As a manager, do you pay attention to your employees doing their jobs? Do you know what turns them on or what puts them off? Knowing what drives them will let you know how to motivate them to perform better at work. Here are some tips for knowing what drives your people:    1. Establish employee focus groups Setting up focus groups at work gives you insights on what employees would like to get from work. Hold regular sessions so that they can brainstorm on ways to make work m

Getting drawn into the detail of all the information available wastes a lot of time. Managers feel that they have to keep up with the information in order to perform well, resulting in burn-out for them. Here are some tips to keep your head above water when it comes to information overload:   Be in control You need to decide what your boundaries are and create a system of managing information that works for you. This could mean setting limits on the time spent on replying ema

Today’s rapidly evolving business landscape means that managers not only need to actively manage their careers, but they need to provide career guidance for their employees. Here are some ways on how to help your employees develop their careers.   1. Create growth opportunities Give your team new and professionally challenging work experiences to get them out of their comfort zones. Different assignments allow your employees to grow rather than remain stagnant.  2. Offer fina

There are many threats that organised managers have to overcome in order to maintain an efficient schedule. Here are 3 tips to eliminate time wasters at work. 1. Avoid engaging in wasteful conversations There is nothing wrong with building rapport with your employees vis-à-vis small talk, but some managers make the mistake of engaging in mindless chatter about topics that are unrelated to the job. Not only does this undermine productivity, it may cause employees to distance t

Being aware of your emotions, understanding your personality and what motivates you are some factors that are important to developing effective managerial ability. If you cannot manage yourself, you will not be able to manage anyone else. Here are 4 steps to increase self-awareness.    1. Seek honest feedback We may not always be aware of how we come across to others, hence it is important to seek out someone we can trust to give us honest and direct feedback. This could be a

There are many reasons why a person can feel a certain way at the workplace. Certain thoughts or events may trigger positive or negative emotions. Here is a guide on how to manage your emotions at work: Recognise your emotions When an incident arises, it is important to recognise your own emotions. If you are not able to identify them, you cannot manage them effectively.2. Determine the source of the emotions Ask yourself what caused you to react in that manner. Perhaps you w

“I never teach my pupils; I only attempt to provide the conditions in which they can learn” - Albert Einstein Coaching is about creating the conditions necessary for learning and growth. What are some ways that a coach can provide support for their coachees to succeed? 1. Let the coachee know that you are approachable and available Your coachee needs to know that he can contact you when he needs assistance. Let the coachee know your available timings and what times to avoid s

Before Pauline agreed to become a manager, she sought advice from a senior manager in the company.  This senior manager said, "You are awfully trusting and that can get you into trouble. I never trusted my staff. If you blindy trust people, you will fail!" Many managers who embrace the traditional command and control model believe that it is foolish to trust employees.  As a manager, building trust in your team is important. Refusing to trust anyone will not help you manage m

Not every new staff that you hire will end up staying in the company for long. What can you do for new staff that do not perform within the basic expectations? 1. Set up an appraisal meeting  If at any time after setting up goals and performance standards, you realise that the new employee is not meeting expectations, immediately call for a meeting to analyse what needs to be done. Determine the causes: Does he/she know what is expected of him/her? Is it due to a lack of know

If delegating can save you time or someone can do it better, that is good. But if you are feeling lazy or it is just a small task, do it yourself. Effective delegation takes time. Here are some tips for how to delegate work: 1. Select the right person Choose someone who has the relevant skills and motivation to complete the task well. Discuss what needs to be done such as: -What are the potential issues? -How will you start the project? -Who else will be involved? -Check that

After deciding on the candidates to offer the job, there may be some negotiations involved before the chosen candidate settle for the compensation package. Here are some strategies to help you: Do your homework.  Research salaries and compensation for similar job scopes in the same industry. Prepare a list of what you are willing to offer and stick to the plan. Get the interviewees to commit before the selection is made.  If the candidate has responded to your job posting ind

Here are some tips on how to make the most of a hiring interview. 1. Get to know the candidate. Use the resume, job application form, preliminary materials such as his portfolio to formulate questions on his work history. 2. Ask questions logically. Plan your questions so that one topic leads to the next question smoothly. Jumping from one topic to another may confuse the candidate and limit the quality of information you get from the candidate. 3. Pay attention to body langu

Reference checks are an important component of the interview process and it is frightening to know that there are managers who hire solely on what they see on paper and what they observe during interviews. Reference checks are part of a company’s homework when employing someone and allow hiring managers to validate information gathered thus far. 1. It is recommended that hiring managers contact the candidate’s former supervisors rather than personal friends or relatives liste

Layoffs are mostly inevitable due to volatile market conditions, mergers, acquisitions and a more competitive global market. Layoffs are usually not due to the fault of the employees, but it should still be handled with care. The following steps will guide you through the layoff process. 1. Ascertain the scope of the problem  Think about which departments will be affected. How long will the poor business conditions be expected to last? Are there other cost saving approaches t

There are 2 main reasons for disciplining employees: performance problems or misconduct. Use the following guide to plan what to say so your employee will understand the issues at hand and what they need to do to correct it.  Step 1: Describe the unacceptable behaviour Be specific about what exactly it is that your employee is doing that is unacceptable. Do not use vague statements such as “Your work habits are lacking” or “You have a bad attitude”. Examples: “You have been w

Regardless of whether employees choose to resign or are being asked to leave, exit interviews are important as it offers valuable “inside information” for the company. This is because employees are more likely to open up about the issues that led them to leave the company at that point of time. 1. Publicise it.  Letting employees know that you will conduct exit interviews is a positive move. It sends out a clear message to everyone that yours is a listening organisation. 2. C

Rating systems are commonly used in evaluating performance. However, the process is flawed if ratings are the only method used to appraise and manage performance. Here are 5 tips to make rating systems work: 1. Supplement the rating system with columns for comments about each rating item. Whether the employee is rated high or low for each item, the manager will need to share his input on what in particular has the employee done well or needs improvement. 2. Ensure that both t

As our lives become seemingly hectic with demanding work schedules, there is a need to explore new ways of problem solving that will make us more productive as we execute our daily tasks.      Here are some ways to develop creative potential in your team members: 1. Sharpen expertise Send your staff for training, workshops, courses so that they will gain new knowledge and skills to do their work better. With new knowledge, people can make better connections to previous experi

A good project team requires more than technical skills. Here are some principles to guide you on team selection: 1. Less is more Fewer of the right people is much better than more of the wrong ones. When it comes to team selection, quality trumps quantity. For example, a team could comprise of only 4 people. Each member of the team understands the project’s direction and their role. This team will work more efficiently than an over-staffed team. 2. Availability is key Are th

For most managers, it is better to terminate employees who have no hope of becoming productive members of your department sooner rather than later. The actual firing of the employee should take place in your office or any other private location and not done via email or in an open area such as the pantry.   Here are some steps to guide you: Step 1: Inform the employee that he or she is being terminated Firmly tell the employee that the decision is final and not subjected to a