The Center for Sales Strategy Blog

Increasing productivity and promoting teamwork in a hybrid workplace can be challenging, but a few simple changes can help people feel connected and allow them to contribute in a more meaningful way. 

As more companies move to remote and hybrid work, creating an environment that fosters teamwork is especially difficult, and many employees can feel disconnected and unmotivated when they’re not in the office. 

However, rethinking teamwork and changing how people collaborate and communicate can help ensure every employee is engaged and productive.

It’s not enough to just have talent. You have to practice and use your talents in order to improve and make a positive impact on the people around you.

Professional athletes spend countless hours practicing and training in order to improve their performance. What if you could spend more time on your talents?

Hiring and coaching salespeople would be a lot easier if people had their own manuals or care instructions that listed their top strengths and included advice for helping them reach their full potential.

Wouldn’t that help you select and retain more top performers?

With the current talent shortage, it's difficult to recruit, select, and develop top talent.   

Hiring and developing superstars can be really hard, but there are a few steps you can take to bring the right people on board and develop their talents, so they stay with your organization.  

The best managers follow three important steps when identifying and developing top talent.  These are not the only steps, but these are three crucial steps.  

Does your organization have a turnover problem? Do you worry that your top talent will leave for another opportunity?

It may be time to refocus on people development and revisit employee growth plans.

We all know that ongoing coaching, training and development are important and key factors in retaining employees long-term. According to LinkedIn, 94% of employees say they would stay in their role longer if their company invested in their professional development. Yet in another survey, nearly 59% of employees claim they had no workplace training and that most of their skills were self-taught.

Do you want to conduct better interviews and ensure you make smart hiring decisions? Preparing better interview questions to determine talent and fit will help you improve this step in your selection process.

The first, and most important, step is to have your candidate complete a validated talent assessment specific to the role you are filling before you meet with them.

Can you say yes to each of these statements?

• We hire much better salespeople than our competitors.
• Our sales management team is a clear strength of our organization.
• Every member of our team is a solid performer…a keeper.
• We have a clear succession plan for every person for whom it is appropriate.
• Currently, all of our salespeople are performing at or above expectations.

If you answered no to any of these, it’s possible you have some talent issues to address.

For some, the benefits of working from home are plenty. However, working from home is not for everyone, and experts say there are potential negative side effects to consider, such as feelings of isolation, loneliness, and disconnect.

It’s estimated that 46% of employees don’t know what to do after a meeting — leading to confusion, frustration, and unproductivity. Additionally, 26% of employees feel pressured to respond to work emails outside of business hours — leading to more stress.

All of this contributes to morale, and morale is the driver for productivity and engagement. While your team is working remotely, you’ll have to find new ways to work together and communicate, ensuring your company culture thrives in the comfort of your team’s own home.

Sales coaching isn’t a one-size-fits-all process. Each salesperson on your team offers a special blend of talent. As a leader, your responsibility is to coach based on a clear understanding of all their strengths and weaknesses. 

You know that coaching your team as individuals is essential to their growth and success. But for a remote sales team, coaching takes on a higher level of importance.

While the environment has changed, your rep’s talents have remained the same. Since moving to remote work, we’ve noticed a few talent combinations that are hindering salespeople from performing their best. Have you?

Sales leaders that commit to growing and developing their people through effective feedback boost sales performance, attract and retain top talent, and outperform other organizations that fail to make feedback and coaching a priority.

Recruiting and Selecting highly talented people for your organization is critical - but you can’t stop there. Innate talents cannot develop into strengths until your team members can use them consistently, confidently, and productively.

Providing consistent and specific feedback on performance is key in helping direct reports learn, grow, and maximize their strengths.