New Supervisor? Your First Mistake May Be Micromanaging

How can you know if you are a micromanager before you find out hard way? Micromanaging means “overseeing” the details of work assignments given to your employees, usually doing so in a meddlesome manner. That's a pretty simple definition. Although micromanaging affects employee morale, its disruption to the professional development of employees is perhaps its greatest harm. The goal of the micromanaging supervisor is to have work done correctly and productively, yet the opposite usually occurs because everything must pass through the micromanager. The other consequence of micromanaging is the undermining of employee initiative. Why take initiative when the penalty is aggravation? Most micromanaging supervisors have difficulty with time management and feel uncomfortable with the free time produced by effective delegation. They often don’t understand the difference between delegation and simple assignment of tasks. Experiment with letting go. Read about delegation and its powerful use in supervision.

Big Problem: When Your Employee "Owns" You!

I have supervisors email me periodically with stories of out of control employees, and typically they have been around a long time. There is no coincidence there with regard to the following problem. This problem...let's be honest is about treating employees like family members. It sounds nice, but to literally practice this management philosophy?! Don't do it. (Save this language of how we are all "family" here for those special occasions when people gather in the company auditorium.) One story I get is about employees who refuse assigned duties. The next part of the equation is management not being willing to fire for insubordination. How do you fix a problem when you have not leverage!? Simply put, this situation leads to an inability to direct the employee’s work. If true, then you have lost control of the employment relationship. Troubled employees who have gained this sort of leverage over their employers create a lot of risk. Unfortunately, it is not uncommon. Entitlement thinking may lead to bossing coworkers, bullying fellow employees, breaking work rules, end-running managers, and using company property for personal business. Fear of the employee’s reaction to confrontation and adapting to avoid it ultimately created this personnel issue. Start by making a formal referral to the EAP. Document the poor cooperation, work refusal, etc. Regardless of whether the employee accepts are referral, meet and consult with the EAP; your manager should also be involved in this meeting. Discuss a concrete action plan. In matters of this type, management teams that focus on a solution usually decide to draw a line and insist on change. The good part is that most are pleasantly surprised at how easily the employee turns around!

New Supervisor Training: Are You Putting Your New Supervisors to Sleep ZZZZ

Do not use video action movies with actors to train new supervisors. These expensive videos (which you will not replace very often) contain too much fluff. Today, new supervisors are used to getting information fast and furiously. Their brains are trained that way since daycare. So use new supervisor training PowerPoint programs that are converted into videos. Now you have something that is still a move-like product, but intense with no Fluff. Here's an example of exactly what I am referring to..http://bitly.com/new-supervisor-training

New Supervisor Training: Manage Your Stress Folks

You’ve surely heard about the need to empower employees to do their best work. But what you may not know is that effective supervisors also empower themselves. By overcoming obstacles and taking a proactive approach to problem solving, the best supervisors sweep away distress and stay focused on goal attainment. That’s especially important because supervisors often feel immobilized by stress. Neither their bosses not their employees may understand the pressures that they face. Supervisors often operate in isolation, and they may not know what to do when problems—ranging from real to potential to imagined ones—mount by the hour. The anxieties can prove overwhelming. You need resources. Contact your employee assistance professional if you have any questions about stress management after completing the course. The employee assistance program can help you manage stress so that it doesn’t endanger your health and improves your overall well-being. And it is not a bad to get a regular hard-hitting, no fluff, hard tips, do this-do that professional newsletter that is one page every month to help you!

How Supervisors Can Pump Up Employees and Motivate Their Engagement

During supervisor training, I frequently discuss the following topic. Top management will create a statue in your likeness if discover how to get employees engaged, excited, and producing at maximum capacity while remaining happy, healthy, and contributing to a positive work culture. Tall order, huh? So is there a secret formula for employee engagement to this magnitude. No. However, after writing a monthly supervisor newsletter for 20 years every month, non-stop, and getting emails from possibly hundreds of HR managers and employees, I think I can get close to the answer in 150 words. Here goes possibly one the best supervisor tips for your leadership: ++++++++++++++++++++++++

Managers should start with a premise, and assume that each of his or her employees is capable of magnificent achievements. This will positively affect the attitude and interactions with them. A positive engaging style is half the battle, and the other half is good communication. Let everyone know what’s going on within the organization and the importance of their role in the big picture. Cite successes, trends, and opportunities. Be realistic, but let employees know what awaits them personally and as a team for achieving goals. Check your behavior. Mistrust, inability to adapt to change, disrespect toward employees, or perception that you are not performing at your peak can be magnified by employees and fodder for chatter. This will undermine your goal keeping employees engaged. Process your stress with other supervisors and the professionals (not a 800 hotline) of the intact and in-house employee assistance program. Develop ideas for nurturing your staff. This will reduce isolation and keep the supervisor energized and forward looking, pumped, an excited which become contagious. -- Daniel Feerst, http://workplacenewsletters.com ++++++++++++++++++++++ More Engagement Ideas

