Easy Source HR Solutions

You must have certainly come across an instance wherein a former colleague of yours joined your company after having worked elsewhere. Does this surprise you! Why is it that the employee who left the company for a better pay package is willing to join his former company? Mostly, employees quit for a better organization due to personal reasons such as pay hike, career growth, flexible working hours and other reasons. It is to be noted that if you share a good rapport with your former manager or HR personnel then chances are there that you can be welcomed back in your former company.

Benefits of Rehire

In the present uncertain scenario, the HR is increasingly adopting innovative ways of recruiting skilled manpower who deliver best results for the organization. One such method is that of rehiring former employees. Indeed, it sounds unbelievable! But, rehire has its own benefits. Primarily, the employee is familiar with the work culture of the company and will thus easily get attuned with the company environment. Moreover, the employee returns with enhanced experience, knowledge and adds value to the company. The HR personnel needs to keep in mind few points to ensure that the process of rehiring candidates turns out to be a win-win situation for both the company and the former employee.

• Maintaining an Efficient Database of Employees: It is vital for the HR of your company to maintain an efficient database of employees. This should include all categories of employees such as on payroll, contractual, freelancer or even a consultant. You should have their updated contact details in your record so that you can keep them posted about the latest developments and any vacancies coming up in your company.
• Formulate a Rehire Policy: The HR of your company needs to formulate a rehire policy in order to ascertain clearly the criteria for rehiring former employees. For instance, an employee who left the company due to violation of company policies, poor performance or due to allegation of misconduct will not be rehired again.In simple words, a list of guidelines has to be prepared to ease the process of rehiring former employees for your company.
• Schedule an Interview before completing the Rehiring Process: The HR of your company should ensure that the former employee gets interviewed just like any other new hire candidate. In the interview, you can cross-check the reasons given by the former employee for making his exit from the company. In addition, you will get to know about the experience and knowledge that he has acquired during this time which would be useful to your company.
• Reboarding: The reboarding process is the way of reintroducing the former employees to the ways in which the company has been functioning all these years since the employee left the company. Moreover, since the outbreak of Covid-19, several companies have reformulated their policies and procedures.The HR personnel would need to introduce the former employee to the following features of the company:
  • The latest technologies and softwares being used in-house
  • Office working hours along with work from home policy
  • Collaboration with team members
  All this can be done easily by incorporating the former employee in the existing onboarding process involving the new recruits.
• Open Deliberation about Compensation and Benefits: Once the HR of your company has been satisfied with the interview process of the former employee, it is time to hold discussion about compensation and benefits. Moreover, it is advisable to be candid with the former employee as the latter might be expecting a senior position in the company. Else, the employee could be on the lookout for a far better package than that in hand.

In simple words, the HR has to absolutely clear with the former employee in terms of compensation and additional benefits which the company would offer him in case of a rejoin. Therefore, to conclude, the idea of rehiring former employees is indeed catching up in India. For instance, companies like Tata have a track record of hiring former employees back into its organization. Moreover, the Covid-19 scenario has prompted the employers to bring back former employees (especially who left with a good rapport) in their organization.

PEO outsourcing refers to a third-party company with whom a client enters into an agreement with the objective of handing over the HR related and employee related liabilities to it. A PEO enters into an agreement known as the Client Servicing Agreement (CSA) wherein, the two parties clearly decide upon the terms and conditions to be adhered to for a financial year. The contract gets renewed or terminated after a year depending upon the satisfaction level of both the parties.

So, everything you need to know about PEO outsourcing is going to be clearly stated in this article.  When you avail the services of a PEO, it provides you with the requisite professionals, infrastructure and resources through which you can focus primarily on expanding your business.

How does a PEO operate?

It is vital to understand that the two parties enter into a co-employment’ kind of relationship. In this kind of business relationship, the client enters into an agreement with a PEO, according to which employee responsibilities and liabilities are shared by a PEO. The fee of this (CSA) agreement is calculated either on per employee basis or as a percentage of the payroll.

What are the benefits of using a PEO?

A PEO is the one-stop outsourcing solution for all your HR related and employed related responsibilities. By using the services of a PEO, your company happens to

• Saves time and money;
  
  
• Minimize exposure to risk;
  
  
• Avail proficient manpower in foreign lands
  
  

What are the services provided by a PEO?

