Building a Great Team

Steps to Building a Great Team

To grow your business, you will need to recruit a team of people that are experienced and talented in a range of different skills. Your team may consist of a business partner, management board, freelancers, consultants, employees, volunteers etc. It's essential to plan this carefully to get the right mix and processes right, as otherwise it could seriously hamper the growth of your company.

If you are building a team for your business, work through the following checklist to plan your strategy:-

Working with a Business Partner

• Have you defined the job role and responsibilities of yourself and your business partner?
• Have you decided on the time and investment to be committed and the expected performance targets to be achieved by yourself and your business partner?
• What processes have you put in place to manage accountability and the relationship between the business partners?

Recruiting a Management Board

• Have you decided on whether you want to, or need to, establish a Management Board?
• If yes, have you identified the skills and experience you would want on the Management Board?
• Have you detailed what commitment and level of authority you are looking for from a Board member?
• Have you identified and recruited suitable Board members?
• What processes have put in place to communicate and manage the relationship with the Board?

Building a Team

• Have you listed the range of skills you need to run your business?
• What skills and responsibilities do you plan to undertake? What skills are you confident in and what skills do you need to learn?
• Have you written job specifications and performance frameworks for the other job roles that the business will require?
• What approach do you want to take for recruiting team members e.g. consultants, freelancers, employees, volunteers.
• What type of team member do you need to recruit to complete each job role?  How many of these are currently in place?
• What is your time frame for recruiting other team members?
• Do you have sufficient income to recruit these team members or do you need to secure additional investment?
• Are you happy to accept the associated advantages and disadvantages of recruiting the type of team member in the way you have chosen?
• Are their any major risks that could affect your progress and if so how are you mitigating or minimising these risks?
• If you intend to recruit employees, have you sought guidance from a HR professional to set up appropriate employee recruitment and management practices?
• What actions do you intend to take to support and maximise the value of your team?
• Do you feel you have the right team in place to deliver the results you need?

By Heather Wilkinson, Founder and Business Coach, Striding Out

Striding Out provides support to business owners to help them recruit and build great teams. We have specialist coaches who have over ten years experience working in the recruitment industry and supporting the development of teams through personality profiling and coaching tools. Contact us if you want to find out more.