From small business owners to CEO’s, every manager must take into account their team's motivation, engagement, and career development. In order to truly be successful, a manager must serve their team and support them by providing necessary tools. This ideology truly shows the core function of human resources and how managers are to adopt this mindset to guide their team to the top. It is extremely important for managers to possess HR knowledge in order to achieve maximum productivity. Here are a couple ways you can possess and HR mindset and guide your team:
Balance praise and criticism - Criticism is always very difficult to swallow. However, there are ways to make it more digestible - always provide a solution for improvement. It is important to always focus on the action, and not the person.
Be consistent - A manager should always strive to be firm and fair through and through. It is important to maintain the same demeanor no matter if things are going well or not so well. Your reaction affects every single employee's reaction, it is a domino effect.
Understand employment law - Every single manager must understand the following workplace laws: harassment complaints, retaliation, interviewing and hiring, wage and hour laws, reasonable accommodations, and FMLA. It is up to managers on the front lines to apply and execute these legal standards.
Not friends - It is crucial to be a boss and not a friend to employees. Managers have to provide feedback and appraisals and sometimes difficult conversations need to be had. A manager must stay professional and not personal, there must be a clear line between the two.
Establish regular 1-1’s - This gives employees and managers time to come together and get project/work updates, provide feedback, and discuss development. When giving feedback, make sure it is specific to a situation so the employee knows how to replicate the behavior or how to resolve said behavior.
If you are a small business owner that is noticing high turnover and decreased employee satisfaction, it may be time for you to consider reaching out for expert advice. An HR Consultant can help look at your HR structure and determine what you may need and what you may need to drop.
