Category: Management Tools

Sometimes it’s better to learn what not to do—carrying the title of “Manager” doesn’t always mean you know how to manage people well.

Just because one has a certificate that says you now know how to supervise people, doesn’t necessarily mean you actually can. How much do you figure you can learn and/or change in a one-day seminar? You know the kind; the one geared toward newly appointed managers or, as an Instructor might suggest, “for senior managers whose companies send them here for a wake-up call before they kick them out the door.”
Too often, the newly appointed manager didn’t necessarily earn this position, but volunteered for it (or was volunteered for it) after their predecessor resigned. Nevertheless, today they’re in charge of the company’s most precious asset, their human capital. As far as they’re concerned, after attending this seminar, they will prove to be the best manager the world has ever seen…not! They will sometimes exemplify the weakness of existing management. Those without training and the personal abilities to lead turn out to be the “experienced” managers who have lost their enthusiasm. They grumble about their employees, not only to themselves, but with anyone that will listen (including other subordinates) over trivial issues. Did you think that Scott Larsen, the mind behind Dilbert had to come up with his own ideas? How about some examples?

Try to prevent your employees from going to the bathroom more than twice a day.
This is a true case (ending up in litigation) of a Supervisor who felt they could add to their department’s productivity by restricting washroom breaks. Not only that, but specifying between which hours they were allowed to go! Do you really figure this will add to your productivity figures?  Managers who try to limit bathroom trips do so because they don’t understand what it means to manage people. Somewhere along the way they became misguided and equate management with babysitting. In some instances this may be necessary, but for the most part it’s an insult to employees. Management should be about mentoring—not monitoring people.

Be a Micromanager and criticize their efforts
Go ahead; constantly criticize your Employee’s work, suggestions, and even their personality. Refuse to promote them and don’t give them any rationale as to your decision. Do you want your employee to feel all of that negative criticism resulting in their feeling ”burned out” and as unenthusiastic toward extra projects and pursuing further promotion as some sort of revenge towards you? In a conversation with an independent lumber Retailer, this was basically what he extolled as his management philosophy. His feeling was that the staff had a “country club” environment that they didn’t appreciate, which led him to believe this was the corrective action necessary. Wrong…over half of his staff resigned over the next four weeks!

I’m not suggesting that behind the motivation and empowerment effort there doesn’t need to be a plan. That’s exactly it; don’t just react out of emotion. Think about what makes sense for the short and long term. If an employee requires discipline, take action. “Set them straight or set them free”, as my former boss would say.

Exclude your Managers in the decision making process
A recipe for failure? You bet. Don’t include them, even though you’ve hired them to help run your business. They’re just employees, right? I’m the boss, and my attitude can be “do as I say” if I want it to be. But do expect disorganization, a lack of support, no cohesiveness, and don’t expect them to know…or for that matter, care…about what you want to accomplish. So they’ll keep under performing, and blame you for their failure.

The lesson here is, make people take accountability, and don’t give them a reason to blame anybody else for their failure. It’s your responsibility when you hire someone to let him/her know what their duties are and that you’re there to support them. You have to provide an environment they’ll feel good about, where they can come to work and feel challenged and welcome, not just attending a job.

Hire cheap and make them feel grateful they’re employed
I’m in it for the money, right? I wanted to hire employees for the least amount I could and then get the most out of them I could. So it was a chess game between them and me…and that’s what you’ll get in return, the classic “us and them” environment. You don’t have to be the highest-paying employer in your neighborhood; you can augment wages with other recognition tools (gift certificates, movie passes, etc.). Low cost incentives like birthday cakes and simple recognition among others for a job well done will go a long way to achieving extra effort and loyalty from your staff. How much does a pat on the back cost? Amortize your payroll costs and figure out if you’ll really save money in the long run by being cheap when you have a higher turnover percentage and the associated training costs to lay out.

Remind people who’s the Boss (all the time)
A Manager I recently met felt that in virtually every conversation with his employees, he needed to use the word “boss”. His computer screensaver says “Da Boss”. He’s very much into job titles, even though some of his staff has more experience than he does. He’s not shy about criticizing his staff in front of others and sets a poor example to everyone around him by his constant complaining attitude and gossiping.

He’d compliment a direct report on their work one day, and then attempt to write them up, saying they were incompetent. Did he not think this might backfire on him insofar as their motivation and want to do a good job for him? In addition, he would assign projects to individuals and then they’d find out through their peers that they were assigned to the same project, causing uneasiness between employees. No surprise the employees describe this boss as one who will “smile to your face one minute and stab you in the back the next minute.”

