work of the employee. Check your perceptions for accuracy, fairness, balance, and consistency.

4. Recency

This occurs when an appraiser rates only recent performance, good or bad.

In order not to be focused on only the recent deliverables, line managers should keep track of performance and document observable behaviour over the entire performance cycle to get a balanced view. Ask others for their observations of the employee to see if they have different views.

5. The Sunflower Effect

This is when an appraiser rates employees high regardless of performance to make themselves look good or to be able to give more compensation.

The goal should not make any set of people feel good but improve and in turn give value, employees can justify ratings through tracked comments across set approval workflows for various levels.

6. Similarity Error

In many organisations, there are instances where employees share similarities with their managers. Some managers may even show a preference for these employees over those who exhibit different behaviors or ways of thinking.

It’s natural to feel more comfortable with individuals who resemble you, but you must be cautious as this inclination can impede the appraisal process. Maintain objectivity and incorporate diverse perspectives in the performance appraisal.

7. First Impression Error

This is the rater’s tendency to let their first impression of an employee’s performance carry too much weight in the evaluation of performance over an entire rating period.

Appraisals should support regular feedback, reports and trend analysis to help line managers and HR track employee’s rating over a period.

8. Compare and Contrast Error

This occurs when an evaluator compares the performance of two employees instead of assessing everyone’s performance based on absolute measurements. This approach can make an employee with a “good” rating appear mediocre when compared to someone rated as “excellent.”

Every employee possesses unique qualities, strengths, and weaknesses that make them distinct professionals. A fair appraisal cannot be achieved by attempting to compare one person’s abilities with another. Hence, managers should evaluate employees based on their individual performance against the standards and criteria that have been established for them.

9. Avoiding negative feedback

Many managers do not feel confident enough to have difficult conversations. But for growth to happen, there needs to be an honest discussion about the skill gaps your team members need to fill to be able to progress to the next stage of their career.

However, this doesn’t mean that negative feedback shouldn’t be handled with care. Prepare what you want to say in advance, rehearse it if needed or get some coaching to increase your confidence. Remember, good managers will set the bar high, but also provide the necessary support to reach objectives.

10. Concluding appraisals without feedback for improvement

This is when employees do not get comprehensive feedback after the appraisal exercise.

You can avoid this pitfall by using an automated appraisal system that allows for feedback. Always provide unbiased feedback about employees’ strengths and weaknesses, and even suggest helpful measures to boost outcomes.

Appraisal errors can cause your entire performance review programme to lose credibility among your employees. Consistent analysis of the process will help avoid this situation!

With HumanManager, you can enjoy a seamless and efficient performance management process that suits interactions within your organisation and among employees at all levels, as well as in the physical and virtual workspace.

HumanManager makes it a lot easier to achieve your organisational goals. Ready for a topnotch appraisal? Get started at https://humanmanager.net/features/performance-management .

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Managing Teams

Proven Tips for Work-Life Balance as you Work Remote

By Debbie Wale-Temowo

Work Life Balance (WLB) is one topic of discuss that won’t be going away anytime soon as the context and environment of work continue to take on different moulds.

Despite the seeming exhaustive variants of information out there, WLB means different things to different people and several factors contribute to the mix. The generation you fall into, your occupation, your present stage in life, family type, presence of children and their ages, habits, the size of your pocket what you do outside of work, the prevalent pandemic conditions (lockdown, remote work, hybrid work, etc.), and the list goes on.

So, in writing this piece, I have had to look inward, considered the many tales of colleagues and friends, different opinions picked up here and there and what I have observed. I write not as an expert in this field but as an employee. Here we go!

Work-Life-Balance: Myth or Reality?

Is it possible to arrive at that perfect WLB destination? I wish a quick “Yes” answer would fit. But with the office workload staring you in the face, everyday chores, and your long

bucket list, it is easier to see WLB as a myth — that one destination of sweet harmony with work and life in which employees wish to bask for life.

Is WLB achievable then? Absolutely! The reality is that we all have attained WLB at different times of our lives. Remember that week that you felt so fulfilled, and each day seemed to just run perfectly? No burnout at the end, daily plans achieved without a grind, lots of laughter with family and friends, you even managed to squeeze in a “me” time. You wished the week would not end! The wonder, however, is how quickly we lose it.

If you have tasted the satisfying and fulfilling experience once, then it is important to find that formula to remain there as long as possible. The result is always a win-win for the employee and employer.

Achieving Work-Life-Balance as an Employee

WLB for an employee means less stress levels, little or no burnout, increased self-esteem and wellbeing, better sleep routine, mental alertness, productivity, etc. You can achieve these and more when you:

· Understand what WLB truly means for you in your peculiar space.

· Monitor your typical work week. Keep a log of your activities (on and off work) for a week, noting how much time was spent on what.

· Plan your desirable work week. What would you like your ideal week to look like?

· Draw up a realistic schedule that works for you.

· Love what you call “work”. In case you are struggling as a lot of employees do, find ways to stay motivated daily — look for persuasive reasons to show up.

· Watch your space, set your atmosphere and eliminate toxicity.

· Take that vacation! The work never stops.

· Pay attention to your health. You will need it to show up productive every day!

Dear Employer, you can support your employees to achieve a practicable WLB in these interesting times

According to Chris Chancey, Founder and CEO of Amplio Recruiting, employers who are committed to providing environments that support work-life balance for their employees can save on costs, experience fewer cases of absenteeism, and enjoy a more loyal and productive workforce.

