Break Away From The Pack

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Tips for successfully managing your workforce

by | Sep 19, 2022 | Employment Matters

The past two years have ushered in a whole new world of employee management. Whether your team is in the office, working from home or a hybrid, there are a number of ways to keep the team humming and happy.

Judicious hiring

Many performance and management issues can be averted before they start, through rigorous vetting during recruitment. Hiring a financial all-star won’t do much good if they’re prone to poor behavior or a source of low morale.

Manage the manager

Teams thrive or die under management choices. More importantly, shaking off a reputation for an unhealthy workplace can take years, impacting the quality of your applicants.

There are innumerable management issues that lead to a toxic work environment. Recognizing them is good but preventing them in the first place should be your goal.

Retention and development

Runaway turnover can sink a business. Take intentional steps to make the team feel appreciated and, when possible, provide opportunities for growth and advancement.

Stay connected

It can be challenging to maintain open lines of communication, even at an in-office setting. Whatever your arrangement, there are excellent tools for keeping the team engaged and collaborative, including Microsoft Teams and Slack.

If it seems the team is fracturing, you can salvage the situation through anonymous feedback surveys or frank individual interviews. These should focus on ways to improve the workplace, not settle personal grievances or rivalries. The latter is what HR is for.

Set expectations

A clear employee handbook is still a cornerstone for a stable workforce.

Communication vagaries, or worse silence, can lead to uncertainty and even dissent.

Gone are the days of proud workaholism. Conspicuous encouragement of a healthy work/life balance and attractive perks are often more important than pay for today’s workforce. Find your sweet spot.

Trends

Workplace trends can be brief and even harmful. However, keep tabs on what’s happening with employee satisfaction in your industry, particularly your competition. The only thing worse than adopting and discarding an ineffective trend is being the last one to adopt a popular one.