When we speak of ‘managing people,’ it’s easy to think of someone having to make all decisions on behalf of staff members. Of course, in the macros sense this can be true. You decide where your department’s budget will be used, as well as who will be working where, what skills will be utilized, and how to train people under you. Yet even those descriptors are nowhere near the full totality of how managers have to apply their people-oriented pursuits every day.
Yet it’s also true that for most managers, the ability to help an employee perform their best work without unnecessary obstacles getting in their way is paramount, and sometimes the most important work they’ll do. Note that necessary challenges are useful, unnecessary obstacles are not. The former might involve placing a somewhat new employee on a placement that will test them, the latter is defined by having no toner in the printer, delaying the workflow of those in your office.
So - how can we remove those unnecessary obstacles, and what are they? Let’s consider those points in the post below:
Communication Necessities
It’s true that poor communication can lead an otherwise effective team to be completely unable to function reactively, dynamically, and with confidence. This is why business phone systems are essential not only for customer service necessities, but to make sure your team can speak to one another immediately. For more personal communications, Slack channels or online group meeting rooms can provide the perfect alternative to ensure communication is flowing throughout the day, even on days where some may be working remotely. This is worth your investment, as communication can be its own reward.
Proper Training
The proper training of your employees will be an absolute necessity of course, but how is that training laid out. Public speaking seminars and exercises might help them, of course, but how often do your employees approach this? It might be that investing in them learning the updated understanding of compliance management can be the best way forward, as can giving them time to train on the latest software suites. Proper training means training for the world now, especially at a hyper-competitive time like this. It may be, then, that you pivot your approach, and do all you can to get your employees fighting-fit by considering the needs of the moment, not career-long development strategies right now.
Excellent & Maintained Equipment
It’s healthy to maintain equipment and replace it if necessary. Staff shouldn’t have to deal with broken-down printers, or desktop monitors that do not work, or ergonomic furniture that should be well past its use-by-date by now. Those considerations can often make an office feel as though investment isn’t being placed in the right areas, and that can lead them to feel less-than-appreciated. Keeping your standards high means keeping equipment in great condition, and that goes tenfold when considering safety equipment, too.
With this advice, you’re sure to manage employees well by removing unnecessary obstacles.
