People management is very important for business success. These skills may be improved and studied. Having a innate skill for communicating with people can be an advantage, all the same there are a lot of skills you can learn to make the process easy.
Developing relationships: Begin by using the names of the employees. Speak to people; look people in the eye during a conversation. Have a respectful attitude, and do pay attention to the other person’s point of view, irrespective of whether you are in agreement with them. The development of the ability to listen is one of the best things you can do to develop your human resources management skills. Be sure to show an interest in what everyone can contribute to the business organization. Exhibit integrity: Keeping your promises is really important. If you can’t keep your word, the delicate bond of trust is violated, and if they do not trust you your staff certainly won’t offer their best. Each time you give a commitment or make a promise about something, you are squandering your time and effort if you don’t act with integrity. The truth is, when you can’t be depended upon, your employees will not be there if you really need them.
Feedback is essential: Feedback should be a interactive process. Human Resources management skills mean being receptive to all feedback. If you are able to establish approachability and openness, you show that you respect your co-worker’s feedback, and they should appreciate your opinions. Encouraging open discourse also promotes evolution of creative problem solving, new ways of achieving goals, and develops the team. If your co-workers can express their ideas, every team member takes ownership of the outcome. Encourage communication: Your people management techniques come down to the same thing — good communication. Maintaining an open door policy, use good listening skills, welcome all sorts of feedback, and allow team members a chance to express their opinions. Staff should be inspired to communicate with one another not just with you. The growth of any business relies a great deal on the interchange of opinions, and when the employees communicate well, you can spot any problems swiftly, and measures may be applied before things get out of hand. Some time and effort will be necessary, but the payoffs far outbalance the effort involved. By building the bonds of a good team and demonstrating effective listening skills, you can easily have a successful business.
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Choosing the right candidate when searching for new employees is frustrating enough without having to complete a lengthy Employment Verification procedure. Conducting employment verifications for new hire candidates typically takes much longer for in-house HR personnel than an outsourced verification provider. Outsourcing Employment Verification is the latest and most cost-effective way to get your perfect applicant in a punctual and efficient manner. You can employ a company to verify employment on all of your applicants. You would typically be charged based on the number of verifications performed for you in a month. This process preserves accuracy and efficiency while freeing up valuable human resources.
Recently, a company called VeraTrack revealed a revolutionary and proprietary system that uses technology, and an automated system, to drastically reduce the strain that Employment Verification presents. All a company has to do is log in, enter the pertinent information about both the company and the employee, enter the data to be verified, and then wait for a reply. The system subsequently sends notice to the previous company requesting that they log on (using a secure verification code) and complete the necessary information. Once this step is accomplished, the hiring company is notified, and the verification is finished. This procedure can take up to a few days before completion. Even still, but it is far from the days of taking weeks or months. This is a great time saver for you, your company and your employees.
It’s still a popular misconception in a significant number of businesses that, by offering each member of staff some instruction in health & safety, they now have everything they need to cope with a catastrophe. The truth is that, irrespective of the industry you’re in, basic instruction in health & safety regulatory affairs simply is not sufficient. Equipping your workers, providing a good supervisior and facillitating frequent drills are crucial to the safety of staff.
All teams must have a great supervisor to observe staff performance, however this person must also take a greater function in the business. Your selection of supervisor needs to see that health & safety education is crucial and be able to encourage other people to share their enthusiasm.
As well as enforcing health & safety legislation, the function of a supervisor includes maintaining employee performance as well. Of course it isn’t easy to accomplish all this at once. Extensive industry knowledge is necessary for a supervisory position in addition to a high level of experience with the safety legislation, risk assessment, and first aid.
Just offering health & safety training really is not sufficient for your staff. To successfully spot a problem area they require to put their knowledge into practise. Staff also require insights into the steps necessary to remedy the situation not to mention how to cope when the unexpected happens. Only when these processes become a routine are workers properly protected. safety equipment is equally as important to the well being of your staff as any training. Should they find they don’t have gear they require, or even determine that items are damaged when they really need them, then all the training available can’t help them. It’s a good idea to make regular checks to make certain you have all the essential equipment and also that it is working properly. If you find something is in less than perfect condition, ensure it is repaired or serviced as swiftly as possible.
Your workforce have to receive appropriate health & safety training, but in addition they require good quality apparatus, the chance to practise, and an experienced supervisor who gets employees excited about being safe at work. Then observing health & safety legislation will become a part of your employee’s working habits instead of an inconvenience for the workforce to remember.
