It is safe to say that in the past, we have had some employers who definitely knew how to get the best out of employees, including us.
There are just some jobs that you cannot do on your own. A business will grow and expand and so you need to know how you can be effective without running your workers mad.
There will come a point, hopefully, sooner rather than later, when you need to build a team of employees. We say hopefully sooner rather than later because this will be a good sign that things are going well. If you’ve got so much business that you can no longer cope on your own, then you’re on the right track! However, it can be a challenge to become a boss, especially if you’ve never been in charge of other people before. Without a little guidance, you might find that managing your team is harder than you imagined it would be. So read up on our tips below. They’ll help ensure that you can get the most out of your staff, and all-around help push your business forward.
Hire the Right People
You’ll be making your job much easier if you hire the right people for the job. If you have a robust hiring policy, one that attracts the best candidates, then you’ll find that it’ll be more about managing your team, rather than more like pushing a boulder up a hill. Of course, wanting to find the right people and actually doing are two different things. So here are some tips: first, rethink your job description. To get the best people, you should make it sound appealing, rather than just one long list of requirements. Second, think about how the candidate would fit into your overall company culture. Finally, don’t ignore intuition — if you click with a person, then you’ll find it easier to work alongside them.
Open up the lines of communication to get the best out of your employees
Communication is key in any and all relationships, and that includes the relationship you have with your staff. There’s a big difference between the culture of a company that has open communication, and one that doesn’t.
Always keep in mind that being a leader isn’t about being a dictator! Your employees are not just there to take on board what you say. They should talk, too — it’ll be better for your company if they can have their say. So, encourage open communication between you and your staff. They should feel comfortable coming to you with suggestions, problems, and so on. Don’t assume that this will happen effortlessly; it’s best to cultivate that environment intentionally.
Get Organised
Everything works better when you’re organised. You’ll know this from your days as a solopreneur; you achieved much more throughout the day when you were organised and on top of everything. And now that you have staff, it’s even more important that you’re organised — there are simply too many pieces of the puzzle. As such, it’s recommended that you take the time to put the systems in place that’ll help you to stay on top of everything. There are free work scheduling apps that’ll ensure everyone is at work when they need to be. You can outsource your HR and payroll requirements so that you can focus on your tasks safe in the knowledge that this important task has been taken care of. The more robust your systems are, the less likely it is that things will fall through the cracks and become disorganised.
More than Work
You will, of course, bring your employees on board so that they can do a job for you, but that shouldn’t be the beginning and end of your relationship. Studies have shown that employees work much better when they feel that there is a personal dimension to their relationship with their boss. While you will want to make sure that your team is achieving its work targets, always keep in mind that there should be space for more of a personal connection. It’s not as if you need to take things to an extreme edge; it’s just about viewing them more than simply robots who are there to do a job. It’s about treating them as a human, essentially.
Set the Standards
You might be the boss. You might be hiring employees to make your life easier. However, it’s important that you’re not hiring workers so that you can take it easy. Workplace problems typically arise when a boss expects his or her workers to pull twelve-hour days, but they themselves only work five hours. If you want to create and maintain a healthy office environment, then it’s important that you set the standards. Part of being a leader is about being a role model for your workers. You should lead by example, rather than a “do as I say, not as I do” ethos.
Be Realistic
However, while you’ll hope that your workers live up to the high standards that you set, it’s also important that you’re realistic. You can’t expect your employees to work twelve-hour days just because you are. You, after all, have a bigger stake in the company than they do. If you want your workers to have the same driven passion for your business as you do, then look at giving them equity in the company. It’s the fair thing to do.
Handle conflict well in order to get the best out of your employees
If you put enough people into a specific environment for long enough, then eventually you’re going to run into one sort of conflict or another. It’s just inevitable. It’s how you manage those conflicts that’ll have the biggest impact on your business. You’ll have workers who are frustrated with you from time to time, but the most common conflict will be between two different workers. While you don’t need to get involved every time two of your workers have a falling out, you will need to intervene if it runs on for more than a few days, and if it’s beginning to have a damaging effect on the wider employee morale.
Criticism and Praise
One of the sadder things about human nature is that we so rarely praise others. We might think a whole bunch of wonderful things about another person, but we seldom actually tell them about it — and that’s something we should change.
It would improve our personal relationships. And hey, it can also improve your professional relationships too. If one of your employees does excellent work, then make sure that they know how much you value their efforts — it really can be a powerful motivating factor. Of course, there is also space for criticism, too. Sometimes it’s necessary, though you should be mindful of how you approach the delivery since it could backfire.
Avoid Micromanaging
There is a long list of gripes that employees have with their bosses. But one of the most annoying traits, even among “good bosses,” is micromanaging. And it’s not hard to see why — it’s essentially a message of distrust.
If you’re going to hire someone for your business, then you’ve got to trust them to do their job correctly. They might work differently to you, but does that really matter, if the results are ultimately better? Beyond being annoying, micromanaging also has an unwanted side effect of limiting creativity and innovation. You’ll be doing right by your business by letting your employees get on with it, essentially.
Learn how to Listen
You shouldn’t just sit at the top of the pyramid, and bark down orders. Being a boss involves having conversations with your staff — it’s a two-way street. Indeed, sometimes it’s a one-way street, and you’re the one who should listen.
While you know more about your company than anyone, there are areas that you don’t know so well. Learn to listen to your staff, and you might find that they tell you about problems that you’re unaware of — part of your working methodology might be unproductive, for example, yet you can’t see it because you don’t have the vantage point of your employees.
Avoid Being Too Pally
We mentioned earlier that you should have a relationship with your employees that stretches beyond simply business.
However, there is a fine line between having a personal dimension to your relationship and getting too close. You’ll want to avoid becoming too chummy with your employees. You need to maintain a level of professionalism. It’s all good and well joining the gang for a couple of beers after work on a Friday. It’s another thing to be staying out until 6 am every weekend with them.
Be the Leader
When you become a boss, you’re thrust into a role that you might not have been in before. You become a leader. As such, it’s recommended that you take the time to find your leadership style — this is something that takes time to cultivate, but it’s much better to work on this aspect of your professional life rather than just hoping it comes naturally.
Don’t Ask Too Much, and you will get the best out of your employees
Finally, one of the best ways to manage your employees is to remember that they’re only human. If you keep this in mind, you’ll be able to prevent many of the problems of the boss/worker dynamic to happen in the first place. They’re going to make mistakes, they’re going to have off days, they want to progress, and so on. Don’t ask the world from them, unless you can also help them achieve their goals.
We would love to hear your views on this matter so drop us a line in the comment section below.
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