Startups and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) often start the business with a team of carefully selected individuals. This core team can later expand to become the leaders of departments or other teams as it grows. Because of this, it’s vital to build a team for effectiveness – especially as each team takes charge of achieving assigned and more specific business goals.
Magic aims to help small businesses succeed in team-building and strives to match owners with the most suitable Magic assistants. Here are six tips on how to build a team and how Magic assistants easily integrate into startups and SMEs in the USA.
Magic Tips to Build a Team Remotely
A strong team of Magic assistants can provide startup or SME owners the necessary backup in attaining objectives and contributing productively to its success. Furthermore, the integration of your hired Magic assistant is made easy so your usual process won’t be that affected when they join your team.
Here are six team-building tips that can serve as keys to building a successful team.
1. Set team rules and expectations
What makes a strong team is knowing what’s expected of them from the start. The members of a newly formed startup team tend to be receptive to company culture and ready to adapt to it. Communicate the following information as early as day one:
a. Ground Rules
List rules and procedures that should be followed by the team members. For example, Magic and its virtual assistants communicate and collaborate via Slack. Each member is also assigned a supervisor or team manager to report to and ask questions if they need clarifications. They also have a person in charge of giving feedback, conflicts, and recognitions. Overall, team members treat each other equally and are professional in dealing with tasks and projects.
b. Expectations
Having set the ground rules, make sure to inform your team members of the rules and your expectations during the orientation or first day at work. Communicating clearly means you have to explain so they understand what rules and expectations are and why they’re significant for the team and the company.
Duncan Hamra, a co-founder of Memberstack, a no-code tool and API startup, communicates what he wants to do – and here’s what he has gotten after hiring his Magic VA. His team became more organized since his Magic virtual assistant Rick started working with the company. There’s a remarkable improvement in email reply time and the insights he gets and processes from customer survey responses. In addition, he noticed how quickly and effectively his VA does everything assigned to him.
c. Goals and Objectives
Each team has a specific target per month or quarter. Your team members should know the team goals so they know how their tasks can contribute to reaching that goal. Clarify how their work contributes to the team so they become motivated to push towards it. People working together to accomplish a common goal is what makes a business team effective.
d. Environment
IBM makes sure that their team members are aligned with their values and that they encourage cross-section collaboration. It brings them closer to nonprofit organizations, universities, research organizations, and other public and private organizations. In line with this, each team member is expected to do tasks following these guiding principles.
The rules and expectations give the team members an idea of what they are expected to do and how they can contribute to the team. It tells each team member exactly what they’re signing up for.
2. Encourage connections within the team
Teamwork is the key to success. So, foster an environment where team members show respect and care for each other. A simple greeting when you start working and polite conversation and discussion of projects or tasks are great ways to do this.
What’s more, while the members are individuals working together, encourage them to work as colleagues as well. Build a team that works towards achieving shared goals on business development, individual triumphs, and success in team goals.
In Magic, they encourage connections with the team through Slack and Zoom. It builds rapport by treating members and managers civilly. Feedback and criticisms are given constructively to boost productivity and improve the quality of work.
3. Use positive reinforcement and find ways to reward good work
Rewards are better motivation than punishment. Give constructive criticisms and never embarrass a team member by criticizing them in front of others. Instead, cite instances or behaviors that you liked and encouraged your team to bring about similar performances. If you must talk to one who screwed up, do so in private. Shaming a team member is never a good motivational strategy and may even lead to resentment and morale problems.
Remote working paved the way for the flourishing of virtual assistant services. A remote working team including a Magic assistant are also people who design affirmation for hard work. Bonuses are great ways to show appreciation, as is entrusting VAs with greater agency or autonomy.
Speaking of bonuses, there’s a simple way for your business to abide by the tagline “employee rewards made easy” if you use employee recognition software. These tools can help you celebrate great work, whether you have a completely in-office or remote team. Assembly, for example, provides peer-to-peer recognition from a single dashboard.
4. Emphasize effective communication
Effective communication allows you to clarify company and team expectations, objectives, and goals. It allows members to know where they stand when their leader gives communicate feedback immediately.
In contrast, no feedback on their performance can lead to stress build-up since they’re not sure if you’re satisfied with their work or not. So, strive to maintain effective communication to foster an effective team of productive members.
Ulmer Ventures is an American startup that advises companies on Food and Drug Administration (FDA) compliance. Effective communication is vital for them in their scheduling, phone and email responses, and more. Working with Thea through Magic, they’re able to have total control of their administrative tasks cluttering his schedule. They also improved their response time from 36 hours to 2.5 hours, resulting in better client satisfaction and retention.
Customize Your Virtual Team Based on Your Needs
5. Diversify
A strong team is made up of people from different backgrounds, ages, experiences, and opinions. Remote work is a prime example of diverse workers. Surround yourself with teammates who can strengthen your team and back you up to accomplish goals and projects efficiently. Goal-oriented team members and achievers are characteristics of high-performing teams – which you’d want to work towards.
The JTP Agency, a full-service recruitment agency in the United States, contracted Magic assistants to determine whether to handle newly submitted customer inquiries or escalate them to JTP. As a startup recruitment agency, they understand how diversity can make a team stronger.
Adobe and PayPal are among the top 20 best employers for diversity on the Forbes 2020 list. Their criteria for selecting group members include:
- Race
- Ethnicity
- Gender
- Sexual orientation
- Personality type
- Religious affiliation
- Disability
- Generation
- Thinking style
6. Get team members that you can trust
Improved teamwork and collaboration enable building your team of virtual assistants such as a Magic assistant effectively. When choosing virtual assistants for roles needed in a startup, remember to hire ones who can make wise decisions on your behalf. They serve as ambassadors for you and your company, so groom them as such. You’re investing your precious time and resources into each VA, so think of their long-term potential as well.
Alisa Manjarrez of The Happy Cactus hired a virtual assistant to assist in her daily workflow. However, as they worked on more tasks, Alisa has come to trust her VA enough to seek her input in decision-making. Overall, her VA has become more involved in Alisa’s business as she demonstrated good skills in making decisions that impact well for the business.
How Magic Helps Build a Team For Your Business
There are key startup roles that you’re supposed to fill when you build a team for startups and SMEs. To make it easier for any startup or SME to scale up or down, Magic provides virtual assistant services. We make a good team of virtual assistants who can handle various tasks for your business.
To answer the question “How to build your startup with Magic?”, here are our top three reasons:
- We offer VA services that can seamlessly incorporate with your existing team.
- You can easily scale up or down depending on your business needs.
- We have a client portal to facilitate client and VA collaboration efficiently.
Check out our hiring guide to know the specifics of our hiring process and learn how we source our remote assistants. Build a team fast when you decide to hire a Magic assistant. You can expect a list of short-listed candidates that match your requirements within 72 hours after the initial call. Call now to get started on that team success journey!
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