When you think about all of the different items that need to be done when managing your operation effectively, then you also need to consider what happens when you have to actively make changes, criticisms, and encouraging tips as well. Management isn’t just sitting back and waiting for fires to start so that you can put them out. What you will want to do is to make sure you can stay on top of people and problems before they even start in the first place.
Don’t Waste Time
Whether it is micromanaging or time wasting in general, some of the most disgruntled employees are upset because their bosses will spend more time just explaining the runaround than they do explaining what actually needs to be done and accomplished for the organization. As Trinet discusses, employees are already facing certain constraints on a daily basis.
That is why you have to be protective of their time and also make sure the time you spend on evaluation is actually evaluation and not just small talk. Obviously employees can appreciate some banter or casual conversation, however, if the majority of your time spent with employees is essentially just wasting time then you can quickly find your employees becoming flustered as well as discrediting your own management tactics in a short period of time.
Be Constant in Your Evaluations
If you have ever watched a political campaign before then you should be aware of the fact that nobody likes a waffler. When it comes to working in an organisation the same exact thing is true. No employee will want to work for a boss who is constantly and consistently changing their opinions, evaluations, or criteria for what is the most important. That is exactly why even if you are going to evaluate your employees harshly and sharply, you still have to make sure you are being fair across the board. If your employees don’t know how they will be evaluated, then how can they improve and what are they actually looking to as their benchmark?
This is exactly the reason why something like the enterprise all hands meetings by BlueJeans can come back and make sure everyone is on the exact same page. Not only are there multiple ways to communicate with your employees and even more ways to share information in real time, but with the recording features you can even keep track of your evaluations and criteria over several periods. Throw in the fact that multiple parties can join into a meeting in no time at all right from the comforts of their own desk and you can see why so many are in love with the video conferencing model for evaluations.
Stay Unpredictable but Frequent
When an employee has just had an evaluation, even if they did a great job during it, they get to breathe a sigh of relief. Evaluations and performance reviews are serious items because they tell the tale of how well the employees are actually doing. Furthermore, if an evaluation goes poorly then it is like a grade that effects their GPA and it can stay with them for a long period of time. That is why when you are looking to give feedback, you have to be frequent. As Fastcompany states, there are more than enough ways to correctly and effectively give employees legitimate feedback. One of the best ways to always be on them is to simply use video conferencing methods so you can access them at their desks from anywhere and at any time. However, you also have to be sure that you do it often so that you can constantly correct them and unpredictable enough so that they never know when they could have a set of eyes on them.
Mix in Praise with Constructive Criticism
One of the best things that managers and supervisors can actually do for their employees is to mix in a combination or praise with their constructive criticism. One of the reasons that employees feel like they aren’t as happy with performance reviews is the fact that they only get yelled at or are constantly berated for all of the problems within the organisation. However, if you are able to mix in a solid amount of praise with your directional guidance, you will be surprised to see how much more likely your employees are to respond.
Employees are just like anyone else in that they do need some guidance and judgement along the way. However, it is more about how you can deliver the guidance and instruction to your employees in a voice and tone that they can appreciate and respect. So long as you are looking to give all of the possible information then you will have more responsive employees.