How to Effectively Manage Employees at all Levels

Managing employees can be difficult regardless of the size of your business. There are key ideas that those who manage others should implement from day one of them being in charge. Continue reading to learn how to effectively manage your employees.

Be an Effective Communicator

As the leader of your business or organization, having good communication skills is pivotal to your role as a manager. Knowing how to effectively send and receive messages between you and your team is a huge part of your success. There are smaller pieces that help managers make the jump from good communicators to great ones. First, be consistent with your communication, whether it be feedback (good and bad,) or something as simple as letting your employees know they can come to you with anything. Another element of communication is engagement. Take time to engage in meaningful workplace talk with your team. By engaging in a more personal conversation with your staff, they will feel more open and comfortable with you and that helps improve the overall morale of your work environment. Make sure that you also follow through on what you say and make sure your own actions mimic the expectations you have for your employees. Lead by example. Body language is also another big part of how we communicate our nonverbal feelings. Make sure you are giving all verbal and nonverbal cues to your employees that you are open to talking whenever they need. Listening is also another crucial part of effective communication. Research shows that the average person listens with only 25% efficiency. So that means there is 75% efficiency left to improve on. Make sure you are able to master the skills of a truly good listener.

Set Expectations

Regardless of the role, each teammate has, they should be well-aware of what their job expectations entail. As the leader, you need to make sure that you use your communication skills and communicate these standards and expectations to your employees from day one. By being transparent from the beginning you are better able to gauge their performance in meeting your expectations and rewarding them for it. If you don’t provide the necessary information for them straight out of the gate, how could you ever expect them to reach the goals and expectations you have set? When they do reach those expectations, make sure you take time to celebrate them or give them praise for their hard work. Your role as a manager is also to motivate and inspire your team. Take time to learn the best ways to motivate your team.

Manage Employee Performance

Keeping your employees informed about their performance and how it aligns with your expectations is important in keeping your business successful. When employees are well-informed it empowers them to work at their best level. Take time on a regular basis to meet with each employee individually to discuss their role and workload. This helps keep a constant reminder in the minds to continually give their best efforts. It also helps address issues that may start small but could easily balloon out of control. If there are behaviors or performance issues that need to be addressed, make sure you handle them promptly and professionally. Offer help on a strategy to get back on track or to improve performance instead of just coming down on the employee for falling short. Motivate them to be better instead of raking them over the coals for doing poorly.

Encourage Learning

Even as adults there is always more we can learn and improve upon. Encourage your employees to take advantage of learning opportunities and grow in their careers. Work with your employees one-on-one and help them establish career goals. By creating these plans, you are helping to motivate that employee to give their best efforts and grow as a team member. You should also lead by example. Participate in all available learning opportunities. Attend seminars and conferences with your employees so that they know that even company leadership is always looking to learn and grow.

As a leader, the success and failures of your team ultimately land on your shoulders. Make sure you have the knowledge and tools you need to effectively lead your staff at all levels. Strong leaders create strong employees.