Every kind of organization—big, small and medium—all set to gain from the plethora of services provided by a PEO.

1. 1. Primarily, small enterprises hire the services of a PEO to be able to provide medical, life insurance, retirement plan and other benefits to its employees. This will help them to attract talent and retain them as well.
      
      
   2. Secondly, a PEO helps to provide coverage to you from any kind of exposure to risk. For instance, any kind of employee claims on termination, or unemployment are tackled by a PEO. Also, tax deduction and submission as per the laws of the respective country are done by a PEO.
      
      
   3. Thirdly, a PEO supports your HR team as well by working on payroll management, recruitment, training and development, preparing and sharing employee handbooks, performance management and so forth.
      
      

Misconceptions about PEO

Everything you need to know about PEO outsourcing includes the wrong notions or misconceptions held about this entity. Several believe that once you enter into an agreement with a PEO, you tend to lose control over your employees, in short, your business. Here, it is necessary to comprehend that while a PEO handles all employee-related tasks and risks, you maintain control over your business and its operations.

Many also believe that the hiring of a PEO implies the removal of HR staff. Well, it is vital to understand that a PEO provides the necessary support and assistance to your company HR staff in running the business operations seamlessly. A PEO comes very handy to the HR in cases related to employee compensation, resolving conflicts and designing training programmes.

Lastly, a PEO does not hamper or intrude in the normal way of functioning of your organization. All the more, it aids, facilitates and improves the employee-employer relationship with entire focus on the growth and expansion of your organization.

Conclusion

Everything you need to know about PEO outsourcing is essential before you to set to avail the said benefits of a PEO. Also, remember, PEO outsourcing is of immense help if you wish to expand your business across new horizons without getting stuck in legal complications and without losing focus on your business goals.  

A strong company culture is a vital element for every organization small, big, large or mid-sized. The culture of the organization provides the backbone for the successful running of the organization. The organizational culture takes into account the beliefs, values of the organization, the functioning of the management body, the behaviour of the employees and the manner in which the customers are dealt with. All these aspects when together taken into consideration come to define a strong company culture. The organizational culture is defined and created by the senior management personnel and put into practice by the HR department through the means of the Employee Handbook which encompasses the code of ethics. Companies such as Google, LinkedIn, HubSpot, Microsoft, Facebook and others are credited to creating a strong and vibrant company culture.

Now, you must be wondering about the significance of a strong company culture. Have you ever wondered why you enjoy going to office every day? It is a proven fact that employees enjoy working at the office which offers a good working environment.

An amicable company culture is often liked by employees who enjoy working in such an environment. In return, the organization tends to gain employees who tend to stay longer; thus, avoiding attrition. This aspect also helps in building strong working relationship among the co-workers as well.

Another significant advantage of having a strong company culture is that your organization comes to acquire a good name in the market. Your customers tend to acknowledge the reputation of your organization associated with the products/services that you offer. Moreover, the presence of a strong company culture promotes healthy relationship between its customers and the company.

You must have now comprehended the paramount importance of a strong company culture. Yet most mid-sized organizations are still not capable of creating a good company culture. They face several difficulties in this process. So, let us understand how a mid-sized organization can create a strong and vibrant company culture.

1. Clarity about the Company’s Goals: It is essential for a mid-sized organization to be clear about its goals and vision. For instance, if you are the owner of the organization producing footwear then you need to have clarity about the sources of procurement of raw materials, the line of products to be manufactured and the process of marketing and selling. Likewise, your employees should also reflect the goals and vision of the company. The employees should be committed to pursue the company’s goals in the long-term. This can simply be achieved by establishing a strong company culture revolving around the achievement of the company’s goals.

2. Recognition and Reward: The second significant factor which helps in creating a strong company culture is by recognizing and rewarding the employees of your company. The employees of your company make things happen at the workplace and so they indeed play a vital role in the functioning of the company. The company should ensure to recognize the extra efforts taken by an employee in fulfilling his duties and responsibilities towards the company. Moreover, the company can also go ahead and reward the employee for his efforts. This will not only boost the morale of the employee but also will help in employee motivation and employee retention for the company. Hence, by creating such a positive company culture—the company as well as the employees tend to develop a mutually beneficial relationship which is bound to go ahead in the future as well.

