5 Tips for Managing Employees

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Tips for Managing Your Team

Managing employees is both an art and a science. At times, it can be a balancing act between nurturing the individual growth of your employees and maintaining productivity.

On the other hand, business leaders need to balance making roles easily replaceable while still valuing and championing the employees currently filling them.

Every organization has its unique challenges and managing employees is certainly one of them.

Implementing the following tips in your business will facilitate a positive culture and a healthy work environment.

1. Clearly Define the Role

This seems obvious but you would be surprised how many times the right hand doesn’t know what the left hand is doing.

Obviously, the indisputable first step in filling a role in your business is to clearly define it.

Tangibly, that looks like thoughtfully preparing a detailed job description that is as thorough as possible.

As you conduct interviews, go through the job description and ask the candidates about their comfortability performing each duty.

Carefully consider questions that will assist you in determining if the candidate will able to succeed in the role.

A clearly-defined job description is the first step in successfully managing employees.

2. Use an SOP Manual

Imagine if your IKEA furniture didn’t come with an instruction manual. It’s hard enough with the manual!

Accordingly, how can you expect your employees to succeed if they don’t have explicit, clear instructions from you?

Managing employees is much simpler if your organization has a Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) Manual in place.

If you don’t already have one, now is a great time to carefully review your employee’s roles. Start by having each employee thoroughly define and write down their duties.

This is a great opportunity to “reset” on tip #1 above. If the job descriptions prepared by your employees don’t match up exactly with what you need from them, that is a great opportunity to re-define the role.

Once roles are clearly defined, you can ask each employee to create detailed, written instructions on how they complete each task.

These instructions can be compiled into a master SOP Manual for your organization.

An SOP Manual makes it much easier to bring new employees up to speed.

3. Pay for Results, Not Time

Personally, I’m not a huge fan of the pay-for-your-time compensation model. Still, it’s likely to most prevalent method used for paying employees.

With certain roles, paying for time is really the only feasible method.

However, if you can find a way to pay your employees based on output rather than input, you should consider doing so.

Ultimately, employees are paid to complete a specific role or task. Why should a highly-skilled worker be penalized for completing a task in a shorter amount of time than a less-skilled worker?

Paying for results incentivizes greater efficiency and attracts higher-skilled employees.

As it relates to managing employees, results-based workers may require less oversight.

If you would like to implement a results-based compensation, you should speak with an attorney and/or a tax professional to ensure that you’re complying with the labor laws in your state.

4. Don’t Micromanage

Structure paves the way to freedom. If your organization champions clarity, structure, and efficiency, there’s no need to breathe down the neck of your employees.

By implementing tips 1-4, you can allow yourself to take a step back and trust that your employees have the tools necessary to complete their work.

Of course, it’s still good to verify from time to time.

Giving your employees the space and flexibility to complete their tasks on their own terms goes a long way in fostering a positive work culture.

5. Be Encouraging

Finally, don’t forget to be encouraging.

Everyone likes to be recognized for their contribution. They will never know that you appreciate them if you don’t tell them. Tell them—often.

And, be specific! Tell them how their efforts have helped you or the business succeed.

Additionally, don’t forget to encourage with your pocketbook as well.

Words are powerful but don’t neglect the main motivator for your employee to show up to work everyday: money.

Successfully Managing Employees

Running a business is tough. Failing to manage employees well makes it that much more difficult.

By implementing at least some of the tips in this blog, you can begin to reclaim your time and allow your processes to keep the wheel turning.

Be vigilant about setting clear expectations for your employees and then sit back and let them crush it.

Managing employees doesn’t have to be a burden.

Which of these tips have you implemented in your business?