It would be great if everyone on your staff team was multi-skilled and a unicorn in today’s terms. Unfortunately, it is not a reality. For many companies, trying to find the right fit in a role can take months of interviews and psychometric tests to get it right. Even then, it is not a guaranteed fit.

For small and entrepreneurial businesses, it is often the case that staff has multiple roles. And this is where the issues may arise.

A salesperson, is now required to do a lot of admin on the road or reports in the office. Where a staff member was more of a people’s person, may not have the skills to be good at accurate admin.

A famous line says if you ask an elephant to climb a tree, they will forever feel like a failure, and this is the same for your team.

So how can you make it work when your team is small and has to multitask to make it work:

Identify each person’s strengths and weaknesses

This would apply to personal and work situations. Asking someone who is not good at managing reporting and spreadsheets will lead to disaster. Empower them with tools and apps that can automate that will change the game.

Pair people up

Creating teams that can complement each other in their daily tasks is another quick win. They do not even have to be on the same level, but an older staff member will be better at phone calls and admin, while a younger member will be better at tech and product information.

Set goals and KPI’s

When you do set goals and KPI’s, it is no good to wait until the end of the month or quarter to check in. Doing weekly goal and progress checks can identify if there will be any hiccups or delays early on. This way, you can add support or additional resource to assist them in reaching the goal.

Set individual and team targets

Having individual targets is excellent, but when you add team goals and incentives, there is a shift in how staff supports each other to attain them. It is no use having one staff shooting the lights out while the rest of the team suffers to keep up.

Team feedback

Get team feedback on what is working and what is not working. Implement more of what is going well and find solutions or scrap the things that fail the business. When you allow the team to share their shortcuts on what works for them, the rest can see what they would like to adopt.

Grow Skills

So often, technology changes faster than skills do. It is critical to ensure that your business sets aside time to retrain your team on what they may need refreshers on or learn new skills that can help them perform better in the workplace.

A happy team feels supported and is not just placed under the microscope to find what they are doing wrong.

It is about ensuring a safe environment to learn, fail, and grow.

Bizcash is a South African company that wants to grow SMEs in SA to ensure a sustainable future for all.

Speak to our team to find out more about how we can support your business with alternative funding options. Get in touch with us on 0861 93 93 93 or email us on info@bizcashscf.co.za or contact us here.

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