When adding to your team, identify and strengthen potential weak links before they compromise your entire chain.

Building a great team is similar to forging a sturdy chain; they’re both only as strong as the weakest link. Sometimes, these weak spots evolve over time and require intervention so they don’t cause a break. Others can be averted well before getting to that stage by identifying potential problems as you’re building your chain or team and incorporating scalable preventative measures. 

Identify trouble spots early

To make sure every link in your chain is solid, prevent a chain from breaking, or a team from falling apart, you have to watch for any signs it’s getting ready to fail and take action to prevent it. There are a wide range of behaviors that may indicate a problem with your team.

“I identify potential discord by observing changes in communication patterns, such as reduced collaboration or increased tension among employees,” said Stephen Denissoff, president and owner of Synergy Solutions, which manufactures advanced polymer car wash solutions. He looks for a drop in morale, frequent complaints, the formation of worker cliques and employees resisting managers’ authority. Absenteeism may rise. Non-verbal cues like body language and sudden changes in attitude could also signal underlying issues.

“Regular check-ins help me catch these signs early before they escalate,” he said.

Other warning signals include increased employee turnover, unfavorable online reviews and poor operational metrics.

One good way to gauge your team’s health is to work alongside them in the field. “You’ll either observe or hear things that point to the root cause of any discord,” said Justin Young, vice president of marketing at Splash Car Wash, which has 60-plus locations in four states. “Getting to know employees personally and sharing interest in their lives will allow for much more open communication about the weaknesses actually occurring.” Once you’ve established that relationship, it’s easier to simply ask individual employees how they think their team is doing.

At Hello Deluxe Car Wash, Frank Nuchereno or Relvy Esquivel meet individually twice a year with every employee from the company’s six Texas locations. During the conversation, employees are asked which three coworkers they would pick to work with them if they could open their own car wash. Their answers help Nuchereno and Esquivel identify the emerging leaders at each location and provide insights into which other workers might need additional coaching in interacting with coworkers. 

Since communication is key to rooting out problems early, Hello holds weekly managers’ meetings at which they discuss performance and key performance indicators, the company culture and environment, monthly events and other current topics. These discussions help them detect any sign of conflict so they can quickly address it. 

In addition, Hello’s HR manager makes a point of regularly spending time at every location so employees can feel comfortable approaching her when they have concerns about coworkers.

“If you’re having a problem with your teammate, you might not want to really tell your boss about it, because you don’t want to get them in trouble,” Esquivel said. Workers trust that the HR person will serve as a neutral mediator if there’s a dispute.

For employees reluctant to make a complaint, Splash offers the option of reporting problems anonymously. They also encourage site managers to share their experiences with each other. Many of the same team problems exist at different wash locations, Young said. “If one person is struggling with something within their store, it’s likely that another co-worker has experienced something similar.”

Work on the weak links

There are several ways to address problems within a team.

“For serious problems that impact safety, operations or team dynamics, I act immediately to prevent escalation. For minor disagreements, I may give the individuals some time to resolve it themselves, while closely monitoring the situation. If there’s no improvement or if the conflict shows signs of escalating, I step in to facilitate a resolution, Denissoff said.

When intervention is necessary, he first gathers relevant information from the involved parties to get their perspectives. “Next, I facilitate a joint discussion, setting ground rules to ensure a respectful and solution-focused conversation,” he said. The participants identify and agree on a resolution and create an action plan with clear steps and timelines. 

In some companies, individual car wash sites may have unique issues due to different demographics, languages and location-specific responsibilities. But the methods of successfully getting the team back on track are usually similar from site to site.

In Germany, Mr. Wash has more than 2,000 employees from a variety of national, cultural and religious backgrounds. If two employees have problems, the company tries to give them the space to resolve it on their own, said Richard Enning, chief executive. Site managers only step in if the problem continues.

While issues can usually get resolved, it sometimes becomes clear that an employee is not willing to do what it takes to be part of the team. For example, if an employee keeps tips, rather than following the company policy of sharing, managers will talk to him or her. 

“But if it happens two or three times, more talking doesn’t make sense. The only thing is to get this person out of the system and have someone else as part of the team,” Enning said. That may also happen when employees’ religious or cultural differences are too great for them to get along. But this occurs very rarely.

“Our experience is that, in the long run, someone probably has to leave the team. An ongoing disturbing factor is really bad for the team spirit,” Enning said. 

Nuchereno is working to overcome the language barriers that can separate team members. “How are you supposed to get along with people when you can’t talk to each other?” he said. Hello subscribes to the Babble language app to help English-speaking and Spanish-speaking employees learn each other’s languages so they can better communicate with each other. 

Forge stronger links

Establishing a culture where employees feel valued is essential to building a strong team. At Mr. Wash, employee bathrooms are as nice as those for customers because Enning believes that companies should treat employes at least as well as they treat their customers. 

The hiring process is key. “It all starts with the vetting process. If we don’t hire people that align with our core values and the dynamic of the different location teams, we will constantly be dealing with conflict,” Young said. 

Car washes should build a culture where employees feel welcomed by their team from day one. “Make sure that people have a good onboard process, and that they are able to form good relationships with other people already on the team, not only the management and the team leader but also people on the same level,” Enning said. 

At Mr. Wash, new employees are assigned a mentor to help them learn about the work and about the company culture. “If a new person starts behaving selfishly with working time or smoke breaks or tips, the mentor can talk to him/her and explain that’s not the way it’s done here,” Enning said. He calls this a self-healing system for the team. 

Workers also feel part of the team when they have opportunities to express their opinions about changes in policies or procedures. “You have to create buy-in with the people in the field that it will most impact,” Young said. “Solicit their feedback, thoughts and ideas on how to make the best decision. When it’s a group decision, you usually end-up with a better one, and you have a team of people who aren’t resentful for never being heard.”

For example, when Mr. Wash introduced new uniforms a few years ago, the company had a high level of acceptance — and created a better team spirit — because workers participated in the decision-making. 

When Synergy Solutions makes changes, Denissoff evaluates their impact on key performance indicators. He also gathers feedback from team members to see how the changes are impacting their daily work and if they’re addressing the identified issues. “Regularly reviewing these data points helps determine whether the changes are successful or if further adjustments are needed,” Denissoff said. 

Maintaining those kinds of two-way communications channels helps grow a stronger team. If employees are given the opportunity to voice their concerns early on, managers can proactively address potential issues and ensure that everyone feels valued. That reduces the likelihood of conflicts among team members. 

Checking and reinforcing the links that hold teams together is an ongoing process. “The team is not a stable system. It’s always changing. People are leaving. People are entering the team. So it’s very important that anybody who enters the team has a chance to become a real part of the team,” Enning said.