3. Provide flexibility: One of the significant aspects which goes into the creation of a strong company culture is the feature of looking after the requirements of the employees. In these uncertain and unprecedented times, it is vital for organizations to relinquish mundane functioning practices and embrace the new ones. This includes the provision of flexible work timings and work from home option. The MNCs and other big companies are today offering both these options to their employees.In other words, the creation of a flexible work environment is bound to keep the employees happy and thus, motivated. Motivated employees facilitate in improving the productivity of the company.

4. Establishing collaboration among team members: A vibrant company culture can be created by ensuring that the members of a team collaborate with each other while working on the projects. This kind of healthy work relationship helps in quick completion of tasks/ targets and also enhances the revenue of the company. In addition, the manager should also engage in team building activities among the members of the team.

Therefore, to conclude, the creation of a strong and vibrant company culture has helped large companies in boosting their employee productivity and in enhancing revenue. So, the mid-sized companies should not lag behind and leverage this feature to expand and enhance their business.    

The outbreak of Covid-19 in the year 2020 has brought about several unanticipated changes in the global business scenario. Even payroll management has been affected by this pandemic.

Payroll management has undergone tremendous change in the past few years especially with the advancement in technology and the changing business environment. The emergence of new technologies has made it easier to handle the tasks associated with payroll management. In other words, the function of payroll has been able to keep pace with the changes taking place in the global economy. Not only this, technology has brought ease and convenience in the functioning of the Human Resource Department.

Let us go through some of the latest trends that have emerged in the year 2020 in the field of payroll management for employers to adopt.

Automation of payroll management: This is the foremost trend which has emerged in 2020 and is increasingly being adopted by big and small business houses. With the advancement in technology – cloud computing and so forth, automation of payroll function has become quick and cost-effective. Moreover, the outbreak of the pandemic Covid-19 has made it imperative on the part of the businesses to adopt the process of automation for their payroll function.

Automation is cost-effective, reduces paperwork and the chances of errors. Thus, accuracy and speed are the essential benefits of automating the payroll function.

Emphasis on data security: The year 2020 has highlighted the need to focus on protecting the data of the employees since automation has become the new norm for payroll management. Cybercrimes are increasing and hence, it has become imperative for the third party service provider to absolutely focus on protecting the data of the employees.

It is to be noted that automation ensures that data is password protected and so cannot be easily accessed. Moreover, there is no paperwork that can go missing and create further hassles for both the employer and the employee.

Flexible payroll: You might have heard about this term for the first time! One of the most talked about changes that is happening in 2020 is that of flexible payroll. You must have heard about monthly payment of salary; however, companies are devising new ways of providing flexible pay-outs to the employees based on the project work and business scenario.

When the company decides to fulfill the needs of the employee in a flexible manner, it nurtures a fruitful relationship between the two in the long run.

Pay transparency: This trend is something which is the topic of heated discussion in 2020. In the wake of the pandemic, freelance and contractual jobs are on the rise. Companies are publicly sharing information about the pay package of its employees whether on payroll, contract or freelance. In the light of this scenario, payroll management has to be handled in an efficient manner.

Therefore, to conclude, you must have realized by now that the arena of payroll management has undergone drastic change in recent years. As a result, several new trends have emerged in 2020 facilitated by automation and advanced technology.     

Payroll is defined as the disbursal of salary by the employer to the employees for work completed by them. Every employer or business organization needs to have an effective payroll management system established. The payroll management system refers to the use of a software programme to perform the various tasks related to payment to employees and filing of taxes.

What are the payroll functions performed by the HR?

The HR under payroll management performs the following functions:

• It formulates and implements the organization’s pay policy which includes leave encashment, bonus, incentives and other financial aspects.
• It defines the significant components of the salary such as Leave Travel Allowance (LTA), House Rent Allowance (HRA), and the basic and flexible components of the salary.
• It calculates the gross salary of the employees of the organization to arrive at the net pay.
• It is responsible for depositing the deductions done under TDS, EPF to the appropriate authorities within the stipulated period to avoid levy of penalties and fines.
• Finally, release of salary to the employees of the organization.

Why is Digitization of payroll management required?

It is to be noted that when the HR performs its payroll functions manually, it is bound to consume time. Indeed, you can say that this manual method is cost-effective; but the HR personnel need to keep themselves updated with the constantly changing labour laws and tax related rules and regulations.