All of these areas add up to failure. Why not try the opposite approach? Otherwise, you’ll probably find yourself “blogged” at www.fthisjob.com

A recent Industry Canada survey, compiled with the assistance of industry experts predicts a severe staffing shortage in the under-35 category by 2006 for jobs that can’t be replaced by technology. Unfortunately, we can’t just set up interactive kiosks for our Customers to deal with when they come in looking for the solution to a plumbing problem or at-home project. This causes everyone grief, and when a large box store chain aspires to open dozens of stores per year, how do you fill that ever-important need for “fresh faced excellent staff to provide excellent Customer service?

Jackie Plant from Lockheed Martin agrees, even though she’s not a Retailer. “If you look at the stats & reports into retirement age, retirees wealth, how often Canadians move & the declining birth rate (as examples), I think that a labour shortage in the years to come will be more widespread than retail (but agree they may be harder hit – especially if you look at how technology savvy kids are today).  It’s certainly something that’s on our business radar today, as we plan for the future.”

Peter De Jager, a technology management guru and a former retailer himself disagrees as to the shortage. “I honestly don’t believe there is a shortage of workers, there is however a huge shortage of employers willing to hire those just out of school/college/university. And, when they do hire, they treat the new hires in a manner that makes it incredibly difficult for the hires to make even a subsistence living. For instance, Retailers that will hire a new worker… minimum wage of course… but who won’t guarantee the worker more than 20 hours a week. Nor is there a fixed work schedule that would allow the individual to find a second job without having to purchase a computer to handle the scheduling problems. Training new help is the cost of doing business. Hire for attitude and all the rest will unfold, as it should.”

David Wilson, a public service HR practitioner questions the study. “So will there really be a shortage?  Yes, but it may be restricted to certain fields and jobs.   My real worry is not the shortage of workers, but the shortage of well paying jobs for the next generation(s).  At minimum wages, you cannot afford to buy a house.”

This topic hit a sore spot with Bill Round, proprietor of Rounds Hardware in Boston. “The economy in the Boston has brought us a median home price of US$ 350,000 or so.  The average apartment cost in Massachusetts is US$ 1,391; the average mortgage payment is US$ 2,084. Young people are just priced out of the market.”

“The young people I can afford to hire will be living at home with mom and dad, OR in an apartment with 3 or 4 other non-related people, OR driving in from 50 miles away.   All of these are high-stress living situations.  This will be reflected in the attitudes young people bring to the store.”

“I like to think that I’m in the business of selling nuts and bolts to middle class people. You should have middle class people on the service side of the counter to do this, at least I think that this is a good model.  I don’t think this will work out in the coming years.”

“I think we all want to “empower” the staff members of tomorrow to do their job as they see fit as fully vested participants in the business.  Instead, I see many retail stores staffed by people who need to be told what to do next, and then what needs to be done next after that, and so on.  The person who can see what needs to be done next will be management material.  This person will be the exception, and possibly the rare exception at that.  This is a very pessimistic view, but I see a passivity among young people that will be difficult to overcome unless the training and structure is very clear and very defined.”

“To find good employees we will have to sift through lots of poor ones.  Good ones must be identified as quickly as possible and then retained and trained, possibly at great expense. The business operating system will need specific hooks for this very function:  Toss the trash as soon as possible and ID the good ones even faster.”

Round adds; “If the cost of housing is so high… why not become more attractive by offering it?  Corporations are doing it with housing allowances.  I wonder if we will come to that?”

Vicky, you talked about maybe having a box with three key items to consider:

1. Human Resources business practices (likely automated) including scheduling, job descriptions, training modules, evaluations, standards, work rules, employee handbooks, merchandising and operating standards.  The business will have to provide the structure many people will not have in their lives in the years to come.

2. Clearly defined benefits in areas the box stores might not offer.  These benefits could include “biddable” time with significant shift differentials, or a full forty hour week for those making a living for themselves and their family at this job.  Weekends and nights will not be times many people will want to work.  Younger people will value this.

3.  Respect. The same old adage applies; treat people as you’d want to be treated yourself. Acknowledge successes, and bring constructive areas of development to their attention, with a game plan as to how to correct it…and follow up. 

Bill talks to Cathy, one of his employees about something she could do better, e.g. her customer service skills…and leaves it at that. Cathy then thinks Bill’s dissatisfied with everything else she does. Sound familiar? Do you then backtrack and make the employee believe that this area of concern really isn’t that bad? What can we do to make it better, then?

