What To Look For In A Team Development Platform for SMBs
Updated August 18, 2025
Why Don’t Many Small and Medium-sized Businesses Use Team-building Systems?
SMBs often don’t have or need HR departments, and they depend on their managers to have talent development skills. Yet, according to SHRM, nine in ten managers lack the skills to manage a team because they never formally learned how. The main reasons people leave an organization are their relationship with their manager and a lack of understanding about how their role contributes to the organization's success.
BLOOM solves these challenges, and we believe that regardless of size, team leaders should be equipped to track performance and provide regular feedback to their team members. Our proprietary BLOOM system offers this and more for an affordable solution that takes the complexity out of team success.
Top Five Features of Team-building Platforms and How BLOOM Aligns
METHODOLOGY BASED ON EXPERIENCE THAT IS EASY TO LEARN
The best tools come with a process that takes away the complexity of getting started. With the BLOOM Methodology, you don’t have to create a talent management system from scratch. It is possible to implement and track a talent management system within days and weeks rather than months without the luxury of an HR professional on staff. Our team will guide you through the simple six steps to get started with customized features that define roles, wage scales, performance dialogue structure, forms and frequency, goal tracking, performance journals, and more. All of these components work together to optimize communication and performance among your teams.
WEEKLY ROUTINE AUTOMATED FEATURES
Optimizing team performance requires an easy routine. The BLOOM system is automated with completion workflows and email notifications for due activities. It is important to have a system designed to be a weekly business management tool, saving time in documenting and tracking strategic initiatives, employee goals, performance logs, job descriptions, training, performance reviews, policies, procedures, and much more. Typically, these details go undocumented, resulting in wasted hours tracking down and creating information when it is needed. Also, BLOOM offers a library of tools.
THE RIGHT NEW HABITS SHOULD BE EASY TO ACHIEVE COMMITMENT
If your team doesn't use a tool consistently within the first six months, it may not be the right time for you. The best systems form new, simple, low-click habits. We find that small and medium-sized business owners who invest in and adopt these habits benefit from the user-friendly and time-saving features of any system. Plus, they ultimately save a lot of money by not hiring a HR person and not being forced to create homemade tools to manage their talent. In fact, many of our clients can't afford to have an HR person on staff, which is why they choose BLOOM. In every case, no investment is best until you are ready. We always find that it is important for teams to be clear about their needs and intentions - and be sure that you are unified on using such systems before you commit to them. Then success rates rise!
SUPPORT DESIGNED FOR SMB NEEDS
You want support in the moment you need it, and having a quick video showing you how to reference back to later helps — after having a few interruptions. Systems such as BLOOM offer on-demand support services, including easy setup support. Included in the license fee is a six-week onboarding program to support your setup — and it can be done faster. As a SaaS (Software as a Service) strategic HR tool, BLOOM is much less expensive than other robust competitive products, and BLOOM is perfectly scaled for small and medium-sized businesses. New system features are added each year at no additional fee, and they are solely based on user feedback.
ROI
For the benefits stated above in developing the skills and team leadership skills of your managers, SMBs will appreciate greater team productivity and efficiency. On a daily and weekly basis, your leaders can focus on proven team performance and achieve accountability for success without the fuss. Making typical and traditional “HR functions” a part of your team leadership practices not only improves success, it streamlines the responsibilities to where they belong - with your front line managers and leaders. When truly ready, the investment for any team leader is well worth it!
The 14-day BLOOM trial is free. Try it out and see the time it can save for your whole team.