7 Cardinal Rules for Successful Employee Management

Handling employees is no easy task. Apart from the different expertise each employee brings to the table, managers also need to handle a variety of personality types. When left to their own devices, it won’t be long until employees run into conflict with one another.

The outcome won’t benefit businesses at all. In fact, 86 percent of executives and employees admit that workplaces fail due to a lack of collaboration and effective communication. Employers and human resources managers, take heed. There are smart ways to instill harmony and teamwork in your workforce and, consequently, avoid unnecessary downtime.

Be Consistent

When it comes to managing employees, consistency is key. Employers need to be consistent in implementing company rules and regulations before these can be effective. Otherwise, employees will recognise this as incompetence and won’t put their trust in you.

There are many ways to practice consistency in the workplace. This includes keeping commitments, assessing results, and giving credit to whom it’s due.

Communicate Clearly and Concisely

Whoever communicates the most clearly will go a long way in the business world—especially when you’re dealing with employees of your own. Clear and accurate communication in the workplace does not only get the message across. It also clears doubts and promotes peace of mind.

Managers and business owners can initiate clear communications in the workplace in several ways:

• Always think about the purpose of a meeting.
• Disseminate facts and records via email.
• Keep messages simple and to the point.

Instill Team Spirit

Employees always include “team player” in their résumés, but people know that’s not always the case. Everyone has their own skills and work ethic, and they won’t always get along well with colleagues.

CEOs or managers need to promote teamwork to make the dream work. Imbibing team spirit helps boost productivity and staff morale. Ultimately, it improves profit in any organization.

To keep an entire team in harmony, it’s imperative to first clarify each employee’s role. This prevents employees from unfairly delegating tasks to their colleagues. Create an organizational manual containing all job descriptions to guide staff throughout their work.

Recognize Hard Work

Employee recognition is one of the best ways to gain satisfied, loyal workers. Everyone wants to be recognized and rewarded for their efforts. In fact, 69 percent of employees have expressed they’ll work harder if their hard work were better appreciated.

Manpower is what runs a business, and appreciation from their employer is what fuels employees to do their jobs well. Make sure to show one’s gratitude on a regular basis.

Employers, with the help of their managers, can get creative in recognizing employees. Even a recognition plaque, with the help of trophy maker, a free lunch pass, or a simple kudos email can put a smile on any worker’s face.

Maintain Employee Safety

CEOs and managers need to always make workplace safety a priority. Employees need assurance that they’re working in a safe and secure environment. Otherwise, the turnover rate can drastically increase. Every business has to work under OSHA’s regulations to maintain a safe work environment for employees. Although regulations can differ from state to state, you should select the appropriate program. If your business is settled in California, you should choose the 360training’s Cal OSHA training program.

One of the many ways to maintain a safe work environment is requiring drug tests among current employees and job applicants. Employees must pass certain required tests to rule out any potential safety hazards in the workplace.

Ask for Feedback

Employee feedback promotes employee engagement—and acting on this feedback even boosts it. It’s important for managers and employers to use this gathered information from their employees in improving how the executives manage the workplace.

To effectively manage employees, leaders need to collate feedback on a regular basis. This may be through biannual employee surveys or even from simple suggestion boxes placed in the office.

Regularly Evaluate Management

Last but not least, constantly assess one’s management skills. There is always room for improvement, and managers can easily detect areas to improve on through the employees themselves.

Listen to what employees have to say about the management. One may suggest modifying their job responsibility to better promote teamwork. Another may have a great program idea that boosts career development. One may find a solution to a current HR problem.

Employers and managers can use these suggestions on their next workforce planning or hiring and on-boarding. By then, they’ll find it much easier to manage their employees and establish a harmonious workplace culture.