Organizing a working group

How do you get people together in order to work on a project without getting distracted? Where and how do you find the right people? What is the best way to manage a group?


1. Start by getting your group together. Plan out who is going to be a part of it first: friends, family, co-workers...etc. If you do not know who to recruit, consider doing some networking. If your schedule is tight, here are a few places to look out for (but watch out, people are not always the working professionals they claim to be! This is not the safest way to go...)


http://www.monster.com/
http://www.careerbuilder.com/?ff=21
http://synerfac.com/
http://talent.linkedin.com/recruiter/
http://recruiting.jobvite.com/


If you happen to be located in France:
http://www.fusac.fr/en/


  Using social media, such as Facebook and Twitter as a job recruiting tool is also a well known tactic used for finding worthy employees.


2. You are the boss... or are you? Are you looking to be the number one leader or are you mostly into a collective collaboration. In both cases there are the pros and cons. As the boss-


Pros:
- More control over everyone (in a good way). 
- You get to direct and organize what goes on around the company.
- Managing the funds and the company's expenses.
- Being in charge of pretty much everything.


Cons:
- Additional stress.
- Responsible for not only your actions but your employees.
- The financial and paper work is on you.


As a collaboration- 


Pros: 
- The comfort of a small community.
- More inspiration and ideas.
- Easier to work as well as promote unplanned collaborations.


Cons:
- Arguments are more frequent.
- Financial troubles tend to arouse more easily.

3. Find a space. Be on the lookout for places for rent in magazines, real estate stores or simply through word of mouth. It's actually recommended that you do not rent a space especially for you and your co-workers with your own money: instead, collect donations or investments. If possible, get yourself a personal investor who will earn stock shares in return for tending to your company's financial needs. If your group is not planning on making money, consider using whatever available space works best for you, but be sure that it promotes at least a minimum level of concentration for you and your co-workers.


4. It's all about group dynamics. When collaborating or directing a team, always be sure to keep group dynamics in mind:


- People tend to either stick together, or disperse; make sure your group is tight.


- There are often at least two people in conflict; debate and argue constructively, do not fight.


- Personality undermines everything else; know your co-workers.


- Laziness is everywhere; so don't let it happen, to you or anyone else.


- Overworking is a serious problem; be sure to give (or impose) a break every once in a while.


- Sometimes work is shoved all on one person; working in small teams helps.


- Leaders can be misjudged; if you happen to be one, respect your employees and they'll respect you.




  If you're a founder of a family/friend team, you might want to consider double checking their capacities. Yes, this may sound strange seeing that they are probably close to you and you trust them, but that is just another reason why you should. Take the time to notice the traits you had never reflected on and ask yourself a few questions. Is so and so able to handle pressure? Will he/she have the skills to do this particular job? Is he/she truly that motivated? 


  If the answer is yes then proudly march forward and invite them in to work! If not, there are other possibilities. Either you recruit someone else, or point out what it is that's wrong and try to fix it. A "training program" could be a good way to start.


5. Keep it going.  Remain organized, be understanding and energetic, and your team will work out just fine. Of course the main key is to enjoy your work work, and make sure that everyone else is doing so too .  


Getting a worthy group together is one of the hardest things to do. If you are still facing trouble or have any additional information on founding working teams, send us an email or visit the Contact Us page.