How To Build a Positive and Motivated Startup Team

Note: This is a guest post by Cloe Matheson of TrustPower. The author’s views are entirely her own and may not reflect the views of Deepanshu Gahlaut’s Blog.

Every startup counts on this key ingredient for its success – a motivated, positive, and productive workforce. As you no doubt know, however, the first years of business can be the hardest for everyone involved, from CEO to admin staff.

Building up a startup comes with added pressure, compared to other businesses. This means that it’s very important that you instil a positive team culture from the beginning.

If you’re keen to know how you can create a positive, motivated, and healthy workforce, we’ve put together some excellent tips below. With a solid team on board, you’ll go from fledgling to top flier in no time!

Don’t work your team to the bone

As a capital-tight owner, you’ve likely only had the resources to cover your essential staffing needs. This means that you’ll have plenty of work to go around.

Because your workers have accepted a role in a startup, they will usually be willing to put in more overtime work than they would expect in an established business. Of course, this doesn’t mean they are keen to work 24/7!

Establish an office habit of allowing your team the rest breaks that they need. Whether they want to fit in some exercise or enjoy some time outside, it’s important to support your team’s mental and physical well-being, both during quieter periods and when projects get hectic.

Make targets visible and measurable

You’ve seen the figures: 80% of startups fold within the first five years. A common reason for this high failure rate is a lack of clear direction and communication.

You may have procured clients, but if you haven’t delegated tasks to your team members in a way which is clear, measurable, and time-bound, your business reputation will be in jeopardy.

Collaborative apps and business software can be a godsend for improving team communication and engaging workers, especially remote workforces. Asana, for example, wins on the project management front, while tools like Trello make it easy to send out briefs and visualize each employee’s responsibilities overall.

Cultivate the team culture

It’s a given that you’ll schedule regular team meetings to discuss work-related matters. However, what happens outside of the office is also important when building a positive team culture.

Within your team, you probably have a wide variety of ages, backgrounds, and personalities. A little extra encouragement may be needed for everyone to break through the initial social barrier to connect with each other on a human – not just professional – level.

Since it’s proven that intra-team satisfaction has a hugely positive impact on employee retention rates, it’s integral for you as a business owner to make that happen.

This means treating your team to meals, happy hours, game days out, and other fun activities that can help them be more excited about working together. If your budget is tight, the gesture doesn’t have to be extravagant – a few bottles of wine enjoyed in the staffroom every second Friday will bring everyone together just as well.

But build up individual employees, too

Taking care of your team as a whole is vital, but don’t forget that each of your employees has individual goals and intentions for their work, as well.

Figure out what each individual employee needs from their working life, and do your utmost (within reason, and your means) to make that happen. It might be something as small as having coffee available in the office, or giving your employee the OK to leave 30 minutes early to do a school pick-up – but these are the things which will keep your workers feeling valued and ready to work.

About Author

Cloe Matheson resides in the gorgeous South Island city of Dunedin, New Zealand. Her writing experience spans a diverse range of topics including lifestyle, business and technology – and she has previously contributed to sites such as Trustpower. Visit Tumblr to discover more of Cloe’s published work.