Although the realms of football and office life might seem worlds apart, there are many important lessons that HR leaders and managers can learn from top European football teams that can be applied to their own teams within the workplace. Here are three areas that can be influenced by the football greats to improve organisations*.

#1 – Your Approach to Recruiting Is Essential

Much like in football, creating a strong team full of players who each add their own unique strengths to compensate for others’ shortcomings and work towards creating a strong team unit is essential in business. Coaches take the time to study and seek out the strongest candidates for their team, and HR professionals and managers should do the same. There are several ways in which HR professionals can improve their recruitment process to ensure that they are attracting and choosing the correct candidates for their positions.

“It starts with the job posting itself. Be sure to create a description that clearly lays out the role and its expectations and showcases your unique company culture. Once you are at the interview stage, it’s important to remain structured, focusing on the key aspects of the job and providing a consistent experience for all candidates,” explained Dr. Ryne Sherman, Chief Science Officer at Hogan Assessments and Co-Host of The Science of Personality Podcast. These actions will help HR leaders gather a stronger list of potential hires and create a clearer picture of them so managers can be confident that their new team members will be up to the task.

#2 – Team Performance Is Pivotal to Success

Team performance is influential not just to success in sport, but business success as well. It is often assumed that the strongest teams that succeed are the most cooperative, but effective teams don’t always get along. Take the case of Greece. Before the 2004 Euro Cup, the Greek national team had never won a single match at an international tournament, yet they persevered and succeeded defeating nations with a strong history of success in the tournament, like Portugal (twice), France, Spain, and the Czech Republic. “The true strength of a team is not based on how well they can cooperate, but instead how they overcome challenges and succeed despite their struggles,” observed Dr. Sherman.

Several key factors equate to strong team performance, such as trust, mission alignment, results focus, and adaptability. Individual team players are essential for success, but these members can only succeed if all aspects of the team, from managers to players, are aligned and cohesive. High-performing teams typically have clear objectives, complementary skills, effective communication, and a strong sense of commitment and accountability. Managers and HR leaders can ensure strong team performance by hiring team players, providing adequate training and development opportunities, facilitating communication and collaboration, aiding in conflict resolution, and rewarding and recognising the successes and hard work of departments.

#3 – Strong Teambuilding Is Crucial

A good coach knows to assign roles that apply to each player’s strengths while also encouraging collaboration. Luis Aragonés, former coach of the Spanish national team, was a tough but highly effective team builder. Aragonés laid the foundations for the Spanish championship in 2014, however, after a long string of losses he had to reshape his squad, offering new responsibilities to players who only had held backup roles. Similar principles can apply to HR professionals and team leaders. “Motivational feedback is one of the best ways to get the most out of your team, and creating strategies that best appeal to the strongest attributes employees have to offer will not only increase productivity but can also improve team morale overall,” noted Dr. Sherman.

Team building can also help teams accomplish their goals more efficiently, and one effective approach towards team building has to do with personality assessment. Understanding the personalities of team members can help ease any tensions within a working environment and aid in building stronger working relationships. When team members develop positive relationships, they may feel more comfortable sharing their ideas and solving problems creatively, which is an important step towards building a stronger unit and ensuring success across projects and the wider organisation.

*Guide provided by Hogan Assessments