Part 5 "How to recruit and retain employees" - Teamwork makes dream work or so they say

In part 1 of these series we covered the basics of starting the hiring process – you can read it hereIn part 2 of these series we covered the 1^st interview – you can read it hereIn part 3 of these series we covered the offer stage – you can read it here In part 4 of these series we covered the onboarding stage – you can read it here You probably know the saying “Teamwork makes dream work”But “teamwork” has become a very loose term, hasn’t it?A bit like “passion” and “opportunity”Does it really describe anything, anymore?Everyone is a team player and a great independent worker at the same time. All companies value teamwork to encourage support between employees, but also, you want them to be self-sufficient and not drag anyone else down with endless questions.

See the irony?

I won’t go into the ins and outs of “team” psychology because I am, by no stretch of the imagination, an occupational psychologist.But, I would like to highlight, in this article, the often forgotten and perhaps misunderstood, collaboration between different departments.And by this, I am referring to much more than just sporadically collaborating with other teams or working on joint projects every now and then.I am referring to intentional collaboration and interaction for the purpose of increasing skills and organisational awareness between different departments, right from the onboarding stage, with the result of engaging all team members in a shared vision.

Why is this important to you, as an employer?

When individuals understand the importance and contribution of each department to their role, as well as overall company strategy, they form a stronger understanding of how their own role fits into the greater picture of things, they benefit from increased exposure to different areas allowing them to develop their complementary skills set and perhaps most importantly, helps to develop, maintain and continue to grow, a single, shared vision.

So how can you, as an employer, foster collaboration between different departments?

1. Clarity

It’s difficult to foster understanding and collaboration, without clarity. It’s important that each department is clear on what their role is and how it fits within the bigger picture, so they can articulate it further to their colleagues from different teams.If you are not sure yourself, start by working on an organisation plan.If you are sure, check in with your department, to see if you are both on the same page.It’s crucial that you, as an employer, get this right, otherwise, the rest of the tips will not work, and most likely instead of helping, it would cause frustration and confusion.

2. Communication

Depending on the agility of the business and the volume of work, allocate a specific time every now and then ( it could be monthly, quarterly, twice a year, etc. ) to get all the departments together – if your business is too big, segment it into complementary and adjacent departments.During the get-together, each department can present a brief synopsis of their area of focus and how it contributes / plays in the bigger picture, along with areas of improvement/development.

3. Brainstorm

Sometimes, the best ideas come from outside your department. This is why on point 2, we suggested that each department talk about particular areas of improvement/development they have identified and share this with other departments and invite them to a free-style brainstorm to tackle those.I am sure you have all heard stories about how the man on the factory floor chose a much better machine than the procurement department because they knew what was what.

4. Allow room for failure

We all fail. Sooner or later, smaller, or bigger. Creating a culture of support, empathy and collaboration, will help your employees speak up, and contribute with ideas and proposals, without fear of retaliation.

5. Run surveys

Surveys are great if used correctly. But instead of using them to ask employees “ How happy are you with your job on a scale of 1 – 10 “ you can use them to ask them “ If you could pick one area of interest in our business, which is not part of your role, what would it be? “ you can find out how your employees can benefit from further training, advancement and this serves very well for retraining and reskilling opportunities.For example, you may find that one of your employees in legal, is particularly interested in VAT and you can have them shadow someone in the VAT department to learn more.

6. Provide an informal platform

Making this very formal, with lots of rules and “have to’s” can stifle collaboration, Strive towards open communication, anonymous feedback loops, volunteers, and freestyle brainstorming.

This is the last part of “How to recruit and retain employees” Series, with a bonus article coming in August on how micro and small business can elevate their employer value proposition.

From September onwards, we will focus on job seekers and how to go about finding your next job, how to evaluate opportunities, and how to interview, and manage resignations and offers.Francina (Fran ) Moisa is the Founder and Headhunter , Talent Advisor of FM Search, a boutique headhunting and talent advisory Firm, based in Malta. To find out more about FM Search visit www.fmsearch.eu