Team Building Tips

How well do you know your support staff? If you had to pause, it’s not well enough. Yet the administrative assistants, clerks, technicians, and other support staff for your company are an integral part of your success.

The people that answer your telephones, pay the bills, maintain your computers, design your website, process and file your forms, and take your mail to the post office are just as integral to your success as the top decision makers. Sometimes, they are the only faces or voices the public deals with. Therefore, it’s imperative they work as a team to ensure your company has its best face forward at all times.

Unfortunately, they rarely recognize the importance of their position. Let’s face it, not many children sit around saying they want to be a secretary, or a technician, or an office runner. By nature of their position, they know they aren’t in the most esteemed positions, and as such they often feel marginalized. Long days of dealing with cranky customers, irate vendors, late deliveries, crashed servers, coordinating schedules, filing forms, and the deluge of callers that feel they are above leaving voicemail messages can make anybody feel like another cog in the wheel. Fortunately, there is a way to foster a sense teamwork, and you can do it by following a few simple suggestions:

1. Know Your Assistants:

Obviously you can’t know everybody you supervise intimately, but do you know anything about them that isn’t work related? Even though you all serve the uniform objective, you have to realize that everybody on your staff is an individual. When a person feels valued for who they are, they are more willing to support the team. Try to make it a point to know at least one thing about every staff member that isn’t work related. Do they have children, grandchildren, or pets? Do they have a hobby or participate in any social activities or clubs? Do they have an unusual interest that you wouldn’t have guessed? Even taking a moment every now and then to ask how they’re doing can improve moral.

2. Know Their Strengths:

You hired them because they excel in areas that are compatible with their position, but it’s important to watch their ongoing performance. Let’s face it; the longer you’re in a job, the more duties you tend to take on. Plus, reorganizing happen, and sometimes you wind out giving people duties you didn’t anticipate them having. I speak from experience: In eight years on my job, I’ve been through two reclassifications, two staff consolidations, and one office move. All of this has resulted in drastic changes to my job duties. While my core responsibilities remain the same, my secondary duties have shifted from business management to accounting. Why? The senior staff noticed I worked well with numbers, so they gave me an opportunity to branch out in that area. That reorganization of duties is a big part of the reason I remain in this job. Has they not moved me I probably would have searched for a job elsewhere, because I wasn’t happy doing management work, even part of the time.

The moral of the story? Know who’s good at what, and make sure their duties match. It’s ok to ask people to help in areas they weren’t hired in, but make sure it’s balanced. The office introvert in Accounting probably wouldn’t be a good pick to fill in at the receptionist desk. Track them down if you need help filing instead.

3. Friendships Happen – And So Do Disagreements!

I know we’re all professionals but face it: The office is where you spend the bulk of your weekdays. Colleagues talk and in doing so, discover things that bond them together. This isn’t always bad. If your buddy in the next office needs help and you have some time to spare, you’ll volunteer to help them out. Also, it makes for a better work environment. Having somebody nearby to share your joy, pain, laughter, and frustrations makes for a better workday.

Unfortunately, the converse also happens. Some personalities aren’t compatible, and sooner or later, you’re going to have people in conflict. Arguments and disagreements do happen. Cliques may form, making some people feel left out and angry. A promotion may make other people that competed for the position feel cheated. Whatever the scenario, dissention in the ranks is also inevitable.

The key is to not take interpersonal relationships too seriously. As a supervisor, you should only get involved if it’s a question or ethics or professional conduct. Otherwise, remain neutral. Some of the best professional advice I got was from my boss at my previous job. On the first day of work she said, “There are cliques here. The best thing you can to is watch and listen. Once you see where loyalties lie, you’ll know when it’s wise to speak, and when it’s better to keep quiet.” Those are wise words for anybody in any position.

4. Give Credit Where Credit Is Due:

The top complaint I hear from people in support staff positions is that when they make a mistake everybody is quick to blame them, but when they do something right their supervisor gets an outstanding performance award. Nothing is more demoralizing than constant complaints. While your support staff should have enough internal motivation to do the job to the best of their abilities, it always helps to hear somebody say thanks. Problems do need to be corrected, but make sure you aren’t highlighting what’s done wrong. Every now and then, take a moment to let your staff know you appreciate what they do right.

5. Give Them Room To Grow:

People come to their jobs for different reasons. Perhaps your company is in an area of interest for them, or they found an opening at your agency that matched with their skills and interests, or they needed a job and you hired them before somebody else did. Whatever the reason, everybody wants to become more than they are. Stagnation can certainly bring rise to boredom, contempt, and burnout. Make sure you give employees opportunities to grow, be it through professional development courses, career advancement counseling, mentoring, or financial assistance for higher education. Find out what they want to know more about and see if you can provide it, or at least point them in a direction of where to find it. If you don’t have the time or resources to do this, open yourself to their suggestions. Many colleges and technical schools offer short courses in a number of areas. Perhaps you could offer some sort of incentive if they voluntarily take a course, like comp time for the hours they spend in the classroom, a flexible work schedule that will allow them to get off at lunch every Friday, or the opportunity to work from home one or two days a week. If they feel you are willing to work with them, they will be willing to work with you more enthusiastically.

The bottom line is to show appreciation for each and every member of your support team. By strengthening them as individuals, you encourage them to work together as a strong team. And let’s face it; when you feel like your contribution is valued, you want to give it your all to make it a winner!

Advise to Administrative Assistants:

You are an integral part of your company. As the first point of contact with the public, you are the face and voice for your company. Here are some tips on how to be the best you can, even if you sometimes feel like another cog in the wheel:

1. Keep it Professional:

It can be tough to keep your cool when dealing with somebody that clearly thinks you’re nobody, but fight hard to maintain your dignity. Keeping calm when others are losing their tempers makes it clear who the true professional is, despite position title.

2. Watch Your Back:

It’s ok to have friends at work, but be sure you understand where your professional relationship ends and your friendship begins. Don’t divulge any personal information you don’t want to get around the office “gossip chain,” or do anything that might jeopardize your professional image. A conversation at an office party could lead to a referral for a promotion, unless you make a drunken fool of yourself. Likewise, that confidential conversation you had with a buddy during lunch could have been overheard by the office gossip while they were sending a FAX. Save causal behavior and private conversations for home and weekends.

3. Get Involved:

Go to the office Christmas Party every once in a while, even if you hate parties. If your company is being featured at a public event, drop by to support their cause. Refer a friend or neighbor to your company if they’re in need of services you offer. I know you aren’t paid to do these things, but it’s good to make an appearance and put in a good word every now and then. You don’t have to do everything. Just remember that they are supporting you by providing paid employment. The least you can do is support them. Their success passes down the line, and could turn into your good fortune.

Sherri Fulmer Moorer is the author of Living by Faith in a Pagan World (I.S.B.N. #1-4137-3346-8), which is a guide to finding faith in the battles we face every day. Her writing is focused on developing faith through situations we face in day-to-day living and fighting the devil's attempts to destroy faith through doubt. For additional information on her writing, please visit the Battleground Earth Web Site.