Build an Effective Team

People are the most important resource a business has and can have a direct affect on the success or failure of a business. Whilst people are the most important asset they are also the most difficult to manage and the easiest to lose. Managing people successfully is therefore a critical aspect for a company.

It is important to pay attention to recruiting and training your team for the following reasons:-

Employees will help you achieve objectives, deilver results and be successful.
Today employment law has become far more complex
People need to be looked after, trained and invested in.
Employees are very aware of their rights are and what they can do if an employer is not fulfilling those rights.
It is therefore essential that you have the correct policies and precedures in place.
You don't want to end up at an employment tribunual as they are lengthy and costly.

You can create the perfect team, which will take your business to success, if you invest in your workforce.

Need any help?

Our HR Experts and Business Coaches can help you:-

Implement your employment policies and precedures
Effectively recruit and interview new staff
Develop your management skills
Create the job specifications and performance frameworks for your staff.
Train and support for your staff to achieve results
Address any HR issues that have arisen

HR and Recruitment - If you are interested in recruitment or HR support, we'll put you in touch with our HR expert. Email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Team Development - If you are interested in improving your team dynamics and performance through the use of DISC profiling or team coaching, then please contact us at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Our coaching and training is provided on a chargeable basis, but we can access funding to provide free business support to certain groups of entrepreneurs who meet the eligibility of the funding provider. Please enquire to find out more.

Future Jobs Fund - Access a grant to employ a young person for 6mths. Find out more here

Please find useful articles and guidance below

Motivate your employees

Motivate Your Employees – One Mile at a Time

You don’t need me to tell you your employees are one of your greatest assets. With the average cost of recruiting, hiring and training a new employee at close to £2,500, you want to make sure that once you’ve found the right person, you keep him. Sound easier than it is? You’re not alone.

30% of executives say motivating their employees is their toughest challenge. --The Creative Group

So what does it take to motivate your employees?

Think different: The power of Mind Mapping

Mind mapping is the "art" of capturing and exploring your thoughts in a diagrammatic form, without necessarily using a linear path. Developed by popular psychology author Tony Buzzan, you may have seen these spider web looking structures online or in reference books and pondered what they might be. For something that can appear vastly complicated, mind maps are surprisingly easy to construct and a highly potent personal development tool.

How's it done?

You start with the problem or idea "bubble" at the centre and begin by drawing a branch out from that idea, which is a thought that you have associated with this centre starting point, i.e. (SUCCESS)--(FULFILMENT) Then, split that branch endpoint into multiple lines and associate a new thought or idea with that individual strand and so on and so on.

DISCover One of the Best Kept Secrets of Successful Teams

When asking what is the major factor in making one team more successful than another the answer is always communication, communication, communication.

Whilst this is common knowledge it is far from common practise. Common problems caused by poor communication are reduced productivity, misunderstandings, ineffectiveness, unnecessary stress and conflict between staff, increased staff absence and turnover and also the potential loss of new and existing business.

Positive and Productive Team Working

The DISC Personality Profiling system is widely regarded as the ultimate coaching tool as it enables management and individual team members to understand why others behave in a particular way, what motivates and de-motivates them; what their strengths and challenges are. When there is a lack of understanding, comments and actions are often taken personally. By including all the team in becoming aware of self and others can dramatically improve communication throughout your organisation.

Striding Out is currently delivering the DWP Future Jobs Fund programme to help unemployed young people aged 18-25 secure new job opportunities within exciting careers that generate a social, environmental or cultural impact.

For Employers in London, Newcastle, Northumbria, Birmingham and Liverpool

The programme provides employers with a grant to cover the salary of recruiting a young person for a 6mth period working a min of 25hrs a week. If you are interested in recruiting one or more young people please email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it for an application form.

For the Young Unemployed

The programme can provide an unemployed young person with a paid 6mth work placement and a 6 month one to one career coaching programme. Young people have to be aged aged 18-25 and unemployed for over 6mths. Check with your JCP Adviser to find out if your eligible for the Future Jobs Fund scheme.

We are currently running JCP recruitment events in London, Newcastle, Birmingham, Northumbria and Liverpool.

Cost Effective Recruitment

When you are trying to grow a business, you can often find yourself being pulled in many different directions. You need to be a sales person, a marketing person, bookkeeper/accountant, administrator, trouble shooter, an IT expert as well as a business director, and it can sometimes feel as though you don't have enough hours in the day, or enough knowledge in any one particular area to do it properly.

So lets look at how you could recruit and delegate to people in a cost effective way...

Managing Administration

Dealing with administration of tasks can take up a sufficient amount of time for an entrepreneur, so why not take on a young person as your apprentice to do it for you?

A significant number of young people are currently unemployed and would welcome the opportunity to work alongside an inspirational entrepreneur to help build the business as their assistant. *Funding is currently available to cover the first 6mths of a young person's salary for an employer (*conditions apply), to find out more email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or call 0845 452 4085

Specialist Skills

It is best to focus your energy and time on the skills in which you are strongest, and look to delegate other tasks to individuals with the specialist skill set. Investing in the right team will inevitably increase your efficiency and revenue, and flexible workers could be the cost effective solution for you.

Flexible working is a cost effective option to consider as it avoids the need to employ someone full-time. Flexible working encompasses part time workers, remote working, contract workers and even those who will work on a completely ad hoc basis. . A flexible worker often represents far more value for money than an average employee. They tend to be highly experienced and knowledgeable people who, for whatever reason, although usually due to caring for their family, cannot work in a ‘normal' 9-5 role. Investing in the right team will inevitably increase your efficiency and revenue.

If you are interested in finding a flexible worker check out http://www.flexibleskillsbank.co.uk/ . If you register with Flexible Skills bank before the end of the year, you will receive 50% off your first purchase on their website, when you quote the code STRIDING OUT until March 2010.

What you need to consider when recruiting people.

Whether you decide to employ someone or have them working as a self employed contractor, you have certain obligations to that person that you should fulfil, to endeavour to create a trouble free relationship.

Donna Obstfeld, of DOHR Ltd (http://www.dohr.co.uk/) explains that as an employer, there are a number of things which must be taken into consideration:

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