The managers at your business play a critical role in keeping everything running smoothly, and it’s not an easy job. They need to make sure employees stay on track to hit performance targets, without seeming overbearing and alienating those employees. Management positions can be stressful, but fortunately, when you make improvements to how management operates at your company, those improvements will work their way down and benefit lower-level employees, as well. Here are four management improvements you can make right away that will have immediate results for your business.
Open Communication Around the Office
One big problem many companies have is that only a select few people at the top are privy to what’s going on with the business. This leaves other employees out of the loop, which can make them feel less enthusiastic about what they’re doing.
When you communicate openly with your managers about what’s going on at the company and encourage them to do the same, it fosters an environment of unity. Everyone starts to feel like they’re in it together, from you, to your managers, to the entry-level employees. Share numbers and results with people, even if it’s not always good news. They will appreciate your honesty.
Support Innovation
Employees at every level of your company could come up with beneficial ideas, but you’ll never get to hear them if your company’s atmosphere stifles creativity. Many businesses are stuck in their ways and restrict what people can do because they have always operated a certain way and don’t want to change.
Give your managers the opportunity to come to you with ideas. Let them know that you welcome their input, even if you don’t implement everything they suggest. This will help them adopt the same attitude with the employees they manage. When people know that their opinions and ideas are taken seriously, they will be more engaged in what they’re doing.
Send Managers to Leadership Training
The best way to get better at anything is to learn more about it and to practice, and the same applies with management. If you want your managers to get better at their jobs, it’s a wise move to take the initiative and send them to a leadership training program where they can develop their management skills. From corporate team building to practical decision making, they can learn a lot.
These types of programs will help your managers develop stronger leadership abilities, learning how to coach other while still working as part of a team. Training programs tend to be short enough that they won’t keep your managers out of action long, if at all, and they’ll come back able to better motivate and manage employees.
Encourage Collaborative Problem Solving
It’s never good when an employee believes their manager is the only one who can solve any problems that occur. Not only does this leave the employee feeling like they don’t have much power, but it can also make them less engaged in their job.
When your managers have problems, let them handle what they can on their own instead of stepping in to “save the day.” Encourage them to take the same approach with the employees they manage. You want to build an organization full of problem solvers, not people who simply move up the chain for the answer, and that starts with making problem solving a collaborative effort among your managers.
Since your managers handle multiple employees every day, any improvements you make to how they operate will have far-reaching effects throughout the company. All the above changes are simple enough to make, and they will lead to a better, more positive environment at your business.