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. (The team member will receive an email notification with your comment.)
Build Trust 🤝
The quality of the information in the weekly reports will increase as the level of trust increases. Each 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 their leader care about them as a person. Encourage your team to share the highs and lows in their personal life too. Life is not all about work.
Celebrate the Wins 🥂
Everyone loves to be celebrated! 🎉 When a team member shares an accomplishment or milestone 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 realize. If a team member gives kudos or shout-outs to another team member, pass that along too!
Address the Negatives 🛑
While most of the feedback you’ll receive in weekly reports will be positive, sometimes a team member may share something negative. That’s okay. You want them to be honest. Be sure to follow up with them and ask how you can help solve the problem.
Incentives Work 😉
A lot of business owners who find success with Weekly Reports incentivize their team via positive reinforcement. It may sound silly, but incentives work! If the whole team fills out their weekly reports for a whole month, perhaps you could order pizza for lunch or treat everyone to a movie. Get creative and have fun with it!
Don’t Give Up 💪🏼
New habits can be hard to form. Do not be discouraged if you don’t get 100% participation from your team right off the bat. Continue reminding them why it’s important, both for them and for you.