SMB-owners usually begin with their entrepreneurial adventure on their own. Some new business owners might consult accountants or lawyers prior to launching their own venture, though. But when it comes to their core tasks and collaboration with clients, it pays off to work alone.
If you’re one of such entrepreneurs, sooner or later you’ll need to hire additional staff and form teams. With that in mind, it’s important to understand that the dynamics of team management is completely different from being a one-man band, i.e. business. That’s why we think it’s important to discuss the topic of efficient and economical team management.
1. Calculate full-time vs. part-time contracts
Startup and SMB-owners should keep an eye on every single cent that they have at disposal. In other words, every saved cent can be invested in business growth and professional development.
On the other hand, if things go well, you’ll have to get an extra hand for your business projects. The key decision you should bring here is whether you’ll opt for full-time employment contracts or rely on part-time workers and outsources.
If you land several long-term projects, a logical thing to do would be hiring several full-time employees, but for a specific time.
But if your projects are still coming and going at the ebb-and-tide principles, working with outsourcers and part-time workers is a more economical option. That way, you won’t make promises that you might not be able to fulfill. Plus, you won’t jeopardize your business future and your budget by making unnecessary legal commitments.
2. Encourage the BYOD-principle
When you’re only at the beginning of your business story, you don’t know what course this narrative will take. That’s why you should wait a bit before buying your own equipment. Splurging several thousands of dollars on computers and other office equipment might put your budget at risk. What if the number of projects your business is handling suddenly starts to fall? Your assets will be trapped in that equipment.
That’s why you should encourage your workers and team members to bring their own devices – the well-known BYOS-principle. Since many businesses let their employees work from home, this only means that your team members will be using their own machines while working from their homes.
Truth be told, if you can work without renting an office, you’ll also save some money along the way.
Still, those startup owners who embrace the BYOD-principle – both for remote and office-based work – need to adopt an adequate BYOD-policy. There are some potential issues that need to be properly addressed, like unauthorized access to business documents, data loss, and password management, to name a few.
3. Ensure smooth task distribution
Savings that one business can make through their teams don’t include only money and financial assets. Proper team organization is one of the key prerequisites for efficient asset management.
The principle should be the same for both remote teams and those working in offices – you need to introduce clear and practical rules for task distribution.
Using one or more task management tools is also one of the key features for frictionless and effective assignment of tasks.
This is also where your team leaders should take more responsibility. If you’re the owner and CEO of your startup, they’re your closest allies and executors of your business program.
In line with that, it would be clever to put all their responsibilities in writing. This rulebook should contain a list of team leaders and responsibilities for each of them. It’s recommended to list as many activities as possible to make sure that everyone knows their jurisdiction.
When you have a cutting-edge management solution and clear responsibilities of team leaders, you’ll be able to run your business efficiently and economically.
4. Rely on available visuals
When we’re talking about teams, team leaders, and work organization, it’s necessary to mention the importance of visual internal and external visual communication.
The more visual features you use in those communication channels, the more effective outcome you can expect.
For instance, business owners managing remote teams should encourage their outsourcers and employees to switch on their cameras during team meetings. Since startups with scattered workforce don’t have too many options for building cohesion, the members of the same team should occasionally be able to see one another. Also, sharing charts, stats, graphs, and other useful visual details during meetings will improve the quality of those meetings and, hence, the overall efficiency.
We’ve mentioned the importance of external communication, as well. Each of your teams should be individually recognizable. What you can do is dedicate one section of your website to your teams and their leaders/members. Available visuals, in this sense, refer to your workers’ testimonials, photos, and videos. This special section should contain such data on each of the presented team members. As marketers from a digital agency placed in Houston suggest, the more doors you open to your potential clients, the more of them will manage to get inside your business. In other words, if you show your current and potential clients the team powers of your business, it’s more likely that you’ll land more projects with them.
If a family is the fundamental cell of society, then a team is the basic unit of business organization. Startup owners who learn how to efficiently handle their teams are more likely to successfully run their enterprises for a long time. However, it’s important to manage your teams while simultaneously harnessing expenditure and boosting efficiency. The tips described above will help you get closer to those two goals.
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Author Byline: Liam Collins is a tech pundit and Web enthusiast working at TuiSpace.com. He spends most of his time reading and writing about the current affairs in the world of information technology. When he isn’t working, he likes going for long bike rides and walks in nature.
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