Numerous companies feel that, if every member of staff has enough health and safety education, they now have all the knowledge necessary to cope with an incident. The truth of the matter is that, regardless your industry, employees need more than education in health and safety and risk assessment. You must supply your employees with sufficient supervision, not to mention provide the right safety gear and give them the opportunity to practice.
Each team must have a great supervisor to oversee the shop floor, yet this person also needs to perform a greater purpose. A supervisor must express enthusiasm and believe that training is great. In addition to insuring compliance with health and safety legislation, a supervisory role includes managing employee performance levels too. This is not a simple undertaking. Good industry knowledge is an essential for a supervisory role in addition to a very high standard of understanding of safety regulations, risk assessment, and emergency assistance techniques. It just isn’t enough to provide your staff with health and safety instruction. Your employees must acquire practical experience of risk assessment and the recognition of hazardous areas. They must understand how to eradicate hazards and also how best to manage if the worst happens. Your employees are only properly prepared when their training and procedures have become second nature.
Adequate safety gear is every bit as important to the your workers’ well being as training. Should staff discover they are lacking the gear they need, or even notice that supplies are broken only after a crisis has occurred, even the most advanced training will not help them. You must perform thorough checks frequently to make sure that you have all the essential equipment and that it is all being properly maintained. When you have a problem with your safety equipment, ensure that it’s fixed rapidly and returned to the right location.
Your workforce have to have good health and safety education, but they require decent gear, frequent practise excercises, and an experienced supervisor who gets staff excited about working safely. If you take this advice you will see that health and safety legislation will soon become established in your business culture not an inconvenience everyone has to make an effort to remember.
There’s more involved in making a profit than income alone - it’s important to be making money cost-effectively. Business performance management software, while frequently pushed to the backburner, is a great benefit to companies wanting to do this.
Once you know the specific specialties of your staff are, you can adjust your procedures to optimize their effectiveness and consequently get the most from the business as a whole. Identifying and collating this knowledge can be where things can become challenging, though. To look at just one facet of this - for instance, employee appraisal - defining progress and tracking it is a significant amount of work. First of all, you implement employee appraisal systems to evaluate and track all work carried out by each worker. And if you’re using established methods, you will need to study all of this data manually in order to set goalposts, and track future development.
With performance appraisal software, you can just study the various analyses and factors to determine the ideal objectives and then follow the member of staff’s development. By doing this you eliminate a major time commitment while probably receiving more useful information as an added bonus. It is also possible, of course, just to use the software to track raw data like performance review forms and to make your own analysis. And improving the efficiency of your workers is only one improvement that can be made using performance management software. You can also use the software to examine your clients as well as your suppliers. For example, when looking at suppliers you can demonstrate the weak points such as slow delivery times, bad damage records, and so forth.
When it comes to clients - retailers, affiliates, or similar - performance management software can still provide a more detailed picture there, too, telling you just who your best seller is, their loss percentage and similar fallout, and serving as a reminder of outstanding payments. This information is useful in minimizing expenses and boosting profits. As well as all this, marketing campaigns become much more effective because you’ll have a deeper insight into your ideal demographic.
You can study your suppliers in order to reduce costs and stay aware of your target market so that you can make more money utilizing performance management software. It also smoothes out the employee performance review and aids you in setting unambiguous goals for your workers decidedly. What can be achieved with this software is truly unbelievable.
Pacific Quay Hub building was constructed along the Clyde with the intention of providing more space to the artistic community of
The speculation was that the timing was wrong and would lead to a loss because of the economic meltdown. However, the spaces in the property are being taken up quite fast. 180 sq ft has been just taken by the design company Safehinge, while another 450 sq ft is being taken by a social media company named Caboodl. After this lease, half of the building has already been leased out, thus defying the speculations.
This is going to be very good for the local organizations as well. The Glasgow School of Art’s Digital Design Studio, Shed Media and many other companies already have an office in the building. Digital Design Studio is shifting in September along with 70 staff members.
It is easier to market the place as the area has many well known offices like the Glasgow Science Centre,
Success in business depends to a great extent on competent people management skills. With a little effort you can acquire and develop these techniques. It can be an advantage to have a natural affinity for managing with people, but there are many skills you can do that will simplify the process. Relationship Building: Addressing people by name should be a beginning. Engage in conversation; get eye contact during a conversation. Show respect, also listen to everything the other individual has to say, even if you disagree or have another opinion. Acquiring listening skills is among the greatest things you can do to better your talent management skills. Be sure to show an interest in what they can offer the team. Keep your word: Keeping your word is crucial. If your word is broken, it can ruin trust, and without trust people certainly won’t offer their best. Each time you give a commitment or give a promise, you are wasting your time if you don’t follow through. The truth is, when you can’t be counted on, they can’t be trusted on to be available when they are most needed.
