Many eyes in team

JUNE 2010

An online survey conducted by Australia’s largest employment website has confirmed the football coach cliché – there is no ‘I’ in ‘team’.

While salary packages, bonus incentives and working hours would expectantly top the most wanted list for those trawling recruitment websites, the recent Seek motivation and satisfaction survey found 60 per cent of employees list the support of their team as the most important qualities they are looking for.

The truth is that a team of champions will often compete with one another for results and incentives, often at the expense of their employer.

Recruitment Coach managing director Paula Maidens, is not surprised with the findings, and says businesses can avoid becoming part of a negative statistic if they make employees a key element of their brand strategy.

“Low advocacy within an organisation can have worrying implications relating to productivity, retention and the expense of hiring new people,” she says.

“Fortunately, there are measures businesses can take which can increase loyalty significantly, with staff far more likely to support their team and employer – and they don’t require huge spending.”

Maidens says a few key solutions, such as employee engagement and team bonding exercises, can transform that team of champions into a champion team with drastically improved performance and retention.

Businesses should consider simple methods including employee awards, staff lunches and events, or casual Fridays.

Such methods cost little to implement but the effects on employee engagement and workplace productivity is profound.

“Through a combination of employee engagement and team bonding techniques, you’ll find more and more employees happy with their workplace and team. And that’s good for business,” says Maidens.