Flaws and errors can be minimized if the company decides to digitize its payroll management process. Digitization implies that the company decides to use a payroll software. The use of this payroll software will ensure a number of benefits to the organization. Primarily, it will become easy for the HR personnel to collect data coming from various sources in a seamless manner. It will provide complete automation of the payroll system by directly providing payslips to the employees. In addition, the software will also facilitate easy management of the attendance (leaves and balances) of the employees of the organization. Most significantly, the software will reduce the time consumed and the chances of making errors in the calculation and disbursal of the salaries of the employees of the organization.

As a result, the Human Resource Management System (HRMS), or Human Resource Information System (HRIS) is increasingly being adopted by both large businesses and small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

Let us now assess the contribution made by digitization in the field of payroll management.

Ensures easy observance of the laws of the land: It is vital to comprehend that manually doing entry of the deductions, gross pay, bonus, incentives and other financial details of the employees can be time consuming and erroneous. Moreover, as per the Union Budget, which comes out every year in India, the tax deduction rules are susceptible to change. All these hassles can be easily handled by utilizing the services of a payroll software. Such softwares are also capable of sending reminders to employees to enter the details as per the given deadlines and generate reports.

Ensures adaptability: Another significant contribution of digitization of the payroll management is that it adapts itself well at the time of expansion of the organization. The payroll software should be capable of handling vast employee data in terms of leave balance, attendance, income tax computation and other vital financial information.

Gives the option of self-service to employees: The payroll software should provide the option to employee to enter their essential details in the payroll management software itself. This will ensure accurate data entry. It will also reduce the hassle of contacting the HR personnel in the case of making a correction which can now otherwise be done automatically.

Ensures timely pay-out to the employees: Digitization of the payroll management system ensures timely disbursal of salary to the employees. This helps in boosting the morale of the employees and gives them assurance of job security.

Provides automatic alerts with reference to discrepancies: Digitization of payroll management will help in sending alerts at the time of incorrect data entry or tax deduction. In this manner, errors can be easily spotted and rectified.

Therefore, to conclude, the transition from manual to digital payroll system helps to save a lot of time. It also facilitates quick processing of salary, helps to maintain records effortlessly, eliminates errors, and reduces stress on the part of the employers.

Nobody likes to work in an environment where the team members and your manager are just not interested in listening to your concerns. Yes, I am talking about the ability to share, feel and understand the feeling of others at the workplace. In other words, the ability to empathise at the workplace is extremely essential both for the employee and the company.

Suppose, you appear to be disinterested in working on your project due to some personal problem. But, your manager is just not concerned about the reason for this disinterestedness. Moreover, you are unable to share your problem with your colleagues as well. Now, this kind of working environment is certainly not wanted by an employee.

It is vital to develop an empathetic atmosphere at the workplace because it simply increases the productivity of the employees. In addition, this is an essential trait that every manager should possess if he wants his team to excel above others. It gives a feeling to the employees that there is someone to listen to their woes. Hence, developing the quality to empathise is beneficial at the workplace.

Let us understand few simple ways in which you can develop the quality to empathise at your workplace.

1. Develop the Ability to Listen: While working in your office, it is essential to develop the ability to listen to your team members working around you. Now, listening is just not hearing but understanding the meaning behind the words. It is to be noted that even by watching the body language of your co-workers; you can understand their mood and state of mental being.

However, in the post-Covid-19 scenario, you might wonder how to develop this feeling of understanding and sharing the feeling of your co-workers. These days, remote working has become the order of the day for most companies. It is also to be noted that the concept of remote working has brought about feeling of demotivation and low morale among the employees. So, it has become all the more important to develop this feeling of empathy in you in order to survive in this uncertain and unpredictable work environment.

Here, you can take the help of video conferencing to understand the feelings of your team members. Video conferencing once a week helps to cultivate the team building spirit and you can easily listen and comprehend the views and ideas expressed by your team members. It is to be noted that even teleconferencing is helpful wherein you can understand the true feeling of the other via the tone or pitch used by the individual.

2. Ask Questions: Simply listening to your co-workers is just not enough. It is vital for you to ask questions either at the workplace or while working from a remote location. When you ask questions, your team member gets the feeling that you are concerned about him. This in turn will lead to a conversation between you and your colleague disclosing a lot of things both at the personal and professional level. Thus, when you begin to converse you get to know several things about your co-worker which gradually helps you to empathise with your team member.

