Tackle these 4 team growing pains

When a business is thriving and a team is doing a phenomenal job, it’s typically time to set new goals, grow and expand. Great news right? Mostly, yes. But people – even the most adaptable ones – are creatures of habit. And change? Well, change evokes a lot of uncertainty, doubt, and fear that can hinder productivity. 

Current team members might wonder:  

What if the new hires don’t mesh well with our team dynamic? What if a new hire steals a promotion opportunity a current member has been anticipating for years? 

New team members might wonder: 

What if I can’t keep up with the new rhythm and flow? What if the current team isn’t receptive to my new ideas and suggestions to improve our process?

Without proper care and strategic management, growing a team can quickly devolve into employee dissatisfaction and stress. To better prepare team leads for the curveballs that inevitably come with growth, MBAchic is laying out ways to overcome some of the most common challenges.

Getting comfortable

When growing a team, the first big challenge for new hires is not knowing the current company culture or the working styles of the current team. Good leaders smooth this transition by intentional integration. 

“Adding new team members requires you to be able to identify how their skill set can enhance the current skill set of your existing team,” explains expert, author and nonprofit leader, Dr. Tamara Dias. 

“This includes identifying the gaps or business needs that new people will help to fulfill. Knowing your team and organizational needs will allow you to make a more informed decision.”

It’s also important for management to recognize that getting back to basics is helpful so new hires can get their footing in a new environment and feel safe to make mistakes as they learn a different work structure. Senior Vice Provost of Academic Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin Art Markman explains that when building a team, leaders may fail to recognize just how much unspoken knowledge is required to achieve organizational success.

“The onboarding process isn’t just a matter of describing the job to someone and getting them set up on a new computer,” Markman says.  

“You have to expect to spend 8-12 weeks providing coaching and direction to new employees to help them pick up on the subtle aspects of the workplace they might not notice at first. This process may be even longer if you are hiring someone straight out of college who has no experience in a professional environment at all.” 

(Lack of) proper onboarding

There’s no denying that remote and hybrid environments have created disruption in an already disorganized onboarding arena. Many companies lacked a reliable process pre-pandemic and now there are additional obstacles to overcome with teams spanning different locations and time zones. 

The average onboarding program lasts 90 days, but according to Gallup’s “Creating an Exceptional Onboarding Journey for New Employees” report, it typically takes new employees 12 months to reach their full performance potential. Gallup reports that only 12% of employees feel their company does a good job onboarding new team members, leaving 88% of workers with uninspired onboarding experiences.

Executive career coach and creator of Livlyhood and The Collective, Britt Larsen, says integrating existing team members into the onboarding process for new coworkers can help dissolve unnecessary competition. Pairing current and new employees up, creating mentorship dynamics and collaboration can squash unnecessary competition before it even arises. 

“The best logistical counter to this [competitive] problem is to involve team members in onboarding,” says Larsen. 

“If everyone was responsible for the success of the new team member, it made it easier to make sure there weren’t long term issues.” 

By anticipating the amount of time it will take to onboard team members and accounting for human quirks, hiccups and potential disruptions along the way, management can devise a plan to ensure new hires feel supported, heard and prioritized. 

“It’s essential to put dedicated time into how new employees are welcomed into the organization,” says Dias. 

“Onboarding ensures that new employees are thoroughly prepared for what lies ahead, and it should be prioritized.”

Poor communication

Without clear instruction, support, and expectations, new hires are bound to feel overwhelmed and disconnected. Silence and lack of direction can leave employees feeling isolated, uncertain, and can create the perfect storm for competitors to sweep talent away from an unwelcoming work environment. Current employees will also likely need a clear picture of how the new additions will enhance the goals and mission of the organization so everyone can work together positively and constructively.  

A survey conducted by Interact found that 69% of managers are often uncomfortable communicating with employees, and 37% admit they’re uncomfortable having to give direct feedback about their employees’ performance if they think the employee might respond negatively to the feedback.

Professor at Brown University Banu Ozkazanc-Pan says team leads should set aside time to individually connect with each new hire to avoid communication breakdowns.

“Make sure to speak individually to new members to understand their goals and work preferences,” suggests Ozkazanc-Pan. 

Consistent communication and frequent check-ins with new employees also helps management to stay mindful of the nuances associated with adapting to a new role. 

“You may feel like a new employee isn’t progressing fast enough unless you are clear to yourself that it can take three months before someone really understands what is going on in a new position they have taken on,” Markman points out. 

Team tension

While expanding a team is a positive indication that business is booming, it’s a natural human instinct for some to feel like new hires are a threat to job security. 

“It somehow is inevitable that defensiveness would become normal for my existing team and my poor new hires had to deal with that as they started a new job,” recalls Larsen. 

Avoid damaging and toxic workplace drama by creating open dialogues and plenty of opportunities to highlight individual strengths (for current and new employees). 

“I squashed that pretty quickly by just being honest. I’d remind my team that new hires are there to help, not hinder. That there is no reason to be competitive and I’d also encourage and reward those who really tried to help new teammates feel welcome,” Larsen says. 

By fostering a welcoming, inclusive environment and also incorporating other tactics like regular check-ins, leaders can successfully extinguish any potential internal tension and create more fluid, successful work environments.   

“Understand the strengths that the new team members will bring to the existing group and make sure current members understand them as well,” suggests Ozkazanc-Pan. 

“Have team building opportunities with the newly expanded group to make sure group norms, working culture, and communication expectations are clear and shared.”

Photo from Yan Krukau