The way entrepreneurship has gained a considerable traction in recent years, startups and small businesses have begun experiencing their heydays. Only a fraction of these new businesses, however, see the light of success.
So what makes a business successful? Well, frankly, there is no one-size-fits-all formula for success; but having said that, it is an amalgam of certain factors and strategies at work that makes businesses truly successful. Effective management of employees is one such factor that certainly contributes to any company’s success, whether it is big or small.
As we all know employees are an asset to any organization. It is for their skills and efforts, companies are able to implement marketing strategies, develop good customer relations, and streamline operations & finances. This is the reason why employers and managers need to harness the full potential of their employees by channelizing their energy toward productivity and efficiency. But at the same time, they should be allowed to work comfortably. Give them enough space to grow, and provide them enough resources to innovate.
At the heart of effective employee management lies the virtue of being a leader. Simply put, a good manager/leader is the one whom everyone wants to follow. A successful manager knows how his or her employees remain productive, motivated, informed, and harmonious at the workplace.
Thus, if you want to build a productive and successful team, the following skills for effective employee management will greatly help you:
1. Boost healthy employee management and engagement
As a business owner or a capable manager, you need to realize that a healthy employee engagement is critical to your company’s success. Many business experts have time again agreed to the fact that there is a strong correlation between high levels of employee engagement and corporate performance. It has emerged as a critical driver of success in today’s competitive marketplace. An effective engagement promotes employee retention, fosters customer loyalty and improves organizational performance. Boosting employee engagement simply means empowering them and involving them in the decision-making process. Which is why they are more likely to put in extra efforts. According to a 2014 report released by Deloitte Human Capital Trends, 78% of business leaders rate retention and engagement as “urgent or important”.
2. Communicate clearly and effectively
Effective communication is probably bedrock for the successful development of any organization. It is one of the key factors that help managers perform the basic functions of management – planning, organizing, motivating and controlling. Clear and effective communication between you and your employees, therefore, is a pre-requisite for a well-functioning workplace. Without effective communication, workplace coordination fails to cut the ice and professional relationships are unable to develop into long-term trust. Moreover, lack of communication renders goals ambiguous and unfulfilled.
In order to have a good communicative culture, you can improve accessibility with technology. Today, there are many sophisticated collaboration tools that help in interacting from locations across the globe. You can also use tools that give you online time tracking solution for effectively managing and communicating employees’ schedules. Communicating well also makes you a good problem solver. Which is a necessary skill for an increasingly diversified workstation because it helps in conflict management.
3. Set clear and realistic goals
Running a business without stated goals and objectives is much like shooting in the dark, so to speak. Also, without well-defined goals, it is very difficult to improve teamwork and collaboration – a poor form of employee management practice. You should be able to make your employees understand the direction your business must be heading for. As a business owner/manager, you need to ask a few questions to yourself:
- What is the mission of my organization?
- What is the strategy in place to accomplish the mission?
- And what are the overall goals for my team, and for each member of the team?
The goals that you have set, however, should be challenging and achievable. They should be clear, and whenever possible, quantifiable.
4. Create a positive workplace environment
It is very important to create an environment in which your employees experience positive morale and become motivated to work hard for the success of your company. When employees have favorable atmosphere to work, receive support from their managers, they work more diligently and tend to align their goals with the goals of the organization. As a concerned employer, you need to be empathetic, build a rapport with and between your staff, leading to greater trust and transparency within the team. Transparency shows your integrity as a leader. But if you lie about something, or withhold information, you could jeopardize your relationship as well as respect. A positive workplace environment, therefore, leads to increased productivity, better employee motivation and the ability to retain skilled workers. Negative workplace, on the other hand, has negative impacts on the entire workforce.
5. Reward good performance
Another critical factor for effectively managing your employees is to recognize their hard work, appreciate their efforts and reward their performance. Employee recognition makes them believe that their work is valued. The most common forms of performance rewards are merit-based compensation systems that correlate annual increases to performance evaluations, and bonuses for accomplishments or the attainment of certain goals. Sometimes even a simple thank you works wonders. And if you add a personal signature to express your appreciation, you will be surprised how much motivational currency it will create. You need to find something that serves as a constant reminder of their achievement that has longevity beyond just the day it is bestowed.
6. Provide them opportunities to grow
Providing opportunities for growth is a huge employee motivational factor in any workplace setting. When you need top talents to drive your business ahead, you might as well have to give them proper space for personal or professional growth. As an employer, you need to remember the fact that training and skill development alone are not enough for increasing perceived opportunities for growth and development. Most of the employees see career advancement and promotion as most representative of the company’s development possibilities. You should consider supporting each member of your team and help them develop skills they need to take initiatives and build momentum over time.
7. Lead by example
When it comes to effective employee management, leading by example is one of the highest forms of true leadership on the part of managers or employers. Being in a leadership position, it is imperative for you to be completely aware of your responsibilities to your team. And a big part of your responsibility is to lead them with your own actions. How so? As a business leader, part of your job is to inspire your employees to push themselves as well as the company to greatness. Hence, you must show them the way by doing it yourself. If your team knows that you’ll also do whatever you expect from them, they’ll likely work hard to help you achieve your goal.
Conclusion
Employee management is the key to business’s success. But only when you know how to pull it off like a true leader. Striving for greatness is on top of every business owner’s goal list. But only those who have figured out the art and science of management tends to create the history. The 7 tips given above won’t let you down when you have decided to manage your workforce.
Michael Zhou
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