3. Remember that people have feelings: It is to be noted that while working overtime to achieve deadlines, human beings have become more or less like a robot. You need to remember that every one of us has feelings and emotions which when subdued can be extremely harmful for the growth of the individual employee and his organization. So, the next time, do not ignore a smile or a sign of acceptance from your co-worker, instead go ahead and talk to him. Only when you talk and comprehend the feelings of your co-workers, then can you truly empathise with them.

4. Only gradually, can you learn to empathise: Cultivating the quality to empathise at the workplace is necessary but unfortunately, it cannot be developed overnight. It is a human emotion and hence, unless you feel for the person next to you; you can never learn or acquire it. The ability to understand and share the emotions and feelings of your team members has to come from within and it can certainly take time to develop. You need to have patience to listen to others and understand their concerns both personal and related to work. All this cannot happen at the click of a mouse or at one go; it will take time and you need to constantly endeavour towards talking and starting a cordial conversation with your co-workers in order to understand their feelings and emotions.

Therefore, do not undervalue the importance of empathy at the workplace. Employees who feel that their voices and concerns are being listened to, tend to contribute actively towards the productivity of their company. Employees look forward towards working in a workplace which is compassionate and empathetic towards them.       

Are you thinking of switching your payroll provider this year? Perhaps, you are frustrated with the service being provided by your payroll company? Or else, the company’s negligence has resulted in errors leading to heavy fines and penalties. Maybe, you are too tired of handling the payroll function along with other functions of your company. Whatever, the reason may be; the question arises as to what is the right time to change your payroll provider?

What is the ideal time to switch your payroll provider?

The ideal time to switch your payroll provider is the beginning of the new financial year. In India, the new financial year begins from 1^st April when the old contracts end by 31^st March. Changing providers at the beginning of the year allows your new payroll company to run smoothly throughout the year. However, before making the change the following vital aspects should be considered:

• You should obtain all the copies of employee related information and tax filling from your previous payroll company.
• You should collect all the basic information about your company from your previous payroll company ( for example, passwords, log-in id)

Let us briefly understand the vital factors which should be considered while changing your payroll service provider.

1. Service Issue: Payroll is indeed a vital function of your company. So, if your employees are facing service issues with your present payroll provider, it is time for a change. There could be instances where your employees are unable to extract the data required, then this can leave a negative impact on your employees. Moreover, your present payroll service provider should be able to use technological advancements in resolving issues at a faster pace.

In other words, any kind of service issues which hamper the overall productivity of the employees and payroll errors –all are indicators of changing your payroll service provider in the new financial year.

2. Automation: The automation feature in payroll is certainly the most strong point in favour of hiring a payroll service provider. And, if your present payroll company fails to provide it, then it is time for a change. Let me tell you that automation in payroll facilitates data collection, validation, doing calculations at the click of a mouse. This in turn increases the efficiency of your company and that of the payroll service provider. After all, efficiency of your company will give a boost to your customers as well.

3. Flexibility: In the present fast paced working scenario, it is essential that your present payroll company provides the flexibility of mobile application to the employees of your company.  Perhaps, your payroll software is easy to use on your desktop or labtop but not so efficient to use on your mobile. The inability to access, update or collect payroll data while travelling can easily affect employee productivity and employee morale leading to reduction in the functioning of the company. So, when you get these indicators, it is time for you to think of a switch over to a new payroll company.

4. Competitive Pricing: Another significant area of concern is the price being paid to your present payroll service provider. If you get this feeling that you are paying too much or perhaps some of its facilities are overpriced, you should certainly look for other options. After all, there are numerous payroll service providers in the market and you can select the one which suits your budget and adds value to your company as well.

Some of the payroll pricing issues which you may come across are the following:

• Your employee count is 150 and you are a using a software which is apt for 1000 employees database
  
  
• You could be in a contract wherein you are paying additional charges for services which are just not required at your end
  
  
• You are not able to bifurcate the monthly expense of the payroll service provider
  
  

Ideally, the charges being paid to the payroll service provider should be clear and transparent for you to analyse whether you are being overcharged or not. In case, you feel there is overpricing, you should look for other options in the market based on competitive pricing and then select the appropriate payroll service provider.

