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I work for a manager free company. 10 years ago it had 110 employees, right now 700 plus. It is extremely profitable, employees get paid very well, and we all give it 100% all the time.
Speed is not important, just do it right the first time.
Also, the company is privately owned, decisions are made within minutes.
Someone has to be telling you all what to do right? They must be managed in some way?
OP anyway the internet can be taken away from them? I know that sounds drastic but it can be done. Happened to a girl at my work, internet was revoked for a month lol.
We all surf the net now and then, heck I do it! But that much internet is no bueno, I still get all my work done and nobody is left waiting for me or having to stay late because of me.
We had an employee like this, he was at the company for years, no promotion in sight because he was terrible at the job.
Eventually he left for another job with the company his dad worked at for years, a good company, feel bad for his new coworkers. Nice guy, but he gave me some issues before when he had stuff to do, he'd flat out refuse to do his job, drove me crazy.
I am a young, very new manager. I am managing a team of 10 people in a corporate environment. Its been very challenging and I have enjoyed the work tremendously. Obviously, it is extremely frustrating at times too though. I have some quick questions that I was hoping some of you more experienced managers could shed some light on. Answer one, or answer all, I am only seeking information so any info or opinions are greatly appreciated.
1) How do you deal with the lowest performing members? Obviously there will ALWAYS be a lowest performing member. At what point do you draw the line and stop focusing your efforts on trying to better their performance? Or, do you forever work with them until they are no longer the lowest performer then move onto the next?
YOU NEVER STOP. YOU ALWAYS CHALLENGE YOUR PEOPLE. GIVE EVERY ONE OF YOUR PEOPLE DAILY GOALS THEY HAVE TO MEET BOTH INDIVIDUALLY AND AS A TEAM.
2) I have run into multiple issues where people learn best in different ways and so I have to teach things through multiple mediums such as personal interactions, memo emails and daily status calls which are the main 3. Do you teach the same thing in multiple mediums in the hopes that people will grasp the concept? Despite my efforts I still have trouble with people not paying attention even though I encourage questions when I know its a difficult concept.
ENCOURAGE PARTICIPATION. INSTEAD OF ENCOURAGING QUESTIONS ENCOIRAGE THEM TO SOLVE THE PROBLEM.
3) Related to the question above. How do you get people to ask questions when they don't understand?! To me this seems like such a silly question. When I was learning it was second nature to ensure I understand what I was doing fully. I realize though that not everyone is like me. FWIW, I am very good at the job which is why I've been promoted. Do you think they are afraid to ask?
IF YOU ARE JUST UP IN THE FRONT TELLING YOUR PEOPLE YOUR IDEAS, HOW AND WHAT TO DO THEY ARE SIMPLY JUST WAITING FOR YOU TO FINISH. SOMETIMES PEOPLE ARE AFRAID TO ASK BECAUSE THEY DONT WANT TO LOOK LIKE THEY DONT GET IT IN FRONT OF A GROUP. ALWAYS INTERACT BY INVOLVING YOUR TEAM IN A PROJECT. OTHERWISE YOURE NOT REALLY A TEAM. ITS JUST YOU AS THE LEADER AND THEM THE WORKER BEES. YOUR PEOPLE ARE SMART ENOUGH TO PROBABLY BE PAID FROM THE NECK UP NOT JUST THE NECK DOWN.
4) My company has a bonus coming up. How do you handle the bonus announcements? This is just me probing for ideas.
IS THE BONUS FOR YOU OR SHARED BY THE TEAM? IF TEAM EVERYONE GETS SAME AMOUNT. CUTS DIWN ON JEALOUSY AND GOSSIP. IF ITS FOR YOU ONLY, TAKE SOME OF IT AND TAKE YOUR PEOPLE TO A GOOD DINNER OR GIFT CARD TO EVERYONE
Bold just as a reply I'm not yelling
One thing you always do if one of your team members has a good idea and you implement it you ALWAYS give them credit. Both face to face and if you do a group thing. Joe had a great idea about this project, we will implement it in the scheme. Joe we will set up a time for you to explain your idea. You would be surprised how much a simple acknowledgement of a good job can pump someone up.
I buy my guys lunch all the time. I have given gift cards and put up lunch for the crew when I want something done before x time. And when we plan something I get all my guys and we shoot the whole plan full of holes and we hash it out till everyone knows what were doing. And usually I end up buying lunch because they get things done. But that's ok. Oh I pay for this out of my own pocket.
Never promise anyone in your team something you can't deliver or make good on.
