How to Manage Employees

Anyone who has ever led a team at work or overseen multiple employees knows that it can be difficult to manage people in the workplace. Not only do you have to fulfill all of your duties as a supervisor, but you also need to make sure that those working under you or to whom you are delegating tasks understand what they need to accomplish and how to do so in a timely manner. Supervising people is a huge responsibility because, if they make a mistake, the ultimate blame may fall on you. But by adhering to a few simple rules of thumb and having a flexible, optimistic outlook in your role as a manager, you can be an effective leader who is both authoritative and well-liked by others.

Striking a Balance

It may seem difficult to strike a balance between being a friend to your employees and being their boss. While you want to command respect, you also want them to know that they can come to you if they are experiencing any problems or difficulties. If you hang out with your employees on the weekends and go to parties with them, it may be hard for them to take your authority seriously come Monday morning. On the other hand, if you show little or no interest in their lives whatsoever, they may feel intimidated or unwilling to come to you when they are experiencing an issue with the job. In general, try to be friendly, polite, and open without getting involved in any office drama or interpersonal relationships. Be a mentor while still being a leader.

A few ways that you can be friendly with your employees without crossing a line and becoming a friend to your them are:

• Recognize accomplishments
• Say thank you and give positive feedback
• Provide lunch or breakfast for your employees every once and a while
• Never make employees feel inferior or worthless
• Encourage camaraderie and a collective team spirit

Recognizing Skill Sets

One complaint that many workers often have is that they feel they are not being utilized to their full potential at work. While some skill sets simply aren’t applicable in the work place – an accountant may have few opportunities to put his or her trout fishing skills work – it may be a good idea to speak with employees individually and ask if they think they might be able to offer something above and beyond the normal work tasks. For instance, if an employee mentions he or she has been reading up on website design, ask them if they might be able to look over the business’s website and offer suggestions for improvements. If you know that one of your workers does a lot of yoga in his or her spare time, ask them if they might be willing to lead short stretching sessions in the office once or twice a week so that your employees can unwind and relax for a few minutes.

Encourage Communication & Growth

Making a concerted effort to communicate with your employees can go a long way in helping you to gain respect. Demonstrate that you are open to the idea of feedback or ways in which the work that everyone does could be improved or streamlined. You could organize monthly meetings where people discuss triumphs or challenges from the past several weeks, or you could brainstorm solutions for any issues that have recently arisen. Donuts and coffee can make these sessions fun and useful! Periodic training sessions can also help employees to stay well-informed about everything going on at the company, and can show them that you want to encourage continuous growth.

Overall, lead by example. Make decisions about how you conduct yourself as a supervisor based on how you would want your employees to act. If you make a mistake, take responsibility for it. If someone else makes a mistake, handle it professionally and discretely.