It’s the goal of every business to operate with the greatest efficiency and productivity levels but to do so requires a motivated workforce.
Considerable research has found that happy workers are more productive but just how do you manage staff effectively and encourage hard work without coming across as overbearing?
Strong people skills are a vital part of managing employees
Managing staff is an essential aspect of the business – after all, it’s generally recognized a company’s employees are its greatest asset so it’s essential you learn to nurture, motivate and encourage them. Read on for some tips on how to improve your people skills to get the best from your team:
Clear communication is key: People work best if they know exactly what’s expected of them so work on keeping your instructions concise, clear and to the point. You should also encourage feedback to let workers know your relationship is a two-way street and that their comments and ideas are welcome.
Recognize hard work: Employees thrive on receiving recognition for their work and even a simple thank you will help make them feel valued. Don’t let yourself fall into the trap of only criticizing when things go wrong – remember to also acknowledge and comment when a project goes well and employees do a good job.
Incentivize workers with added benefits: Recognizing hard work is essential but, if you really want to get the best from your team, you should also consider offering your staff extra benefits as part of their overall remuneration package e.g. free health cover or insurance packages. However, Managing Employee Benefits can end up extremely time-consuming so also think about installing automated software to allow staff to build their own bespoke benefits packages and save draining your resources.
Spend time building relationships: To get the best out of workers, you should get to know them on a personal – as well as professional – level. Your staff are only human and will often have things going on outside work that could affect their productivity or ability to concentrate. Knowing more about your team will allow you to offer support at work when they most need it.
Show your real side too: Just as your staff might occasionally need support, you could too from time to time so don’t be afraid to show your human side. Staff will respond to you much better if they see your natural, non-boss side and will feel much more relaxed and comfortable coming to you.
Learn delegation skills: It’s all-too-common for bosses to think only they are capable of properly performing a task, often resulting in taking on too much and ultimately leading to burn-out. Learning to delegate parts of your operations to the right people is an essential skill in business so take time to study the individual skills of your team to decide who’s best-suited to take on particular aspects of your day-to-day business.
Be a good example to your team: There’s little point extolling the virtues of hard work, good timekeeping or working efficiently unless your staff can see these qualities in you too. If you’re to gain their respect, you’ll need to set a good example, to give them someone to look up to for inspiration and guidance.