How many times do you hear yourself bemoaning your workforce, questioning their commitment and wondering why they don’t seem to have the same level of motivation and attention to detail that you do? Have you often wished that you could find staff members that are more like yourself? Then read on ….
You are not alone. These complaints are not uncommon. Managing a team of staff can lead to considerable frustrations that just didn’t exist when you were simply responsible for your own workload. When you climb higher on the career ladder or run your own business, there’s a whole host of additional issues to deal with.
But have you ever considered taking a step back? Look at your own approach to people management (just for a minute of course!) as opposed to taking the easy option and blaming your staff for your frustrations. Because it’s often you, and you alone, who can impact the commitment and motivation of your staff. You are likely to be the single most influential factor in an employee’s approach to their work.
How often do you take the time out to ensure that your staff are feeling valued? How often do you say “please” or “thank you” or “you are doing a great job”? This might sound obvious, but it’s so important to staff members. It features right up there with salary incentives and competitive terms and conditions of work.
There are a number of things you can do to help your employees know they’re recognised and valued:
Set clear objectives
Share goals and objectives with them, and let them know if these objectives change. You may think that you’re communicating well, but the employee may often be of a different opinion. Ensure you get feedback from staff so that all parties are clear on requirements.
Be confident
Be confident with your staff and arrive at work with a positive attitude. Don’t start the day growling about how high the mountain is that you have to climb. Try telling them instead that it’s going to be a great day – and then see if you notice any differences.
Spend time with your staff
Take time out of your schedule to feed back to your team. They need to know what they’ve done well, and what they could have done better, and as soon as possible after the event.
We all get bogged down in our day to day activities and schedules and it’s hard to make time for the less tangible outputs such as effective communication and feedback. But give it a try for a while. You may find the results extremely rewarding.
For further information contact Cliff Sewell or Philip Hill at Sewell Moorhouse - an independent and specialised accounting and financial recruitment consultancy based in Sheffield, Doncaster and Leeds.
Email: cliffs@sewellm.co.uk or philiph@sewellm.co.uk