Encourage any comments: It’s a two-way street. Talent management skills mean keeping an open mind to all feedback. Being accessible and receptive shows that you appreciate your co-worker’s feedback, and they should listen to your thoughts. Frank discourse in addition encourages creative problem solving, ways of achieving goals, and develops the company in general. If team members can express their ideas, the success of the company becomes important to every member. Encourage all sorts of communication: Dealing with individuals comes down to one concept - good communication. Maintaining an open door policy, listen intently to other people, retain an open mind, and permit each of your staff to express their views. Encourage staff not just to communicate to you, but also with each other. The exchange of ideas is imperative in the creative process, and if the team members communicate effectively, you can identify problems promptly, and corrective measures can be applied before matters get out of hand. This will take time, nonetheless the rewards far outbalance the work. By encouraging a good team dynamic and taking heed of what your staff have to offer, a flourishing business can be yours.
International business is more complex than ever before. Success in every sector is now seen in global terms. Yet success in working with colleagues from different cultures is no easy goal. In order to connect, we have to communicate effectively and we can only do this in an atmosphere of mutual respect, understanding and trust. Cross-cultural training helps you understand the underlying cultural values that drive behaviouryou first understand your own cultural background and then other people’s.
Its outcomes should be first to take the confusion out of cross-cultural encounters. For example, you arrive in Madrid for a business meeting. In your own working environment appointments are made and only changed in exceptional circumstances, and usually with plenty of notice. But when you arrive at your hotel in advance of the next day’s meeting you find a note telling you the appointment has been rescheduled. From your perspective this is tantamount to an insult. You feel angry, frustrated, perhaps puzzled. But that’s because you come from a typically ‘monochronic’ background. Spain is much more ‘polychronic’ and, while you are very time- conscious, punctual, schedule-orientated, many Spanish are easy-going about time, appointments and timetables. It’s not an insult, simply a manifestation of a more relaxed view of these matters.
If you had understood this before doing business in Spain you would not have been thrown by this sudden change in the schedule.
As well as helping you to understand the differences in other people’s behaviour and attitudes, it helps you to overcome perceived barriers. In the situation above, you could arrive at the postponed meeting in a hostile and unreceptive frame of mind. Your business meeting could already be jeopardized by your sense of having been insulted. But if you understand the different behaviour in relation to a different culture’s values, you can simply enjoy the additional free time in Madrid and arrive at the meeting ready to thank your counterparts for the unexpected opportunity to do some sightseeing. No hostility, no barriers.
A further benefit of cross-cultural awareness is that it helps you to become more objective. When cross-cultural issues are unresolved, you risk taking the situation personally, as in the example above. But when you understand that different behaviour patterns are entirely normal in another environment, you can stand back and analyse the situation more effectively. Let’s say you have been negotiating with Chinese counterparts and feel ready to close the deal. At the end of the meeting, the Chinese thank you for your contribution but say they will now go away to consider the agreement. If you don’t understand the collectivist nature of the Chinese decision-making process, you could come away feeling that the negotiation had failed, you may take this as a personal failure. But if you understand the group-orientation of your Chinese counterparts, you will be able judge the negotiation in a clearer light. You will even be able to offer additional input by expressing your willingness to supply further information to the group if they need it.
Team-cohesion is another area that benefits from cross-cultural understanding. Obviously it will be pointless if you as an individual understand these nuances but the rest of your team does not. When you return from a mission such as that described above, they too will think the negotiation has failed unless they understand the issues. As a team you will be able to develop more coherent and effective strategies if you all know what is involved in doing business across cultures.
Cross-cultural training will help you improve your communications skills. You will learn how to listen with real understanding. That means listening with your eyes and your mind as well as with your ears. Let’s say you, a man, invite a female secretary from the office for a coffee after work so that you can get to know each other in a more relaxed atmosphere. She looks down at the floor, thanks you and says she’ll come. You wait in the café but she doesn’t turn up. If you had been listening properly this should be no surprise. She didn’t look you in the eye and you ought to know that in her culture it is not usual for a woman to meet a man who is not her husband, father or brother alone but, at the same time, she would have found it impossible to openly refuse an invitation from her boss. As you learn to listen and understand you will develop the communication skills you need to deal sensitively but effectively with your international colleagues.
Cross-cultural training helps you understand how to prepare the ground for mutual understanding by helping you win the trust of those you work with. When people can see that you are sensitive to their beliefs and traditions and respect them, they will be more willing to look at new ways of doing things and finding mutually acceptable solutions.
