Many of the incredible women inside my group coaching program—the Heartfelt Brand Society—have big, beautiful dreams of growing a team. And I get it.

A few years ago, I saw so much potential when faced with the opportunity to grow my own team by inviting some incredible women on board.

I saw the potential to serve my clients better, to scale my ability to bring in more profit sustainably, and the ability to take things off my plate that were not my highest point of contribution so I could instead focus my utmost creativity on what was most profitable within the business. But I know this jump isn’t always clear cut.

And once you have a team, how are you meant to supercharge their efficiency, and get everything streamlined and working like a well oiled machine?

There’s a lot to consider here, right? I don’t know about you, but most of my life experience didn’t necessarily prepare me to be an expert entrepreneur who manages a remote team in the most streamlined or efficient way possible.

This little team of mine was created through a lot of trial and error. But realistically, over the years I’ve been able to cultivate a process for our team that I believe boosts our efficiency, serve our clients better, and allows us to really love what we do every single day.

So if that’s just the strategy you’re needing to take your team efficiency to the next level, then keep on scrolling.

HOW TO BOOST YOUR TEAM EFFICIENCY

Now, before I spill the beans on the three simple things I do to help us work smarter, not harder. I first want to share one resource that’s been truly helpful for me as I crafted this approach for b is for bonnie a few years ago.

I dove into the book Traction by Gino Wickman and it changed the way I approached managing my team.

Traction outlines a beautiful description of what it looks like to put every person who’s a part of your team—whether they are a virtual assistant, an associate photographer, or an assistant designer—into a role that is making the best use of their time and talent.

By doing that, all of a sudden we’re able to boost the efficiency of the business by putting people in roles where they shine the brightest. But more than that, I believe we’re able to create a culture around your brand where people are doing work they genuinely love.

Related: How to Scale your Brand by Hiring a Team with Torrance Hart of Teak + Twine

When I first brought on the members of my team, I made sure to open up a two-way line of communication where I would feel the freedom to reach out to them when I had questions, ideas, or things I wanted to discuss. But where they also felt the freedom to do the same with me.

As part of that open line of communication, I always make sure they know there is one question I want them to consider at all times: what does your dream job inside the b is for bonnie brand look like?

This allows them to think about what their dream job does or doesn’t look like. 

For the women who are part of my team, this allows me to know what they love doing inside my business, but also what they don’t love doing. And as much as I can, I do my best to make sure we’re leaning on each other and offsetting those tasks in a way where we’re doing more of what we love and where we shine the brightest. While someone else who loves the stuff that maybe we don’t is able to step in and take that off our plate.

On top of that, I focus on structuring our approach as a remote based team since we are all over the U.S. Some of my team is based in the Midwest while I’m obviously based here in Texas. Our time is so precious. So we make sure we’re communicating effectively and doing our best work together.

There are three simple methods I employ on an annual basis—and a daily basis—that make it easy for my team to boost our productivity and work the best way that we can.

You ready?

#1: EFFECTIVELY COMMUNICATE WITH YOUR TEAM

First and foremost, we have a standing weekly team call.

Now, if we were based in the same area, I think that once a week, at a minimum, we would be gathered around the table in person chatting about what’s working, what’s not working, what’s on our plate that week, and so on.

So why would I approach that any differently if I have a team of women who work all across the country?

Instead of gathering around the table, we have a standing video call in our calendar where we kick off each week by assessing what we’re working on, where we could use some support, encouragement, and our top priorities for that week.

We use this time as a great opportunity to touch base with each other, but also to assess where we’re making progress on client work, goals that we’ve set, or to troubleshoot any issues that pop up as they arise. This time together helps us to really kick off the week on a high note and make the best use of our time on a weekly basis.

Plus, being able to see each other’s shining faces once a week every Monday allows us to feel more connected even though miles separate us.

Whether you work with a team based in your area or you’re thinking of bringing on someone to work remotely, I want you to know you can still have a close knit and safe community within your brand, even if you aren’t face-to-face every single day of the week.

#2: CONDUCT QUARTERLY MEETINGS

The second way we boost our team efficiency is that we conduct quarterly meetings. Now in addition to our weekly calls, we set a group call on the calendar once per quarter so we’re able to take a more bird’s eye view at the quarter we just wrapped up and then look ahead to the quarter we are about to step into.

In our weekly calls we focus more on the nitty gritty, daily tasks and weekly priorities. Whereas in our quarterly meetings, we focus on the bigger picture.

We outline what we did well in the past quarter, take a look at the metrics we’re tracking, what our successes were, but we also take time to dive into what didn’t go so well. Maybe we set a goal for that quarter we didn’t hit. If so, we assess what needs to happen going into the next quarter in order to cross that goal off our list.

Then, we turn our attention to the coming quarter. We focus on carrying over any goals, setting new goals, identifying any areas for growth, and rooting into the heart behind why we do what we do at b is for bonnie in the first place. 

Having these quarterly calls in addition to our weekly calls allow us to have a purpose for each point of connection that we’re having as a team.

#3: HOST AN ANNUAL IN-PERSON TEAM RETREAT

The third way we boost our productivity and efficiency is that I host an annual in-person team retreat.

Once a year I fly my team down to my studio in Waco and we spend a few days together getting into the nitty gritty of the past year and look forward to the year that is to come.

This is something you don’t necessarily have to do at the beginning of every year, but no matter when you end up doing it, it’s a beautiful opportunity for you to sit down with your team and assess as a whole what some big wins and big areas for growth were of the past year. And then, looking forward to the future. Where do you want to grow?

For our annual in-person retreat, I very closely follow the outline shared in Traction because I found it allows us to diversify the conversations we’re having in a way that boosts our efficiency and allows us to see future areas for growth and opportunity.

On top of that, it allows us to identify some beautiful ways we can cultivate our camaraderie and connection as a team.

During those few days, we’re not just sitting around the table and talking business and looking at stats. We’re having fun, laughing together, and making memories together because I believe that in order for us to walk through life day in and day out with each other, I want us to be connected at the very core of what the b is for bonnie brand stands for.

And I want to be connected to each other as humans, not just colleagues. I believe that really happens when we choose to gather around the table for good food, laughter, and memories.

So friends, there you have it. That’s my approach to supercharging my team’s productivity on a weekly, quarterly, and annual basis.

My method to supercharge my teams efficiency 

When you’re just getting started, I realize these things might sound a bit aspirational, but I would encourage you to start small. You can take bits of this approach and implement them. Even if you just have one remote member on your team, start with those weekly calls, work your way up to those quarterly meetings, and pick a date and fun destination to meet up in person for a really life-giving annual retreat.

Give yourself the gift of treating your business and your team like a real team. Because if you aren’t treating yourself with the respect you deserve, I really believe you cannot be as efficient, productive, or convert as highly for your business and you want to.

So friend, if you are ready to make 2020 the year you scale your business by growing your team and stepping into that position as a CEO, I would encourage you to add your name to the waitlist below for my six month group coaching program, the Heartfelt Brand Society.

During the six months of this program, I walk alongside you to help you highlight your zone of genius, to map out your highest levels of contribution and to ensure you’re able to execute that big beautiful next step as you grow your business.

If you’re an established entrepreneur who’s craving that kind of guidance, community, and clarity, pop your name below and be the first to know when doors open.