Make it a habit
Team members will be more likely to submit a Weekly Report if they know you’re going to read it and acknowledge what they’ve written. When a team member submits a report, thank them for sharing their feedback and follow up on anything that stood out to you in their report. You can easily leave a comment in a team member’s weekly report to let them know you’ve seen their report or tell them you want to follow up in person.
Build Trust
The quality of the information in the weekly reports will increase as trust increases. Every time you acknowledge and address feedback from weekly reports, you're showing your team that you don’t take their responses lightly. And as a result, they’ll be more transparent and vulnerable with you in the future.
Care About the Whole Person
There’s a difference between a team member and an employee. An employee shows up to do the job and collect a paycheck, but a team member is bought into the vision and knows that you, as the leader, care about them as a person. Encourage your team to share highs and lows in their personal life too. Because life is not just all about work.
Celebrate the Wins
Everyone loves to be celebrated. When a team member shares an accomplishment in their weekly report, acknowledge it and (when appropriate) celebrate it in front of the whole team. It’ll mean more to them than you even realize. If a team member gives shout outs or kudos for another team member, pass that along too!
Address the Negatives
While most of the feedback you’ll get in Weekly Reports will be positive, sometimes a team member may share something negative. That’s okay. You want them to be honest. But be sure to follow up with them and ask them how you can help solve the problem.
Bribery Works Too
A lot of business owners who find success with Weekly Report Tool incentivize their team with positive reinforcement. It may sound funny, but bribery works! Maybe if the whole team fills out their weekly reports for a whole month you’ll order pizza for lunch or take everyone to a movie. You can get creative with this one!
Don’t Give Up
New habits can be hard to form, so don’t get discouraged if you don’t get 100% participation from your team right off the bat. Keep reminding them why it’s important, both for them and for you.