1) How do you deal with the lowest performing members? Obviously there will ALWAYS be a lowest performing member. At what point do you draw the line and stop focusing your efforts on trying to better their performance? Or, do you forever work with them until they are no longer the lowest performer then move onto the next?
2) I have run into multiple issues where people learn best in different ways and so I have to teach things through multiple mediums such as personal interactions, memo emails and daily status calls which are the main 3. Do you teach the same thing in multiple mediums in the hopes that people will grasp the concept? Despite my efforts I still have trouble with people not paying attention even though I encourage questions when I know its a difficult concept.
3) Related to the question above. How do you get people to ask questions when they don't understand?! To me this seems like such a silly question. When I was learning it was second nature to ensure I understand what I was doing fully. I realize though that not everyone is like me. FWIW, I am very good at the job which is why I've been promoted. Do you think they are afraid to ask?
Best thing for you might be to take courses in Coaching and Management. These are pretty common scenarios that they go over.
Quickly: (1) you're always doing both (helping and holding them accountable), (2) in general yes, (3) this could be a variety of reasons hard to tell without knowing the context.
Thank you both. Of course I know these things. I am working with the individual and have already spoken to them multiple times. Its not acceptable.
Also, I have thick skin and I don't mind not being liked. I have a goal and a job to do, if you interfere with that goal then I will take action as needed. I just wonder the details of how you all handle it. Has there ever been an aha! moment where you finally turned someone around who had a lack of will?
For me, it really has to be an Aha moment on their part. This is where you find out what motivates them. Fear works for some people... for me, it has the opposite.. If you start making threats or acting like a jerk I stop listening. In your situation... is he working late too? Maybe he doesn't want to go home and is procrastinating so he doesn't have to go home.... Sounds crazy, but I work with someone similar. You have to have the discussion with him... let him drive it. Ask questions but let him talk... A good one is something like "I've noticed that you are not meeting your deadlines and it is starting to impact your coworkers and making them stay late to help finish. What's going on?" If you start saying things like "What are the obstacles" or "is it your workload" etc... you are providing him ready made excuses. It's similar to when you question someone if they did something against policy. You already know they did, so, there is no sense in asking "Did you do this?" You know they did, so, start off with "Late guy, I've seen where you have missed this deadline/this one (have examples). Why? If he says that he's busy or overworked, that's where you come in with the internet usage. If you can, your IT dept may be able to pull you a log. I had to do this to one of my people a couple years ago. Once she realized I can and will pull that if I have to, it made a world of difference.
Last edited by IonRedline08; 04-09-2014 at 06:20 AM..
Reason: Missed something
Not to sound like a Jerk but if you have to ask these questions then you aren't qualified to be an effective manager at the moment.
I would advise getting more training.
Off topic, but why are UNQUALIFIED individuals who have no experience managing thrown into management positions?
I know everyone has to start somewhere but jeesh. Whats happened to corporate america? If people want to become part of management, why can't companies at least give them training before they throw them to the wolves?
Not to point out the OP, as he/she has the common sense to at least ask for help.
Just because you were great at a task, does not mean that you're good at being a manager of people that do that task. You now have a new job. Manager. Your role is to optimise a team so that you succeed through their individual success. The fact that you're the best "widget" guy out there, and now you're in charge is meaningless, as you aren't working with the widgets.
Establish metrics. I can't emphasise this enough. You can't manage performance without measurements, and anything other than metrics is feel and feel is useless, unquantifiable and will ultimately get you in trouble. Either by reporting something that isn't true, or by getting rid of staff without a solid basis.
Everything else will come with time and experience. Find your style, and ultimately build your team around you. Everyone learns differently, but you need to be consistent. There will be people that can't work for you, and there will be people that excel. that's the nature of the beast. You can't be all things to all people, and the sooner you are comfortable with yourself, the sooner your team will be too.
For the low performer who causes the team trouble and makes them look bad for missing deadlines while s/he's surfing the web all day, put him/her on a PIP (progress improvement plan). Talk to HR about the guidelines before you do it. It'll give hte person 6 months to shape up or ship out.
About the bonuses, at my company, the President will annouce the percentage target bonus at the annual meeting (in January), and our individual supervisors will meet with their direct reports one on one with a paper from HR stating exactly what the individiual's personal bonus is. Bonuses are tricky because at my company, only certain paygrades and above get them, and the lower ranking people get really pissy and jealous when they hear what others are getting in general (the specific number is a percentage of salary, based on paygrade).
Basically, management is a new skill. You should become friends with someone in HR and take them to lunch regularly and ask their advice.
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