Brenda Townsend Hall is writer and trainer in the field of business communications and cross-cultural awareness. She is an associate member of ITAP International (http://www.itapintl.com)
Musa’s gets an email Monday morning from Sarah - MD’s Personal Assistant. It’s about the much expected presentation on a new company strategy which the MD is scheduled to deliver next Monday. Sarah’s email ends with the words: “I am confident you will ensure this very important presentation goes without a hitch. Thanks in advance“.
Musa Dele Anicho is Training Manager in the eastern branch of a large corporate multinational. Apart from providing needs-based training for the site staff/managers, his job involves coordinating briefings/presentations etc that have a way of occurring at short notice - with the key actor often being a top man, for example in this case, Mr. Samuel Okocha, the Managing Director.
Musa grimaces as he reads the last line of Sarah’s email but seeing in it a tacit “warning” immediately sets out to make all necessary arrangements. It is the first time since becoming Training Manager that he would be personally responsible for preparations towards the MD’s presentation.
By the end of the week his boss had contacted him more than 10 times about preparations and each time Musa had told him all was set. Indeed, “as far as he could see” everything was set.
a. He had copied the PowerPoint Presentation to the Toshiba Satellite laptop supplied by the IT department and test run it over and over again - with speakers/projector.
b. He had double-checked the lighting in the Training room to be used and ensured the seating arrangement would not prevent people seeing the projector screen.
c. Refreshments had been booked and all other routine arrangements made. All was set!
BUT why then - after all this work by Musa, did the following unfortunate event have to occur? And how did Musa via quick thinking eventually save the day - and himself?
It’s 10.00 am Monday morning and Mr. Okocha(the MD) is on the 3rd slide of his presentation with all staff and Managers in the eastern branch listening with rapt attention to the high profile presentation with serious expressions on their faces.
The MD just finished giving an overview of the new strategy and then says “Let me now move to the most important part of my presentation which is: The breakdown of our new Corporate Strategy including the Action Plan for its implementation”.
He clicks on the mouse but nothing happens(Musa’s heart misses a beat). The MD clicks again, this time twice, thrice..yet still nothing happens - A frown now appears on his forehead(Musa on his part is already beginning to sweat even though the room is fully airconditioned).
The MD grunts a bit inaudibly saying “Sorry I think there’s a problem” and looks around as if asking for some help. Musa’s boss, Mr. Lateef scowls deeply at Musa and motions with his eyes for him to do something!
Musa gets up, his mind racing, and walks with shaky legs towards the MD, who with characteristic calmness at this point casually carries on with his presentation using the printed paper version he had brought with him as a reference
(Lesson: Anytime you have to give a PC presentation, endeavour to carry a printed copy (printed version) with you as a backup. Technology is reliable but not error-free: Anything can happen, so be prepared!)
He realises he must find a very quick solution that will enable the MD deliver this important information to the large audience in a way that ensures they all get a sound understanding of the subject. He forces himself to calm down and think (even as one teasing voice tells him “There goes your career down the drain -all that hard work from all those years gone!”).
Musa suddenly remembers that while preparing for the MD’s presentation, he had taken pains to save a backup copy of the PowerPoint Presentation on his PC desktop in his office. An idea occurs to him, and he bolts from the hall and up to his office in the Training block in seconds.
He tries to copy the file to a 1.44MB floppy disk, but gets an error message: “not enough disk space!” The file is 1.65MB! He curses under his breadth, checks his watch: now almost 2 minutes since the MD stopped using the PC.
Some more thinking leads him to recall that right-clicking on a file in Windows XP and highlighting the “Send To” shortcut menu item brings up a short cut menu item called “Compressed(zipped) folder”. This useful feature is an alternative for when one does not have utilities like Winzip, Winrar or other file compression software on their PCs. Typically compression of up to 40% is achievable with this Windows XP version(Why not try using it now and see what you get?).
He right clicks the Power Point file, and applies the command. The resulting compressed .zip file easily copies to the floppy. He sprints out of his office and back into the hall where everyone turns to look at him as re-enters. He avoids his boss’ glare and walks to the Laptop, heart pounding, barely hearing the MD’s voice.
With the PC projector lights still switched off, he copies the zipped file to the desktop and right clicks on it.
a. He then clicks on the “Extract All..” shortcut menu item to bring up a “Compressed (Zipped) files extraction Wizard” welcome screen.
b. He clicks “Next” twice and watches as the wizard copies a folder containing the powerpoint file to the desktop.
c. He clicks “finish” and the folder (by default setting) automatically opens to reveal the uncompressed PowerPoint Presentation.