Documentation of Performance: Think "Who", What", "When", "How"

Have you written documentation that looks like this and have it tossed in the trash?" "The employee ignores me and does not respect me as a supervisor." Whether you realize it or not, documentation is useless for its intended purpose. Most people who read your documentation would know you're frustrated, but would have to ask questions to understand what you are referring to with this employee. There's your clue! The need to ask "how," "what," or "when" points to the limitations of your documentation.  To make it more useful, think in terms of your five senses.  In this case, what do you see or hear that demonstrates disrespect?  Phrases like "does not respect" and "ignore" describe behaviors you've witnessed, so these should be included in your documentation.  More effective documentation might read: "The employee demonstrates disrespect by gesturing with her hand that she will not listen to what I am saying, and she turns and walks away when I am speaking to her."

Too Much Trepidation with Taking Disciplinary Actions?

Do you sometimes feel resistant to taking necessary disciplinary actions with employees. You're not alone. If you ignore your company's disciplinary tools (yes, "tools" because disciplinary action is not punishment) you'll tolerate many employee problems too long. Why the resistance? And how do you get past it? Disciplinary actions must be carefully considered and clearly warranted before being administered, of course. Doing whatever is reasonable to help an employee improve performance should precede such measures. But they are not punishment. By setting up mental roadblocks like this one, supervisors undermine their efforts to maximize productivity. Improper documentation, failure to follow proper procedures, or being unable to demonstrate a good-faith effort to help the employee improve are examples of such roadblocks. Getting advice from internal experts, such as human resource representatives is indispensable for supervisors attempting to confront employees with significant problems. Don't go it alone if you feel some trepidation.  Proper use of the consultative function from your HR department or even employee assistance program can frequently eliminate the need for discipline altogether because a new idea may emerge in your discussions. Your emotional involvement with the employee, particularly strong feelings of anger, betrayal, and resentment are other common problems you may possibly face in supervision. Seek to separate yourself from emotional involvement and your supervisory role; failure to do so frequently contributes to the likelihood of missteps with supervisors and the increase of risk to the employer. Have you seen the new supervisor tips newsletter?

Reduce Supervisor Stress: Max Out on Using Your Organization's EAP

Many of you looking to improve your supervisory skills have employee assistance programs available to you for consultation through your company. The problem is that I am the first one to tell you this.

It is likely that you have therefore not had an orientation with a representative from the managed care company that runs you organization's employee assistance program, correct? This is par for the course these days, but it did not used be this way. Decades ago, supervisor training was a must, and it paid off. If you had one of these orientations, the professional counselor would give you instructions about how to refer an employee who was having job problems. So, let me give you a few helpful hints righ now. Although there are many different styles of confronting employees and recommending use of the employee assistance program, some methods work better than others. One technique that reportedly works very well is reserving a prearranged appointment time for your employee when you initially consult with the EAP about the pending referral. If your company's employee assistance program does not have a provision that includes consulting with supervisors, it is flat out, a bogus program not worth a dang. Continuing on, when you meet with your employee and conduct your corrective interview, offer the prearranged appointment to the employee if he or she is willing to visit the EAP. Do not, however, require or strong-arm your employee into accepting the appointment time. Accept your employee's desire to make his or her own appointment if the prearranged appointment is refused. Your offer of the prearranged appointment should only be a convenience to facilitate follow-through in visiting the EAP upon your recommendation. (The sooner the appointment follows your corrective interview, the better.) Definitely always ask your employee to sign a release so you can verify attendance. Don't say that signing one is required unless you have "held in abeyance" the employee's termination in lieu of his or her choice to completely cooperate with the EAP. Most employees will sign a release. Then you will be able to communicate with the EAP, but not about details. Only verification of attendance and cooperation with the program's recommendation.

Good documentation. Bad Documentation

Okay, test your skills. Yes or no? The following is an example of useful and correctly written documentation: "Tom S. arrived twenty minutes late to work today and was witnessed, by several employees, damaging another vehicle while trying to park his car. He was heard yelling obscenities from within car. When I met with him immediately after the incident, I could smell alcohol on his breath." .... Yes. This is an example of documentation that is specific and clear. There are no subjective or opinionated comments or conclusions about the employee's condition. It is written in a factual, unemotional way, with attention to that which can be sensed--in this case what can be seen, heard, and smelled.

