There’s never an ideal time to pull your team away from their work so they can socialize together, but when you do make the effort, the benefits are immediate. Setting aside an hour, a half day, a two-day retreat or whatever you can manage provides the opportunity to grow as a team and refill your collective energy tank. Doing so can help your agency bust out of service fatigue and return to delivering excellent customer service in every interaction.
Your first step to harnessing those teambuilding benefits is to accept that social gatherings between colleagues are vital to running an office, and as necessary as giving performance evaluations or ordering office supplies. In the spirit of having fun, imagine yourself as a video game avatar who seizes every opportunity to grab more energy for their journey ahead.
The good news is there are easy, actionable ways to find and create more energy for yourself and your whole team. It starts with committing to a “gather and grow" mentality that brings a team together (virtually or in person) and facilitates the kind of growth that energizes your team and helps your business thrive. The following four-step GROW process will show you exactly how.
G – Game on
Gaming at work might not be an intuitive way to encourage your team to spend their time. But gaming on the job is an easy way to bring hearts and minds together in pursuit of your common professional goals. Friendly sales competitions, staff meetings with moments of levity and experiential outings with your team are all impactful ways to bust out of service fatigue.
To take your workplace gaming to the next level, consider uniting over a cooperative strategy that can break the boredom or monotony of a day. Games that bring a team around a collective purpose and goal are shown to reduce stress and help participants cope with work-related fatigue.
R – Rule reminders
It seems every business needed to adjust rules, policies and offerings over the last two years because of the global pandemic. Process procedures changed for everything from hotel housekeeping to checking out library books. Frequent change without strong internal communication leads to trouble. Making time to “accuracy audit” will help your team find their footing again.
Conducting an accuracy audit is easier than it sounds, and it’s the perfect agenda for your next team gathering. Does your website match the current offerings? Do all members of the team know the current rules, even if they work only a few hours a week? Is everyone clear on the current processes of your organization internally and externally? Francis Ford Coppola, the famous film director, was once asked about his secret to success. He answered, “The first thing I do is make sure that everyone on set is making the same movie.” You are the director of your workplace set. Make sure all the characters have the same script.
O – Optimism
Dedication to sincerely working toward a better tomorrow is imperative for personal and professional growth. Finding the silver lining in every situation isn’t easy, but people tend to feed off each other's attitudes, mindsets and perceptions. Good and bad vibes quickly pass from one person to the next. Observe any boat rocker on staff who starts a rumor, and see how fast the fire spreads among the team. Disaster!
To prevent such occurrences, take the time to gather regularly (even if virtually) and keep communication positive to decrease the chance of an unnecessary negative spark. Strive to provide frequent updates and truthful status reports, and lead by example with your own optimistic attitude.
W – Warm welcomes
Don’t underestimate the power of a warm welcome. No one likes the feeling of being the new kid in school, and your compassion and kindness can help new team members get off to a great start. Remember to share those unwritten rules everyone else knows about, and consider assigning a first-week buddy to each new team member to help them feel at home faster.
Making the time to GROW (group gaming, rules review, optimistic outlooks and warm welcomes) will refill the energy tank of your organization, ensuring that everyone has full power and a positive outlook.
Laurie Guest, CSP, CPAE, is an author, keynote speaker and authority on customer service excellence. To learn more, visit www.LaurieGuest.com.
