Here's how to keep your team happy and productive

How does it matter?

It does matter, we are not getting our work done from machines or mechanical robots. We are getting our work done from humans. 

It is very important for a Project Manager to make sure all our team members, employees are happy. They are not just "Resources" that are assigned on project, they are "Human Resources"!
Humans with feelings!

As stated in article from Business.com about how keeping employees happy benefits a business and a research done at Warwick proves that happy employees are around 12% more productive.

When we talk about teams, it is very important to keep our whole team happy in order to be productive and efficient at work and to deliver best results for our projects.

5 ways to keep your team happy and productive!

1. Transparency

As per the survey conducted by TINYPulse, it states that Transparency is #1 factor responsible for employee happiness. It is very important we involve each of our team member during client meetings, as well as important project discussions.

2. Ownership

When a team is micro-managed and controlled by a supervisor or a manager, it drives down their motivation and happiness. On the other hand, when they are given ownership and freedom, they feel much more responsible and motivated.

This makes me share an interesting article for those who would like to build self-organizing teams. 
Click here to know more, how ownership plays a vital role in that.

3. Welcome Ideas

Individuals are full of great ideas when given a chance. Thinking out of the box and doing it differently from others, this is what makes a difference. A good project manager always encourage & welcome great ideas from its team.

4. Acknowledge & Appreciate

It is very important we acknowledge our team's work. We often find problems and recognize what team didn't do correctly. To maintain a balance, we need to acknowledge and appreciate what they did correctly and how their great inputs made our projects successful.

Here goes the Principle #2 from famous "How to Win Friends and Influence People" - by Dale Carnegie.

"Give Honest and Sincere Appreciation"

5. Support

Treating team as a "Team". It is very important to always support our team in bad times. If there's a problem, whole team is responsible and not a single person. A good manager never blames it on one person, they take responsibility as a whole team and this is what makes them a great Team Player.