[aimes79]

Hello! I'm Aimee from Wisconsin. I currently manage a team of 23 individuals that work everwhere between Wisconsin and California. Although we consider ourselves a production facility, the type of production we do is not typically what people think. I am looking for tips on motivating my team, establishing a sense of cohesiveness between the various sites, and better expressing my goals for the group. I'm also looking for tips on how I can incorporate an additional 25 individuals that will be joining me team as temps throughout the holiday season. Any and all suggestions are welcome!

[Jodith]

Teampedia has some great information on team building including a number of team building exercises for groups of different sizes.

[Chrissy Scivicque]

Ah, very good question and one I'm sure others will have as we approach the holiday "temporary worker" season. We've discussed team building strategies quite a bit here at OfficeArrow. Check out this discussion to see what people have already come up with and also you can read the article 10 Ways to Build a Better Team.

In terms of motivation, I would recommend doing a daily or weekly email that gives an inspirational quote and also a "thought for the day" or something. You can use this as a platform to communicate the company goals, etc. Then, invite people to share their experiences and communicate with one another - you can set up a private group here on OfficeArrow where you guys can discuss issues and share strategies for reaching goals.

If you don't already hold regular staff meetings, now is the time to start. It's an incredibly important part of building cohesiveness. Even if the individuals are all in different locations, you can hold monthly webinars or conference calls just to get people on the same page and open up the conversation. I really hope this helps a bit. I'm looking forward to hearing some of the other suggestions from the OA audience. Good luck!