It’s easy to fall into this rut of miscommunication between employees and supervisors. Before your meeting, relax and review your intentions. If we’re overly anxious about providing critical feedback, or feeling frustrated or resentful about their behavior or performance, heading into this type of meeting in a stressed state is a recipe for disaster.  The better choice is, after reviewing how you intend the discussion to unfold, take a few minutes to relax and remember our positive intentions for the meeting and for sharing our feedback. Whether you pray that things go well, follow yoga or your favorite athlete’s mantra for mindset management, making an effort to relax will inevitably add a positive tone to your meeting.

Watch out for these pitfalls:

Don’t assume you know what they’re thinking.
You’ll never know exactly what the other person is thinking unless you give them the opportunity to verbalize it for themselves. If you don’t answer their specific concern, they’ll tune you out or you’ll quickly see a minor situation blown out of proportion with accusations flying back and forth.

As mentioned, don’t minimize the problem either. Be specific and let them know you’re not totally dissatisfied with their efforts. It could be along the lines of “ Let me put this in perspective. I don’t want you to think I’m not satisfied with the quality of your work overall, or that your efforts are unappreciated. It could be better though if we find a way to improve your customer service skills.”

You can reinforce this thought by saying “I want us to continue working together. I really do think you’re doing a good job. But this area is important to the company, and I’d like you to work on this area. If we can work on this, your job performance will be even better than it currently is.”

Make sure they know what you’re thinking, and why.
An employee’s performance appraisal rests on the foundation of the agreements made when the employment relationship was consumated regarding job duties and the employee’s role and the employer’s expectations. A colleague criticizing a co-worker can require a more delicate approach, because the chain of authority is not in place. Also, remember that one of the most important priorities is to maintain a positive and respectful relationship with the person once the discussion has ended.

Review your assumptions.
Don’t automatically assume that your’re right and they’re wrong, and your mission in life is to correct others! It can seem to the other side of the discussion more like unproductive, demotivating criticism. Before you start handing out criticism, review where you might be making assumptions about your relationship, expectations or how the person is approaching a project or situation. For example, if

you’ re about to criticize someone for poor liistening skills, your assumptions might include your belief that you’ve been clear in your communication. Reviewing potential assumptions can help set the stage for a more positive discussion or feedback-sharing session.

Share your intentions as to why you’re having this meeting.
Before offering criticism, check your own intentions for wanting to let someone else know what they’ve done wrong or what could be improved in their behavior or performance. This provides good feedbacl for you as to whether the issue under critique is really their issue, or your own problem you’re passing on to them. Preface your criticism by sharing your intentions. For example, you might say, “My intention for wanting to talk with you is that I want your work to stand out and be recognized by others.”

Make your expectations clear.
Assuming they understand your expectations can create problems at follow-up time, including constructive criticism, of someone else’ s behavior or performance. Share your perspective on how you understand any working agreements or your own expectations for the situational change that’s necessary to improve their performance or behavior, e.g., “My understanding of the project is that you’ll be providing the Department Heads with progress reports each Friday afternoon and forwarding a copy to me.”

Ask questions—and give them a fair shot at responding.
To help you identify unclear expectations or misperceptions, ask questions. If you want to fail, just do all of the talking (which assumes you’ re always correct in your perception of the situation!). Before providing constructive feedback, ask them questions to understand how the other person understood their role and duties, what they thought you or others expected of them, and how they felt their performance was. Often, as you listen to someone’ s responses to questions, you’ll uncover at least one moment that corrects or enhances your understanding of the situation, which then allows you to provide much more constructive feedback.

Speak respectfully.
This one is simple; do unto others as you would like to be treated yourself. Nothing seems worse than being scolded or yelled at. Everything said seems destructive if you feel that what’ s coming at you is biased, inaccurate or unfair, and no opportunity for rebuttal is presented…and felt like someone actually listened to what you have to say. In any discussion, and especially one where you’ll be offering criticism, it’s important to participate in an information-sharing dialogue—even though the tone of the converstaoin is critical—but both people get to speak and hear each other out.

See the positive as well as the negative .
Surveys show that many people feel more criticized  than appreciated at work, translating into employee turnover because of  such interpersonal problems with supervisors or colleagues. Before your meeting, think of the things that you appreciate about the individual with whom you’ ll be sharing feedback. Have a number ready, and then once you’ ve shared your intentions about the meeting, share the “what I really appreciate about you and your work” list before moving on to constructive criticism. You can also reinforce this at the wrap-up a recap of positive thoughts and expectations for change.

Bottom-line; effective communication is the key to running an effective business. Without it, you’ll be looking to Human Resources or your legal counsel to help do just that.