Managing a team isn’t easy. You have to handle different personalities, find ways to increase motivation, help resolve conflict, and maintain high engagement levels amongst your team members. On an average day, these tasks are hard, but if your team is growing, these responsibilities become even more complicated.
Managing a growing team is incredibly challenging. If you do it poorly, your business can suffer significant consequences. A Gallup survey shows that 50 percent of employees quit because of their boss, not their job, which means there’s a 50/50 chance your employees will leave because of you.
That’s why you must know how to manage your team as it gets bigger. Business growth is one of the most exciting things for an entrepreneur. It’s a sign you’re doing something right. But mismanage that growth at any point in your journey, and you may find yourself taking ten steps back instead of ten steps forward.
Common growing pains on teams
If you want to manage a growing team, you need to start by understanding the growing pains you might see. Growing pains are common with business growth. The bigger your company gets, the more problems you’ll experience, and knowing what those issues are will help set you and your team’s expectations so that no one’s surprised and discouraged by what’s happening. Keeping that in mind, here are five growing pains your team may notice.
1. Lower productivity
New hires won’t be as productive as seasoned employees. In fact, on average, it takes eight months for new employees to reach full productivity. So, if you’re hiring and onboarding new talent, you may notice a decrease in your team’s productivity.
2. Lack of clarity and alignment
As your team gets bigger, it’s easy for things to feel like the wild west. Your team may be wondering who’s responsible for what, who to talk to for certain projects, and where to find information. Ultimately, this misalignment could impact how well your team tackles projects and tasks. Research indicates that 97 of employees and executives think a misaligned team influences the outcome of a team’s success.
3. Old processes no longer work
The processes that worked for a small team won’t always work for a growing team. Some techniques are not built to scale. For example, maybe you relied on spreadsheets when your team was smaller, but now that your company is growing, your spreadsheets are no longer sufficient. They don’t help manage projects as well as before, and things are in disarray. This example is a classic case of what it looks like when old processes don’t scale.
4. Burnout and feeling overwhelmed
Managing a growing team can leave you burnt out and overwhelmed. More employees mean more people to pay attention to and increased responsibilities, and most bosses find it hard to handle. Some studies suggest that 66 percent of bosses experience burnout and 76 percent of them become overwhelmed when managing people.
5. Conflict
Adding new employees to your team could create some tension. When your team worked with the same people every day, they developed a certain level of trust, which increased their performance and collaboration. But when you add new employees to the mix, your team has to build trust with those people, and that process can be challenging and result in a few quarrels.
Steps to managing a growing team
Fortunately, there are ways to manage a growing team that aren’t hard to implement. However, it’s important to remember that these strategies won’t totally eliminate growing pains. Those will still be there, but you can minimize their impact so that your team stays intact during your company’s growth. So, without further ado, here are five steps to managing a growing team.
1. Prepare your existing team for changes
When new hires are going through the onboarding process, use that time to speak with your existing employees. Let them know that new people will be joining the team, and help them prepare for any changes that will arise. For example, if you plan to use a different process or workflow once the new team members arrive, train your existing team on how to use it so that they’re already equipped.
2. Define roles and responsibilities
As your team grows, responsibilities may shift, and it’s imperative that you outline those shifts to your new and existing employees. Clearly define everyone’s role and responsibilities. Make sure every employee knows what’s expected of them so that they know what to work on every day. Clarity will help reduce burnout, conflict, and confusion.
3. Develop scalable processes
Managing a growing team requires you to build scalable processes. This step means you might need to look at project management tools to streamline your workflow. Additionally, you may need to create templates that outline how to tackle specific tasks. For example, having a project brief template could be an excellent resource for employees.
4. Encourage your employees to take the lead
When attending to a growing team, you need to encourage your existing employees to steer their own ships. Pull back some of your oversight, and let your team operate more self-sufficiently. If you feel comfortable delegating specific tasks, you can do that as well. And you can also pair new employees with seasoned team members so that you don’t train recent hires all by yourself.
5. Foster trust among your team
As you add people to your team, you must intentionally build trust amongst the members. Doing that isn’t as hard as it sounds. Just take time to do team-building exercises, and schedule virtual or in-person hangouts. Also, play ice-breaker games at the beginning of meetings when there’s a new employee present. Consistently doing these little things will help foster a healthy and productive environment for your team to flourish.
Build a solid foundation for growth
It’s awesome watching your team grow. New employees bring fresh ideas and new perspectives that will help your business reach new heights. But make sure you take steps to build a workplace that can manage growth effectively. Doing so will keep new and existing employees engaged and excited about the future.