Make Managing Your Employees Simpler
By Business Desk
Friday, May 31, 2019.
Managing employees can be tough. You need to be there to guide and console them, whilst also handling all the admin that comes with being an employer. This all has to be on top of the rest of your duties. If you’re starting to get overwhelmed, here are a few solutions that could help to make managing your employees simpler, whilst still offering the support they need.
Be approachable
If you’re constantly dismissing employees because you’re too busy you could be making more work for yourself. Employees need to feel that they can come to you with issues – if they start to feel they’re inconveniencing you, they may start withhold important information. Have an open-door policy for most of the day.
…but keep some boundaries
Obviously, you don’t want employees bothering you all the time with minor issues. It could be worth keeping a few scheduled times when you don’t want to be disturbed, so that you can handle pressing matters. Removing yourself from the office and working remotely could be a great way to do this as employees will only be able to message or call you during these times. You may also want to discourage people from ringing you in your free time – tell them that you’d prefer to be messaged so that you can switch off from work if you need to.
Know when to hold meetings (and when not to)
Some companies hold too many meetings. Other companies don’t hold enough meetings. It’ important to get the balance right. Meetings should always have a purpose whether it’s to share ideas, get everyone on the same page or build camaraderie. Avoid holding a meeting if you have nothing to talk about – some companies hold weekly and even daily meetings that have no purpose. By only holding necessary meetings, you won’t waste your time or your employees’ time. Certain information that isn’t urgent may be able to be shared via a WhatsApp group chat. Just make sure not to rely on group chats when it comes to pressing matters as certain people may not read them.
Delegate correctly
Delegating correctly is an important skill as an employer. It requires knowing your employees’ strengths and weaknesses in order to get the best out of your team. By putting the right people in the right roles, you can improve productivity and improve the likeliness of employees being happy. This will reduce the stress caused by errors and by employee job dissatisfaction.
Diffuse conflict immediately
Conflict is inevitable in the workplace. As soon as you start to see a conflict arising, whether it’s between two employees or between an employee and you, make an effort to diffuse it. Letting conflict build will turn it into a destructive force – it could affect communication and increase the likeliness of errors or it could make employees so unhappy that they quit leaving you with a vacancy to fill. As soon as you sense discord, talk to these people in private and try to put the source of the conflict to rest.
Outsource HR support
It can be worth outsourcing HR support to help with the management of your employees. There are companies that can help to handle the admin side of things such as managing the payroll or creating rotas. Alternatively, you may be able to outsource someone to take calls from employees out of hours and relay the information back to you. You can even outsource counselling services offered by companies such as Health Assured.
Make use of software
Software can help to organise your employees and speed up various admin tasks. Companies such as MitreFinch offer payroll software that can make it much easier to work out employees’ hours and pay them on time by automating the whole process. You may also benefit from using project management software if you’re a company that handles lots of projects – this can allow you to monitor the progress of each employee and the progress of overall projects.
Hire an assistant manager
Hiring an assistant manager to take on some of your management tasks could help to take some of the burden off your hands. You could bring in a new employee or you could hire within your company by promoting an existing member of staff. An assistant manager will require a higher wage than the rest of your employees, so you need to be sure that you can afford it. They also should be someone you trust – their role could involve giving them access to sensitive data and the power to make key decisions within your business.
Don’t micromanage
One of the biggest mistakes any manager can make is micro-managing. This is when you try to manage every detail of your staff’s work. Not only will this make your employees feel that they have no breathing space but it can also make your life harder by giving yourself more work to do. Know when to take a step back and trust your employees to do their work without your intervention. Unless an employee is making lots of errors, you don’t need to closely monitor them.