Therefore, to conclude, do not undermine the importance of the payroll function in your company. If, by any chance, the present payroll service provider is unable to meet your expectations then do switch over to a new one at the beginning of the new financial year.  

The sudden outbreak of the pandemic Covid-19 in 2020 across the globe has prompted employers to look towards the well-being of their employees. Most of the employees while working remotely from home are experiencing ‘burnout’.  Now this feeling of burnout could allude to physical exhaustion, fatigue and tiredness which when ignored could lead to mental health issues as well.

What leads to employee burnout?

Primarily, as an employer, you need to understand what leads to employee burnout. It has been noted that even employees who are highly productive experience the feeling of burnout. The following are the key factors which lead to employee burnout:

1. Foremost employee burnout happens when his needs are not met either personal or professional.

2. The burnout can also happen when the employee feels disconnected with the company’s goals and objectives to be accomplished.

3. Employee burnout generally happens due to workload or stress at the workplace.

4. It is to be noted that even adverse circumstances at home can also lead to employee burnout.

Having identified some of the major factors responsible for employee burnout, let us identify its symptoms:

• Inability to connect with the co-workers or team members
  
  
• Physical exhaustion
  
  
• Negativity at workplace
  
  
• Reduced efficiency at workplace
  
  

Impact of Employee Burnout

You must have comprehended by now the severe impact of employee burnout on the company’s turnover. It has an adverse impact on the quality of service/goods, profit and performance of the company. Moreover, it leads to employee being absent and availing his health premium more often.

Ways of Preventing Employee Burnout

You must have realized by now that either rotational shift or remote working and other factors can lead to employee burnout. It is one of the major factors responsible for reduced productivity at workplace and low employee morale. Hence, employers need to be considerate and find ways to prevent and tackle employee burnout.

1. Motivate employees to complete their work within the schedule or stipulated period: The fast paced work environment has made it mandatory for the employees to work round the clock to achieve deadlines. Employers felicitate and encourage employees who work hard and achieve goals. However, what employees get to lose here is something to be laid emphasis upon. In the race of achieving deadlines, employees work overtime and become physically and mentally exhausted.

Here, it becomes imperative for the employers to encourage employees not to overwork beyond the working hours. For instance, the employees should not work for more than 50 hours in a week. Employees should try and finish their work within the given working hours instead of staying back late in the office.

Even during the lockdown period, employees should not stretch themselves beyond the working hours otherwise it could lead to work-life disbalance.

2. Set flexible working schedules: One major aspect which helps prevent employee burnout is the setting-up of flexible working schedules by the companies. Especially, during the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, most MNCs and start-ups have given the flexibility of working from home to their employees. Moreover, employees while trying to balance chores at home can easily manage work schedules when given flexibility.

Most employees are working parents and have to look after elder parents and school children; this can be easily managed along with work when given the flexibility to work by the employers. All this helps in making the employee happy and preventing burnout.

3. Set absolutely clear guidelines: These days, while working remotely from home employees tend to feel disconnected with the organizational goals and objectives. Here, the manager of the team needs to ensure transparency among the team members to keep them motivated and thus encouraged. The manager needs to hold regular talks using software tools such as Microsoft Teams, WhatsApp and others to keep the feeling of one team intact. This will ensure that the employees feel that the company is still looking after them and thinking about them.

In simple words, the employer should converse with the team members and keep them updated with the goals of the company and the techniques of achieving them within the stipulated period.

Therefore, to conclude, employee burnout is a major issue today faced by several employers due to the remote working environment. However, it can be easily handled when its symptoms are identified and accordingly action taken to rectify it. The employer simply needs to motivate the employees and make him feel an essential part of the company’s growth story to prevent burnout.   

A successful team leader is an asset for an organization or an institution. We all have heard that leaders are born not made. However, there are certainly some skills which when acquired can groom you to towards becoming a successful leader. In simple words, leadership qualities can be acquired which help you to become a successful team leader in your organization.

Who is a successful team leader?

A successful team leader is one who inspires his team members to work passionately towards achieving the goals of the organization.  He is the one who helps find a solution when everything fails to work. A team leader is the person who recognizes the essential skills of his team members and assigns them tasks accordingly. In this way, he creates value for the organization. 

