Ten Things Your HR Head Should Be Doing Now

Being a manager in today?s environment is not easy. The key is to find the right balance. Here?s how you can be a better manager:

1. Know what you?re doing

Are you aware of each of your team member?s responsibilities? Do you know how to do their work if you had to?

If you know what your employees do and how they do it, you are better able to identify when obstacles arise. It?s your job as a manager to remove those obstacles.

You?re qualified to reach across departments and find the key stakeholders to help you remove obstacles. You?re able to prevent needless obstacles by being your employee?s voice in steering meetings. At the same time, you must allow your employees to do their work without constant micromanaging.

2. Resolve interpersonal problems

It?s your responsibility to resolve any interpersonal problems on your team.

Members of the same team who do not get along cause contention and anxiety for the whole team. Your employees will look to you, and they should, to fix those issues. Make friends with your HR team and get their advice on how to proceed.

Sometimes people are in the wrong positions, have the wrong responsibilities, or are unhappy. You don?t need to resort to letting someone go until you?ve tried to find a better fit for them. Occasionally you will come across an employee who is poisoning the team with inefficiency or is not performing up to par.

In many states employment law is specific about what you can and cannot do. Your HR team will assist you in taking the next steps.

3. Trust your employees

If there?s anything I can emphasize it?s that you should trust your employees to do their work and produce great results.

Employees in high trust environments perform better and innovate more. Trust them with smaller projects until you can hand over medium to large projects.

If a project fails, it doesn?t mean the employee failed. Find out what happened and work together with your employee to deliver a better outcome.

4. Be clear about expectations

Employees who understand where the company is going and what their role is in accomplishing the strategic vision are more likely to engage tactically.

Your employees should know what your expectations are so they can meet or exceed them. Keep them informed about company changes or long range goals. Help your employees want to build your company.

5. Say ?yes?

I?ve never understood managers who want to keep their employees under lock and key. Say ?yes.?

Let them take vacation time. Tell them to stay home when they?re sick. Allow them flexible work environments. Be OK with telecommuting.

It comes back to trusting your employees: You set up this team, do you trust they can do the work? Nothing else matters if the work is getting done and getting done well.

6. Limit gossip and tearing down

It should go without saying, but gossip and interpersonal drama will kill a team.

Do not gossip about your employees with other team members. Decline to participate in gossip in meetings. Do not allow public destruction of an employee with tactics intended to humiliate.

You may think you are making an example of them, but all it sends to your employees is the message that they will be next. Fear and drama destroy teams, they do not build them.

7. Encourage and appreciate

Once your employees know where they?re going and that they are going there together, make sure you are encouraging their work as often as possible.

Set up regular recognition goals as well as informal appreciation. Tell them ?thank you.? Make sure you attribute great ideas to the employee who came up with them. Call out a great performer during a meeting.

Award, gift, and appreciate them. You will keep this great team you?ve built running and producing exceptional work.

What are you doing now to become a better manager?

 

This was originally published on the OC Tanner blog.?Carina Wytiaz is a professional writer and Internet marketer, with experience drawn from her time at FranklinCovey, Borders, ah-ha.com, Marchex.com, OrangeSoda.com, and several traditional marketing and advertising agencies. She loves helping employees feel more included and valued through exuberant appreciation experiences, and helping companies realize the incredible potential of their human capital
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Keep The Faith!

Jappreet Sethi

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Jappreet Sethi
Jappreet Sethi, CEO and founder of HexGn, stands out as a strategic human resource management and entrepreneurial mentorship expert. Under his leadership, HexGn, known for its dynamic community of serial entrepreneurs and industry experts, has trained over 5000 entrepreneurs from 20+ countries, reinforcing its global impact in entrepreneurial education. Sethi’s extensive experience includes strategic government projects, developing e-commerce strategies, and authoring white papers on technology in internal security. His international workshops have spanned 15 countries, aiding participants and clients in raising investments. His tenure as head of People and Process Consulting at Jones Lang LaSalle India and his role on JLL's global Diversity board reflect his deep understanding of organizational dynamics and transformative change. A certified facilitator with an impressive track record in leadership development, Sethi’s expertise in process management is evident in his achievements as a Six Sigma Black Belt and master lean practitioner. He’s also a visiting faculty member at leading institutes, a prominent speaker, and the founder and lead editor of the acclaimed HR blog, humanresourcesblog.in. Recognized as a top HR influencer, Sethi's unique blend of strategic HR expertise, global mentorship, and organizational transformation insight makes him an invaluable asset in guiding companies through growth and innovation.

2 COMMENTS

  1. Excellent points, especially regarding trust and interpersonal relationships. Another recommendation: Discuss your challenges with experienced managers you admire, and ask for their advice. Most likely they will have encountered similar issues and can recommend what to do — and not do.

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