Over 50% of Americans quit their jobs because of poor management.
If you want your business to be a success, the key will be in how you handle your employees. It’s not about pushing employees to work longer or harder. In fact, taking that sole approach could breed resentment and see a high staff turnover.
Being too hard can foster resentment and disloyalty. Being too soft can make staff lazy, bored, or even develop bad workplace habits. You need to find the middle ground, but with no right or wrong styles, it can be a daunting task.
That’s where we can help! Keep reading for these top eight golden rules of employee management to get you started.
1. Have Consistency
This is one of the first golden rules because you’ll apply this to the others on the list as well. Before you can hope for an effective management approach, it’s got to be consistent.
Every time certain behaviors appear, you need to reward them the same. Each member of your team must be equal to the others. You must view them with a level head and not pick favorites.
2. Build Accurate, Clear & Thorough Communications
When it comes to managing employees, how you communicate will make or break you. As a manager or supervisor, you’re going to be the main point of contact and information.
This means you must be accurate, thorough, and clear when doing things like:
- Going over meetings
- Passing out company updates
- Giving instructions
- Setting out rotas
This will apply to all forms of communication be it email, phone, or in person.
This is why you need good employee management software like EAP Software Solution. You can avoid miscommunication, keep information in one place and keep the team on the same page.
3. Let Employees See You Recognize & Reward Hard Work
When an employee goes above and beyond, make sure you reward them. This could be a small trophy and bonus or even vocal praise in front of the rest of the team.
You want the team to see it as not only does it boost the confidence of the employee, but it sets a standard. Your team knows that if you work hard, it’s not unnoticed.
This is where rule one is important as you need to be consistent to a fault here. Don’t play favorites as this could demotivate staff and again foster resentment.
4. Lead By Example
As the manager, you need to set an example for the rest of your team. Be the behavior that you want to see. If you show up late, then you can’t expect your team to respect timekeeping.
If you’re always losing your temper, then others won’t bother to keep theirs in check either. If you become your idea of the perfect worker, others will follow your lead.
5. Never Forget Everyone is Unique
Your team will never be one-size-fits-all. Each individual member has their own unique traits including:
- Strengths
- Weaknesses
- Likes & dislikes
- Ideas
The approach you use for one employee may not work for another. Don’t try to shoe-horn them into a mold, instead, use it to your advantage.
Foster their unique talents and take the time to get to know your team. Learn who excels in one task where another employee may be weaker. Encourage those strengths and help employees develop skills to better those weaknesses.
Customize how to manage people and get behind your employees. If you support them and help them develop, they’ll be loyal and have your back whenever you need them.
6. Encourage Employees to Offer Ideas & Opinions
Sometimes challenges need a fresh set of eyes to open the way for a solution. You want as many people working towards bettering the company as you can get. After all, a great idea can come from anywhere.
Never tell company employees off for giving a respectful opinion, even if you don’t agree with it. Your vision isn’t always the right one, no one is perfect, and all ideas start somewhere. You can flesh out the bare bones of an idea with further discussion and idea sharing.
By cutting someone off, you’re fostering resentment and alienation. Employees give the most when they feel part of something and feel valued. If they aren’t heard, they’ll stop caring and stop voicing those opinions trying to help.
7. Listen & Engage
If someone isn’t agreeing with you or takes issue with where the company is going, listen to them. Don’t shut them down right away. You might learn something and see issues that your position otherwise blinded you to.
Often ask what your team thinks of certain processes. Listen to their concerns and issues and work with them to find solutions. Your employees will feel acknowledged and heard, and you’ll all get a better workplace to work in.
8. Help Make Work an Enjoyable Place to Be
You don’t need to throw out the dress code or add in the latest games console to make work fun. Surprise lunches, an employee break room, or even pleasant conversation go a long way.
Work shouldn’t feel stuffy, boring, and oppressive. A huge chunk of time is spent at work; the least they deserve is to not clock watch until the moment they can walk out again. Help your workers enjoy being at work, and the boost in productivity will amaze you.
Employee Management Doesn’t Have to Be Hard
Once you get into the mindset, employee management will be second nature. Remember you’ll be the first point of contact, and all eyes are on you. Be the employee you strive for others to be and set the example.
Be kind, considerate, open, and consistent. Make sure hard work gets rewarded and everyone feels valued and heard. Get stuck in and show you’re as much a part of the team as they are. Do that, and you’ll have a team that’s unbeatable.
If you liked this article, make sure you check out our blog for more workplace tips and tricks.