Essential Qualities of a Successful Team Leader

The top 10 qualities of a successful team leader are the following:

1. Communication: The first and foremost quality which sets you apart as successful team leader is your ability to communicate with your team. A successful team leader should be able to communicate his plan of action and the targets to be achieved to his team members in a succinct and simple manner. Your communication should be such that it should leave no doubt in the minds of your team members. Clarity in your communication and the ability to convey your message across to your team is what makes you a successful team leader.

2. Confidence: One of the significant traits of a successful team leader is his confidence. Yes, you have to exhibit confidence in your words and actions so that your team members believe you. If you are not confident enough of your actions then you might put your team in doubt as well. So, remember to exude confidence which help you to garner the support and trust of your team members. This quality will also help you grow in the organization in the long-term.

3. Respectful: As a successful team leader, you need to realize the worth of your team members. You need to be respectful of your juniors as well as the members of your team. You cannot earn respect unless you show respect to others. This will make your team members repose their faith and trust in you. A respectful team leader earns fame and recognition in the organization as well.

4. Empathy: Empathy has emerged to be one of the significant traits of a successful team leader especially in this uncertain scenario of Covid-19. The sudden outbreak of Covid-19 created economic instability and an uncertain environment. Under such circumstances, a true leader is one who enquires about the well-being of his team members. An empathetic leader is one who is concerned about his team members and openly discusses with them about their problems. Empathy is one such quality which will help you in building trust and lasting relationships with your team members.

5. Transparency: This is one of the true leadership qualities essential for you to be successful as a leader. You lead by example only when you are transparent about your values, mission and the work culture. Transparency also helps you to build strong relationship with your team members. You need to clearly state what your goals are and how you will accomplish them along with your team members. In this way, your way of functioning becomes transparent and your goals can easily be visualized as aligned with the goals of your organization.

6. Accountability: You, as a successful team leader need to take full responsibility for your actions and that of your team members as well. When a project gets completed as planned and the team delivers, the credit of success goes to the entire team. But, when the project falls short of expectations or does not meet the set target, then you, as the leader have to take full accountability for the failure. Not only that, you also investigate the reasons for the failure and try to find a solution to it as well. This is where the differentiating factor comes in! A successful team leader, takes the onus, fills the gaps and creates a culture of accountability in the organization.

7. Delegation: You have to learn the art of delegating work if you want to become a successful team leader. Yes, you heard it correct! It is very easy to work on your own but difficult to get work done from others. You should be aware about the behaviour, specific skill sets and the attitude of your team members. This will help you in assigning projects to your team members.  Moreover, the team members also understand the responsibility given to them through the projects assigned to them. In simple words, proper delegation is one of the requisite skills of a leader.

8. Resilient: You must have been resilient to be able to face the unexpected crisis of the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic. Believe me, if you are resilient, then you have the capability of facing even the toughest situations in your life be it personal or professional. The outbreak of the pandemic brought uncertainties with it, which affected every individual. Only a resilient leader would be in a position to maintain his composure and face the uncertain economic scenario with grit and determination. The ability to bounce back is not ingrained but it can be learned gradually and with the passage of time.

9. Passion: An outstanding quality of a successful team leader is his passion to do things. It is your passion which will make you excel in whatever you do. As a leader, you have to stand out in the crowd and it is your passion which inspires you to do tasks at hand in a perfect manner. It is your passion which drives you towards excellence in no matter what you do. So, do not underestimate your passion for your work or any other activity. Your passion is your driving force to excel as a team leader.

10. Trust and Empowerment: As a successful team leader you have to learn to have faith in the ability, potential and capability of your team members. The factor of ‘trust’ goes a long way in developing relationships with your team members. Once you evince trust, in return, your team members will show trust in you.  Moreover, you also need to empower your team members by assigning responsible work to them. You need to have faith that your team will perform well even in trying circumstances.  

Conclusion

Therefore, to conclude, if you want to be a successful team leader who need to possess some distinct qualities such as empathy and passion in you. Moreover, a true leader is one who takes onus for the failure of his team efforts. You need to gradually inculcate these qualities so that you become competent enough to face even the toughest circumstances in the business scenario.  

Have you come across instances where you have looked forward to attending meetings? Do you generally achieve the targets set for the meeting? If no, then you need to comprehend the reasons behind ineffective meetings. Such meetings not just waste time and effort but also hamper productivity. So, the next time you decide to organise a meeting with your team members, remember to keep the following strategies in mind.

