How To Build A Qa Team

Over the past few years, there has been an explosion of start-up companies with very little going for them except their ambition and dedication to making things better or different for themselves or someone else.

These businesses often lack what’s known in the business as “the workhorse that gets the job done” — they’re not made up of people who keep showing up because they have to, but instead, out of a desire to do so.

I call these types of organizations -- with no clear leader overseeing every department – I refer to as The Work Horse fewer Companies.

The Work Horse Less Company isn’t necessarily a bad thing if you can identify one or two key players that inspire loyalty and hard work from others around them. But if you don’t, your success will be short-lived!

Building a QA team is a great way to create a Work Horse Less Organization. By having individuals working independently and supporting each other, you create a culture where everyone feels like they belong and play a significant part in ensuring the company succeeds.

In this article, we'll discuss some reasons why building a quality assurance (QA) team is important and how to go about doing it.

Make it clear what is expected of team members

As mentioned before, being able to identify your team’s strengths and weaknesses is one of the first steps in building a quality support system. But once you do have that knowledge, it’s time to start creating internal processes and strategies to ensure that those strengths are used effectively.

You should also be aware of how much responsibility each member of your team can handle at any given moment so if someone needs some extra help or guidance, nothing is stopping them from getting it.

If you're looking to develop your team's strength as a unit, then starting with this advice will make for some very productive conversations.

Provide guidance and support

As mentioned before, being able to identify the strengths of other people is one of the most important skills you can develop as a leader. Once you do this, you can help them achieve their goals by giving them clear instructions and supporting them along the way.

As a senior leader, your job isn’t just to give orders — it's to inspire others to take action and believe in themselves. This doesn’t happen if you don't have strong relationships with your staff, but it also wouldn’t be very long-lasting.

So how about you make it a goal to meet with each member of your team at least once a week? Or perhaps you could ask those who seem to be struggling about what they're working on next and offer some tips or suggestions. It might even motivate them to come up with their solutions!

Running meetings that only focus on telling everyone else what they should be doing won’t work for too much longer. In an era when information spreads like wildfire, employees will feel shut out and undervalued.

Make team members feel important

As mentioned before, being able to recruit quality people is a key factor in building a successful startup. But aside from offering them the appropriate compensation, there are other things you can do to ensure they’re happy with their jobs here.

One of the most fundamental reasons why someone would choose to work for one company instead of another is how much they like the people they work with. If they don’t like who their colleagues are or feel that they aren’t given enough credit for his/her achievements, then it will be hard for them to stick around.

This can be difficult at times because employers who strive to promote teamwork usually struggle to find people to collaborate with.

It’s your job as a leader to make sure that this doesn’t become an issue for your staff. By making employees feel appreciated and necessary, they’ll keep coming back even if they could easily opt to leave elsewhere.

Hold team members accountable

As mentioned before, having a strong internal communication system is very important for your business and individual success. But what kind of messages you give to others in this system is just as crucial.

Your colleagues will look up to you and trust you when they see that you’re staying informed about things going on in the company and outside of it. They will also expect these messages to be factual and clear – no vague statements or rumours.

If someone does not do their job properly, let them know about it! If there was an error made by another employee, let them know who was involved and what happened so they can prevent such mistakes from happening again.

Accountability is one of the most powerful tools you have as a leader. When used correctly, it creates consistency and teamwork among coworkers. It also helps promote staff growth because people learn more effectively when they are aware of what actions need to be taken next.

On top of all that, research shows that being able to hold other people accountable for their work increases employee satisfaction and productivity.

Give them the credit they deserve

As mentioned before, you will not be successful without people who work for you, and that includes your internal staff members as well as external freelancers and employees. You need to give these professionals an understanding of what they are doing and why it is important to you.

They must feel like they own part of the company and have space to grow. Make sure everyone knows about their achievements so they can brag about them!

Give out appropriate praise and rewards but make sure it’s for something worth celebrating – nothing trivial such as ‘I showed up today’ or ‘You made me a coffee. These things are nice, but they don’t set off fireworks. A great way to reward someone now and then is to ask if there’s anything they’d like to do (for example, going to a movie together) and then give them whatever material they asked for.

It's also good to let those under you know that you're relying on them. If someone is leaving, at least they left knowing they were appreciated and needed.

Make it clear what is expected of senior members of the team

As mentioned earlier, being a leader is not easy. Being a good one takes work and dedication. This includes developing leadership skills, leading people in your department or under you, creating an environment where people feel comfortable stepping up and taking responsibility, and constantly looking out for others’ well-being.

As a manager, you will need to create trust so that employees can come to you with ideas and questions without feeling worried about getting their job done next.

At the same time, as a leader, you must know when to step down and let someone else take over. Your staff may be able to do some things on their own now, but eventually, they will reach a wall and need your help beyond what they already have.

Your juniors will make mistakes, sometimes very serious ones, but you should never use this experience to discredit them or put them down.

Set clear objectives

As mentioned before, your team will not take shape until you define its goals and mission. What are these goals? This is what everyone on the team should be working towards!

Your team can’t work efficiently if someone isn’t aware of their goal. They may feel motivated at first, but soon they will burn out because there is nothing solid for them to strive for.

So how do you fix this? Make sure that every member of your staff knows what their job description is. A job description is like the title of an employee, so anyone outside of marketing or creative development doesn’t know what each person does under your company’s name.

This is very important since those people in higher positions make decisions that affect the career growth and success of individuals underneath them. If people don’t understand the bigger picture, then they won’t know where to direct their efforts.

It also helps keep people accountable as there will be no one else responsible for their actions but themselves.

Communicate effectively

As mentioned before, your team will be investing in you as both a leader and an individual, so they must feel that you can communicate well. You will want to make sure that everyone is clear about what tasks people should do and how things work around here.

As a manager, there’s always something going on. There may be projects coming down the pike, deadlines looming, and questions being asked like, “Who has time for this? What can I get done without so much effort? Who wants to be involved?”

All of these types of conversations help keep people onboard and motivate them to contribute. When someone comes to you with a question or issue, you should know what the answer is already! This ensures that they don’t have to go looking for it.

Likewise, if someone needs assistance or guidance, they should be able to come to you with it. It creates consistency and clarity where one person knows who to turn to when needed.