What is a high-performance team?

Many people approach me about how to get their teams performing better and how they can make their business more attractive to them. They find their teams are always overworked and as a result, they are leaving to go to similar roles with competitor businesses and are not sure why. Most of the work that I do with companies is to establish a framework to build and promote a high-performance environment for teams to learn, grow and perform. So what is a high-performance team? Naturally, a high-performance team is one that engages through training, systemization and goals. They are skilled, aligned and focused. What perplexes business owners is, why is it that they are unable to find these types of people for their business. The answer is simple. It is not the people that promote a high-performance team it is the framework that the firm provides, that allows these team members to perform at the highest level. You could take a high-performance team member from one company and place them in another, and their performance could plummet to a degree almost unimaginable because they don’t have the support they need to perform at the highest level.

Keeping the team skilled requires a complex system of position descriptions, procedure guides, performance management tools, and key performance indicators. These all work in synergy with each other and are the foundation of the high-performance framework. The position description outlines what is required of each team member to do their role. The procedures guide dictates how each task in the position description is to be performed. It is crucial that the two are identically aligned. The procedures guide would have a metric, assigned to each task, to indicate either the frequency of that task or the timeframe to which it should be done. The performance management tools and key performance indicators allow continued monitoring of the team. This will highlight areas that need to be improved allowing regular upskilling to take place. The team needs to remain aligned to ensure they are not pulling on each other. Alignment allows the team to work as a collection rather than a group of individuals. If you consider any sports team, they need to work in complete synergy to remain dominant on the field. Your property management team is no different. The business procedures allow for the processes to stay consistent amongst the team, however, aligning with the business mission, vision, and value is prudent in executing on a defined point of difference for your customers. If your team doesn’t share the values of the business, how are they going to align to deliver a consistent, reliable service? They must also be focused on achieving the same goal. Many business owners draw up an elaborate business plan, in their head, and don’t share it with anyone else in the team. A solid business plan outlines the annual goals of the business and is supported by a well documented strategic plan. The strategic plan is the path the company needs to execute on the business plan. The strategic plan has actions and waypoints for each, which are required to execute on the business plan. The team uses these to stay focused on business priorities to ensure the business meets both short and long-term goals. A high-performing team works at a significant increase in efficiency for the business. This allows the team to manage more properties proactively, to maintain a superior service to your clients. This will give your business the competitive edge over other local businesses and increase profitablility. But most importantly, a skilled, aligned and focused team are engaged with your business and want you to succeed. These team members reward you by staying much longer in your business, reducing team churn and promoting a high-performance culture.