Your employees are an essential part of your company and their performance impacts how your business performs overall. Without proper management and leadership skills from you, there’s a chance they won’t reach their full potential or that they’ll be dissatisfied and choose to leave and work somewhere else. Once you have the right talent in place it’s important that you do what you can to keep them happy and motivated.
As the company owner, it’s ultimately up to you to have policies, procedures, and best practices in place that help you get the most out of them regularly. The following eight ways to better manage your employees will ensure that your staff continues to stay motivated and work hard and that you are happy with their performance.
1. Set Clear & Defined Goals
Start by setting clear and defined goals together if you want to better manage your employees. They need and want direction about what they should be working on and toward. Having clear goals in place will allow you to get more done and your employees will be more productive daily. Outline detailed job descriptions and responsibilities and make sure that no two people are duplicating efforts. With the right goals in place, together you’ll be able to achieve more at a quicker pace. Confirm their goals align with the overall company objectives so that their efforts pay off and you can find more success overall.
2. Know Their Whereabouts
When your employees are on the clock and your watch it’s important to know where they are and what they’re up to. Not doing so can cost you valuable time and money. It’s especially essential if your employees are on the road and traveling for work. There are solutions out there that will help you do a better job at this such as basic driver tracking technology and having them report to you throughout their trips. It might also help to have a system in place that they use to enter and track their location and can let you know when they’ll be out of the office, working from home, or are sick.
3. Understand How They’re Using Their Time
Understanding how your employees are using their time is another way to manage them more effectively. You should avoid guessing or making assumptions about what they’re doing and are up to at work and instead gather the facts and data to analyze. Find a way to collect more information around this topic and details about their daily work habits and projects to know who’s doing what. You may discover areas or tasks that are wasting time and would be best suited for someone else to do or that you can automate. You might also find that some people have too much or not enough work.
4. Use Open & Transparent Communication
Better manage your employees by using open and transparent communication in the workplace. Maintain a fluid dialogue with each individual and your departments and teams. Make sure the right people have the right information at the right times so they can do their jobs. It might help to hold regular check-ins and company-wide meetings every so often to ensure everyone is on the same page. Using open and honest communication among your employees will help you build trust with them and you’ll find that you can identify and resolve problems quicker.
5. Provide Learning & Development Opportunities
Your employees want to know that they have a future working with your company. Therefore, manage them better by providing learning and development opportunities they can take advantage of. It’s not only great for them but also beneficial to you and the company when they’re working on improving their skills and increasing their knowledge. There are courses they can take online or conferences they might be interested in attending outside of work. Set a good example by helping them identify their strengths and areas for improvement and then encouraging them to learn and grow in these areas where they may be struggling.
6. Reward Them Fairly
If you want to better manage your employees then you must reward them fairly. Seek out those who are going above and beyond and working hard and let them know that you appreciate their efforts. While monetary rewards and bonuses are ideal, there are other ways to show your employees that you value them. For example, you can provide a meal to them, host team-building activities, give them time off of work, or send out recognition emails thanking individuals for their dedication and focus. If you fail to reward your employees properly you risk them going elsewhere or feeling unhappy and not as motivated.
7. Gather Feedback from Them
Your employees want to be heard and know that you’re listening to them, especially when they have questions or concerns. Better manage your staff by proactively gathering feedback from them throughout the year. Get to know what’s on their minds and what’s going well and what you may be able to improve upon as a boss and leader. Get a better idea of what they do and don’t like about working for your company and try to make changes to certain aspects you have control over so that you can keep them satisfied. You want to ensure that your employees enjoy what they do and like being a part of your company. Encourage them to share their opinions and speak up so that together you can improve the company culture and working environment.
8. Hold Performance Review Meetings
As a business owner, you should have an interest in knowing how your employees are doing and performing over time. Therefore, get in the habit of holding performance review meetings where you can discuss the progress they’re making and what changes need to be made. Measuring the performance of employees regularly will give you insights as to where they are excelling and the areas in which they may require more help and guidance. It’s also a chance to pinpoint who may be best for certain promotions or other positions within the company.