Being a manager means having or at least needing exceptional communicative, psychological and persuasion skills to “manage” the versatile types of employees you work with. You must have already noticed that brilliant professional skills and lots of experience don’t necessarily mean a great worker. The personality, ability to work in a team, attitude, ability to get into and deal with conflicts are sometimes definitive of the value an employee brings to the company. It may turn out to be quite challenging to make your subordinates work diligently, be happy with what they’re doing and provide satisfactory results. This is why management is so much needed, and this is the reality you face every day.
Nevertheless, it is possible to make this reality a bit less demanding and more successful in terms of the efforts you put in. Let’s view the techniques and tools with a big potential that are worth trying out.
1. Look “from the inside”
When you face a “difficult” employee, don’t rush into conclusions based on the results of his/her behaviour or work. Figure out whether the person has always been this way or changed recently. Attempt to understand the reasons for it, which can be not only work-related. Be prepared to find out that it is your style of management that causes the situation – too much interfering, insufficient control, doing the work for others is disruptive. Anyway, managing to discover the “root” of the problem is the best way to work out the ultimate solution.
2. Be fair when dealing with conflicts
Conflicts are inevitable when you’re a manager, so you need to learn to face them. Trying to avoid or smooth them out as well as acting only based on your own judgement won’t lead you anywhere. Even though you may be tempted to use your higher position and get the things done you way, make sure you seek constructive and fair solutions, without giving preference to anyone. Remember that you will go on working with the same people, and do your best to set a good example instead of showing who’s the boss.
3. Don’t be shy to ask for help
Opposite to the common stereotype, getting help when needed doesn’t mean demonstrating weakness. It’s rather a sign of wisdom. For instance, when you need to deal with a specific employee but lack the information on his/her work, or need to understand the reasons of his/her behaviour, referring to other people for the insight would be more effective that taking guesses.
4. Use the value scale
Sometimes it is hard to make the decision about an employee when his/her skills and way of doing things are at the opposite sides of the line. In this case, weigh the pros and cons of this employee, and see what result you get – if the value brought for the company outweighs the negative effects of employee behaviour, let him/her stay. In the opposite case, especially if his/her example is contagious and dealing with the consequences of his/her actions is getting harder – time to think of saying good-bye.
5. Set clear objectives
Without a doubt, you frequently are in a situation when your subordinates work results are insufficient, less than expected etc. Did it ever occur to you that they don’t have the clear goal to reach, which is the reason for somewhat relaxed mode of work? Make sure your employees not only know for sure what they have to do, but also have some quantitative parameters to measure their success.
6. Use productivity software
You cannot constantly be present beside your employees to monitor their work and promote efficiency. But there are tools that can do this work for you, providing with the necessary information. Productivity software like Yaware.TimeTracker will let you timely detect possible issues and take measures to fix them.
Actually, this time tracking tool gathers data on all types of activity taking place on employee computers:
- websites, software used and the duration;
- overall hours worked;
- time when work was started and finished;
- number, time and duration of breaks taken and their reason (optional);
- work efficiency estimate based on the productivity of resources used.
Based on this data, it provides a number of comprehensive reports – attendance, overtimes, productivity ratings etc. This not only lets you keep your hand on the pulse of the company, but also is a strong means of boosting work productivity and eliminating distractions for employees. This not only helps improve their self-discipline, but also gives you objective data to operate with in case of any performance issues.
Naturally, making the decision about introducing such software is not a matter of a whim. That is why Yaware.TimeTracker offers you a free 14-day trial upon a simple registration (no credit card required), for an unlimited number of employees, all features included. After this period ends, you can make your choice, and we won’t ask you any questions.
