Managing Employees

There are different personality types in the workplace. If you only have two members on your team, you can see the diversity. Differences add value as individual perspectives can increase the effectiveness and productivity of a group. When a group works well together, there is enthusiasm and everyone benefits from individual contributions.

It would be great if all managers had employees that arrive at work on time, never complained, were self-motivated to perform at above satisfactory levels and were happy to at work. This doesn’t always happen.

You have mounds of projects that fall under your responsibility with fewer people to help you move forward and do the work. It seems that each day your desk grows with additional never-ending paperwork. You job is not only the projects and paperwork…how about the increasing demands and issues from the people you manage. Where should you focus your energies?

Managing employees requires tenacity if you want to be effective in your role. You are required to manage the daily operations of the department as well as manage the people who handle the work. The balance between the two, and sometimes opposing functions of your role, is a constant battle. Here are some questions to ask:

It’s a great question to ask yourself…”do you take what an employee does personally?”   People are complex and their reactions to workplace situations indicate this complexity.   People react to you because of their own beliefs, the atmosphere of the environment and your behavior.

What can you do as a manager…Get a Ph.D in Psychology?  No, try to keep it simple. 

How can you cut through the complexity of employee’s behaviors and create clear insights on how to handle their reactions?   Read the steps below to help guide you in handling the day-to-day employee situations.

Step One

If you were to put a dollar amount around how much mindless complaining costs you each year, what would be the amount?   How much of your time is spent fielding complaints from employees?  Do they also come with potential solutions?  How much of your time do you complain about your complaining employees?  In managing employees, how do you deal with all of the complaints?

Employees have different communication styles.  One style that seems to be problematic for a manager is the talkative employee.  In an ideal world, your goal is to manage your employee’s communication skills.

Talkative employees express themselves differently.   Find one that resonates with you.

• FRIENDLY - The friendly, upbeat person who enjoys talking with different people.  Great if they are in your call center or are an account manager because they easily engage others.  Yet, in excess this style of communication can be disruptive to others on their team.  
• PERSONAL - What about the person who shares a lot of personal information with extensive details.