He quickly launches the presentation and clicks through slides 1 to 3, then holding his breath clicks to continue. There is a short delay, then the 4th slide appears! He clicks again, and the 5th appears, till all 10 slides are complete.
Musa looks up at his boss whose piercing gaze he has felt on him all the while and nods to indicate all is well. He puts on the Projector lights to reveal the 4th slide at which the MD turns and says “Ah, looks like we can continue!”. The presentation continues smoothly to the end. Musa looks at his watch: It had taken 3 minutes!
After the presentation, some of Musa’s colleagues asked him what happened. He had no answer for them as he had checked the bad copy again and again and could simply not explain what had caused it to go bad or “corrupt” at the transition to slide 3. It could have been the power glitch during the test run he did - but he could not be certain.
He did tell them two things however:
a. First was that keeping a back up copy of the file on his PC(and close to the presentation venue) made it possible for him to replace the bad one - in time.
b. Secondly, knowing about the Windows XP file compression utility enabled him get around the twin problems of the file being too large to fit on a disk + his not having WinZip installed on his PC.
One could argue that he could have used a Flash pen, but what if he did not own one, or could not find anyone who did or even worse(and quite possible), what if the flash pen went bad or missing at that point when he needed it? Things like this have a way of happening, so one is better off considering all possibilites and preparing for them.
The most important message here is that you need to take time to acquire new/relevant knowledge and skills to enable you become more productive and efficient on your job. The little things you can learn about technology available in your office to get more done in less time, will set you apart from the crowd and make you look good more often. The quote below, in our opinion summarises it well:
“The illiterate of the 21st Century will not be those who cannot read or write. They will be those who cannot learn, un-learn and re-learn” - Alain Tofle
Self-Development/Performance Enhancement Specialist - Tayo Solagbade - works as a Multipreneur, helping individuals/businesses develop and implement strategies to achieve their goals, faster and more profitably. Download your copy of his 25 Articles Ebook from http://www.lulu.com/content/268555. You get full reprint rights for each article.
- Aldous Huxley
Ever have one of those supervisors that just didn’t quite get it?
Perhaps you even wondered from time to time how in the world this person ever became a manager in the first place?
The truth is that most of us, at some point in our career, will experience this firsthand. No doubt, it’s a tough situation to be in when you work for someone whose leadership skills are less than desired.
So what can you do?
First of all, remember that a majority of leaders in any organization do not hold the #1 position in the company. Don’t let one unreasonable manager ruin your opinion of the entire organization.
Understand that within any reporting structure/hierarchy, there will typically be challenges in even the best reporting relationships. Clearly realize that your particular situation may not be that unique. Chances are, the grass will be no greener elsewhere.
Keep in mind that your supervisor may be well aware of his weaknesses and has hired you to help him compensate.
One trait common among great leaders is their ability to surround themselves with team members that compliment their strengths and/or compensate for their weaknesses. So there’s still hope!
Keeping the above in mind, let’s take a look at some way you can effectively “Manage UP”!
- Accept your supervisor as he/she is, and commit yourself to helping him be successful. In the long run, everyone wins with this strategy.
- Realize that you are in control of your actions and you can work to improve your business environment.
- Focus on ways you can help your manager provide the resources you need to do your job well.
For example: If you feel you need more feedback from your manager, yet he does not provide regular one-on-one coaching sessions - simply take the initiative to schedule “briefings” with your manager. Ask specific questions that will generate the feedback that you seek.
Taking initiative in a safe and non-threatening way, for the dual purpose of getting what you need and identifying how you can make your supervisor’s workload lighter - will certainly serve you well.
Specifically ask your supervisor what she needs to make her job easier, and the team more successful. OR, if you have your own ideas - offer those ideas for consideration.
In short, do your best to be supportive and helpful, yet be prepared to be patient in the event that your strategy is not accepted as quickly as you would like. You can’t control what anyone else does, but you can always control what you do.
In the event that your supervisor is just one of those “evil-beings” - have faith that what goes around, comes around. It’s just a matter of time until circumstances will change for the better.
Be successful in spite of an unreasonable manager.
Above all else, stay on the “high road” - as it will always serve you well.
- George F. Tiltonood
Richard Gorham is the founder and President of Leadership-Tools, Inc. His web site, http://www.leadership-tools.com is dedicated to providing free tools and resources for today’s aspiring leaders. Offering high-quality tools in the areas of Business Planning, Leadership Development, Customer Service, Sales Management and Team Building.