Okay, try this one: "Tom Smith arrived at work late with reports by others of being drunk. He scraped a car in the parking lot and when confronted by me, after the incident, became defensive and acted immature showing that he had something to hide and to get others to "back off". He denied he was drunk, but admitted he had been drinking before midnight, which is when he stated his last drink occurred."

This documentation lacks specific details and instead appears to be conjecture; it would be difficult to defend. It would not support a disciplinary action or a reasonable-suspicion drug test.

To really get a grip on performance documentation, have your supervisors able to quickly access instructions on this document by using your companies internal web site or a special section for supervisors where supervisory skills can be found and learned quickly. This is very easy to do with a product such as the 14 Vital Skll for Supervisors Training Online Flash course. The author lets you view it completely free.

When You're Friends with Your Employee

Let me ask if you are personal friends with your employee? Do you socialize on weekends and in off hours? If so, you are participating in what is commonly called a "dual relationship." This is hazardous territory, despite what you think is your unique ability to "handle it." If you are a new supervisor, you might want to consider now how to minimize the intimacy of the relationships you have with with those you must now supervise.

A personal relationship will always subordinate itself to the employment relationship when the "stuff" hits the fan. You'll give up that friendship before you let management snuff you for not taking action against a problematic employee. But there are many more problems associated with dual relationship. Employees know if you have a different type of relationship with one of their coworkers that looks more favorable. They'll smell it a mile away. This knowledge interferes with their belief that you are completely objective, and this will interfere with your ability to influence their productivity. What should you do about this conflict of interest? Wise supervisors who have answered this question the hard way say, "Avoid dual relationships!" Get your friendship needs met somewhere else. Getting your social needs met outside the work organization will reduce severe stress associated with the difficult decisions you must make with your employee when their performance goes south.

Supervisors, Employees, and Privacy Rights, Oh My!

Avoid legal problems associated with privacy rights involving employee files and other paperwork. If you did not get new supervisor training on this subject, this post will help. Paperwork management related to employee files is an important area of concern that should not be ignored. You may wonder from time to time if you are in trouble with the way you are handling employee records. Right? Not right? Well, you should keep this issue in mind but don't panic. A few precautions, in addition to listening to your legal advisers, will keep you on the straight and narrow path avoiding 99% of litigation threats associated with the mishandling of privacy information. So, here are few tips for you. One time bomb for many companies is the potential for employment claims related to "negligent maintenance," or "failure to use due care" when it comes to handling file records. When employees file lawsuits for these employment practices problems, they generally fall into several categories. These include providing employment reference information which was untrue or damaging; improperly disclosing personal information about the employee; placing false information in a file; providing false information to others from a file; failing to keep accurate records or keeping inconsistent records among employees; and improperly disclosing information to those who do not have a right to know. So, these supervisor skills are critical. Good luck in your paper management, and if new supervisor training is in your future, be sure to get clarification on managing paperwork.

Supervisor Training: Death in the Workplace and Grief on the Job

If you are a new supervisor, here's a small piece of advice: Learn now how to respond to a death of an employee on the job, at home, or suddenly without warning (automobile accident, etc.) Your employees will react with fright and confusion and they glance your direction as a leader to take cues on what they should do and how they should react.

This is the natural response to death of a coworker in the workplace. You will notice that some employees handle such an incident amazingly well, and others will struggle much more, particularly if they have other personal problems in their lives, and most especially if the death or event coincides with loss in their personal lives in some other respect, no matter how unrelated. The issue of loss and grief is at the heart of response.

Don't think that you can shove everyone back on to the tread mill as if they must be on a productivity routine that is more important that processing, talking out, and helping the family members of the deceased employees. In large measure, you will have to let things play out.

Your employees have experienced a dramatizing event and now must address the crisis of sudden loss and all the ramifications that go along with it. All employees want to return to their normal routines, family, and work-life as quickly as possible, but providing assistance to help them do this may be necessary, prudent, and wise. Denial of the emotional impacts of such an event can be compounded by an employer's unwillingness (often because of their own denial) to provide an opportunity to "process" or "talk out" the event.

Some employees may be reluctant to discuss the event and others are more willing. Much depends on an individual's past coping skills. Although you shouldn't force the issue, allowing time for employees to consider the event, their role in it, and feelings will speed their emotional recovery quicker. Set an example as a supervisor by being a role model for openness and willingness to talk about what happened. And pay attention to protracted responses that might indicate one of your employees could use additional counseling or assistance. To not respond invites stress claims, time off work, absenteeism, depression, and even increased likelihood of an accident due to problems concentration.