How to Effectively Manage Employees

Managing staff can be an incredibly rewarding job, but it requires a good bit of diligence, focus, and patience. Don’t let the idea of being a manager intimidate you; just take a few deep breaths and do some research into what all it may entail. There are plenty of tips you can make use of to ensure you are an effective manager of an excellent staff, including the following ideas.

Pay Close Attention

While there is a negative connotation for managers who are too involved in every facet of their employees’ work, there is something to be said for those who pay attention to what’s going on in their team. As long as it is within reason, you should know all of your employees, at least their names and their jobs, so you can feel confident that you have a good base knowledge of how your team works. It is a great idea to know that your employees are trustworthy, though, so you can avoid potential issues like workers comp fraud that may arise in an environment where the employees feel like they can get away with anything.

Hire Quality Employees

To best ensure your employees are trustworthy, make sure you prioritize the hiring process. Don’t skimp on or try to breeze through this stage, as it can be easy to miss red flags if you aren’t attentive. Perform background checks, call references, and when possible conduct the interviews yourself, or have your most trusted employees conduct them. Get a good feel for who your candidates are and see if you think they could fit well within your team. It’s much easier to manage a team if you start out with a good one!

Related: How To Get The Right Employees First Time Around

Encourage Your Staff

It’s one thing to hire good staff members, but it’s an entirely different task to maintain a great team. Employees can get bogged down and stop caring if all they ever hear is criticism. Instead of simply telling your staff where they’ve missed the mark, set out to constantly encourage them when they achieve or even when they simply try their hardest. Give them good pointers in a positive tone, work alongside them so they don’t feel alone, and seek to maintain positive morale as often as possible.

Related: How to Motivate Your Employees to Be More Productive

Incentivize Within Reason

Whenever possible, it’s a great idea to provide incentives for your team to give their work their all. Instead of just simple encouragement, add in some perks that your team can work toward, whether it be a catered meal, extra time off, or maybe even just some cool gear with the company logo on it. Another take on this is to implement special activities or treats into your weekly schedule. Maybe have a dress-down Friday where the team can wear comfortable clothes, or a muffin Monday full of delicious treats from the local bakery to kickstart the workweek. Do what you can to make your staff feel valued and excited to come to work.

To be the best manager you can, you should pay attention to your staff, hire good people, encourage, and incentivize them whenever possible.