Here are a few ways your organisation can show care and provide support for your employees in pursuit of WLB:

· Deliberately make WLB a company culture.

· Train and retrain line managers with the requisite knowledge and skills.

· Don’t assume remote work = less work = less productivity

· Eliminate key man risks. Have a succession plan.

· Ensure you have a functional, dynamic, and an up-to-date HR that ensures employees well-being.

· Keep a close eye on your leave management. Have a leave plan, and closely monitor to ensure staff are taking the needed breaks. · Adopt an easy-to-use, flexible, and secure HR solution like HumanManager for your team anywhere they are.

A consistent WLB is possible if both employees and employers work together to make it happen. “Start by doing what is necessary, then what is possible and suddenly, you are doing the impossible” (Francis of Assisi). Get started today at www.humanmanager.net.

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Managing Teams

Remote vs Office — My Preference & Why

You’ve probably had that moment when you woke up in the morning of a work day after hearing your alarm go off and wished it was a weekend. Then, you put off the alarm and went right back to bed.

Well, many times, you may have shaken off the thought and prepared for work instead to later join the usual traffic of the city that never sleeps.

You may however feel lighter if you find yourself in the same situation, but now you have to work from home. The thrill and feel of being in control of your time and space is second to none!

Working from home has its perks — the one that stands out is that you don’t have to go through the stress of going to another location just to do your job; rather you work from your preferred location (usually at home), manage your time effectively, complete your tasks for the day and then you are fine. Also, you can envelop yourself from your colleague always doing ‘notice-me’ to be perceived as hard-working or that colleague that likes to bring up random gist during work hours.

However, there are flip-sides to it. There is something quite interesting about congregating in a physical office with co-workers to exchange ideas, observe and learn directly from one another. There is a way a physical space more easily enables collaboration and social skills.

Yes, I heard you thinking all these could happen if they took place virtually as well.

Remote work although more convenient, requires a great deal of discipline to remain productive despite distractions that might not come up in the physical work place. More so, the more usual instant feedback you get from your boss in an office space may not be the same; communication with team members can also be inhibited due to network instability and distractions, and the need to constantly invest on data and stable power supply to keep up with work can be nerve-wracking.

For me, working remotely has increased my sense of responsibility and commitment to work with little or no supervision. It has also helped me discover tools that have made my job easier. Overall, remote work can be a great advantage to self-development and can help you harness your intrapreneurial mindset.

I wouldn’t say I prefer remote work to office work, or vice versa. However, I think a fine blend of both is good for employees and management. Post-COVID work era has offered HR professionals these options to choose and maximise their workforce at little or no extra cost.

So which would you prefer — remote work, physical or hybrid?

Kindly share your thoughts in the comment section below.

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Managing Teams

7 Tips for Effective Team Meetings

Have you ever led or been in a team meeting that went off track? Or does it stretches too long and boring that you slowly lost interest? Of course, we know that feeling!

Team meetings are a great way to engage colleagues, share ideas, and encourage creativity but this won’t happen if your meetings are badly structured or colleagues perceive them to be unnecessary and ineffective.

We’ve got the following tips to guide you and make your meetings rewarding:

1.      Plan Ahead – Keep your meeting on track

To avoid one-sided communication, you should share a brief or meeting agenda in advance with your team. Also, take note of important talk points, expected outcomes, and participants to attend, and choose the right time that suits every team member. This will help you evaluate the success of the meeting at the end.

2.     Adopt relevant technology

Technology is ever-evolving. You can now enjoy great collaboration tools that will help increase the efficiency of your meetings – send messages, share files, set up online calls and more. Here at SystemSpecs, we use collaboration tools like Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Google suites, GitHub, and more. You should try it out too.

3.     Be Time-conscious

When team members are late to meetings, it could result in unnecessary delays. There would be a need to recap and extend meetings to cover the agenda which will interfere with the meeting structure and possibly cause a ruckus. To avoid this, you need to set early attendance rules with reminders ahead of time to keep each member in check. Also, allocate time frames to the agenda outline for better time management.

4.     Ask Questions

Be intentional about your team’s participation. The meeting has to be valuable to everyone, so questions should be asked to encourage discussions and input. This way you’ll keep your team members actively interested and involved in the meeting and also confirm they understand the purpose and outcome of the meeting.

 5.     Set Ground Rules

This might seem too serious but it’s incredibly important to set ground rules that would keep your team members in check to avoid interference that could cause delay or generally any problems. Rules like: camera switched off if it isn’t a video call, mic muted when not speaking, phones silenced, meeting expectations, no interruptions, and others as they apply.

6.     Identify Meeting Patterns and Behaviours

If you’re going to change your old meeting patterns, you’ll need to observe your meeting patterns to observe what you think is wrong and also ask your team questions on what should be better improved to make the next meetings more effective. This will give you a better perspective on how the team feels and why they feel that way about your meetings.

7.      Improve Each Week and Do a Follow-up

This is a brief check-up that will boost your meetings every time. Less than being told what to do, people love to feel valued and that you care about their wellbeing. It’s not just about checking task completion but also building relationships with your team and checking in on how they are faring, and also how they are coping with their assigned task.

You can ask questions like: What worked and what didn’t? Was the last agenda accurate and helpful? Was there any information we could have shared in another way?

NOTE: Always test whether you need a meeting before setting up one. Once you have established that, you can decide how to use these tips to hold your best meetings ever. 

Want to make your work-life easy? HumanManager can help your business manage high-performing staff. Click here to get started.