How to make your Meetings Effective?

It is generally believed that meetings are a waste of time. However, when conducted in a proper and planned manner, meetings can turn out to be fruitful and effective. So, let us briefly gothrough the strategies for making meetings effective at the workplace.

1. Have a clear objective: The first and foremost strategy for an effective meeting is that you should have a clear objective in mind. This implies deciding upon the topic of discussion. Are you going to discuss about the launch of a new product or service? Or are you going to talk about the rising number of service issues coming up with your customers? Else, you could discuss about the declining revenue of your team? Now, whatever is the objective, it should be absolutely clear and communicated accordingly to the employees who are going to attend the meeting. So, in other words, when you have a goal to achieve you will certainly end with success.

2. Have an agenda for the meeting: When you have an objective or goal to discuss, it becomes easy to outline the agenda for the meeting. A well-planned meeting with an outlined agenda is the key to a successful meeting. The following is the list of essential points to be included in the agenda:

• The vital topics to be discussed in the meeting
• Time and location of the meeting
• The number of participants who will attend the meeting
• The allocation of topic to every participant to prepare and speak
• The objectives to be achieved from the meeting
  
  

It is necessary that you send these essential details to every participant of the meeting so that the meeting goes accordingly as planned and turns out to be a success.

3. Introduce variety in your meeting: Meetings often happen to be very boring and uninteresting. Another strategy for making your meeting effective is by introducing variety in it. You must be surprised and curious to know the meaning of variety in this context! Let me elaborate this for you. You need to introduce some unique features to your meeting which can be done in the following ways:

• Try and select the meeting venue outside the office premises
• Bring in some interesting food
• Celebrate birthdays or anniversaries at the meeting
  
  

Engage the participants in brainstormingBelieve me, introducing the above mentioned steps will help you break the monotony generally experienced during a meeting and will make your meeting a success.

4. Make space for creativity: Another significant strategy which can result in effecting meetings is that you should give some space to creativity among the participants of the meeting. There could be an instance where a participant comes up with an innovative idea to a service issue resolution. Or else, there could be an instance where participants come up with genuine ideas or notions particular to a product or service. Remember, all this can happen only when the participants are actively attending the meeting instead of just passing the time in a monotonous manner.Hence, you should allow the participants to exhibit their creative zeal and energy in the meeting.

5. Try and avoid multitasking in the meeting: This is one aspect of our daily lives which is difficult to avoid in the meeting room. But believe me, if you can restrain the participants of the team from working on the laptop and attending phone calls simultaneously, you can make the participants much more attentive in the meeting. There are other ways of doing this as well. For instance, you can assign specific role to each participant of the meeting such as who will be the facilitator, who will taken down the minutes of the meeting and so forth. Ensure that your meeting has a time frame to which the participants adhere to. In other words, another effective strategy is to make the participants simply focus on the agenda of the meeting instead of managing their call logs within the meeting.

6. Have an interactive question & answers session: An interactive question & answer session is another vital strategy to make meetings effective. This also helps you to surmise how much the participants have been able to comprehend the objective or goal of the meeting. This further facilitates in understanding whether the meeting has been successful or not. An interactive question & answer session not just clears the doubts but also bears testimony to the fact that the meeting has been effective in achieving its goal/ goals.

7. Always remember to follow-up: A meeting can only be termed as effective when there is a proper follow-up done by the organizer of the meeting. Once the meeting has been concluded, you must ensure that a proper follow-up is done. You must prepare the minutes of the meeting and share them with all the participants of the meeting. Also, do a proper follow-up of the tasks assigned to any of the participants of the team. Effective meetings ensure that the discussions held are converted into action thereby resulting in the productivity of your team efforts.

8. Using online technology to conduct meetings during the pandemic period: In the present scenario, when most of us are remotely working from home conducting a meeting with the team members becomes a challenge. However, you can overcome this challenge by using the latest online applications such as Microsoft Teams, Zoom, WatsApp and other tools. Technology has indeed helped in overcoming the obstacles brought forth by the pandemic in the business environment.

Conclusion

Therefore, to conclude, try and overcome the general assumption that meetings are a waste of time and effort. The next time you decide to hold a meeting try and arrange for a planned meeting by deciding the number of participants, time and place of the meeting and most importantly the agenda beforehand.