Did you know that employees rarely leave companies, rather, they leave managers. In fact, it is estimated that 79% of them leave because of differences with the manager. Maybe there is a personal conflict. Or perhaps there is a lack of systems in place to adequately get the job done. Possibly there is a lack of accountability creating a situation where good employees get frustrated. Whatever the reason, what we do know is good managers have a real impact on employee satisfaction and ultimately, employee retention. So what can you do today to ramp up your management skills and keep your best people?
1. Know your job and theirs
If you know your employees' job and how they do it, you can identify obstacles much quicker. Your job as a manager is to remove those obstacles so good people can do good work.
2. Nip interpersonal problems in the bud
When you have team members who do not get along, it can cause major problems for the whole team. As a manager or team leader, it’s your responsibility to step in and resolve issues before they become unmanageable.
3. Be clear about your expectations
Employees who know the overall direction you want for the company and their individual role in it, are better positioned and motivated to accomplish goals.
4. Trust your people
Start small to build real trust but understand that employees who work in high trust environments work harder and problem solve better. And when mistakes happen, as they will, try to work with the employee to problem solve where possible rather than make a unilateral decision.
5. Listen up
Your people are your best source of information, listen to them. Not only does being listened to make an employee feel valued and heard, very likely your employees can provide you with the information and even possible solutions to deliver the best work.
6. Lead with yes
When possible, say yes. Yes to a request for time off. Yes to requests for supplies or equipment. Of course, many times, there are real reasons why you cannot, but when you can, yes builds trust, yes puts ‘money’ in the bank for when you need something from your people.
7. Encourage and appreciate
All too often, managers are focused on putting out fires rather than watering their lawns. Never underestimate the power of a sincere thank you. We all need them, we all like to get them. Thank yous are free and easy, use them liberally.
So ultimately it comes down to UBUNTU and respect for each other as individuals. While most people are looking to be a part of something bigger than themselves, they simply need to be accepted for who they are first. We are all human beings regardless of what the job may entail. So the job will always be taken care of if we put the people in front of the job!
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