Is it possible to increase the company’s revenues without raising investment or capital expenditures at the same time? Of course, it is! By leveraging employees’ competencies and skills, and implementing proper communication channels. The key to success is effective performance management and rational team management.
Related: Are Competency Frameworks dead?
Running a team means carrying out a number of tasks – from managing staff, delegating key activities, to verifying progress. Sounds simple?
In fact, managing groups of people can be quite challenging. A relevant analysis of these activities may help in effective management that can bring real value to the company. Below is a list of 4 simple steps that can help to simplify team management and make it more efficient.
1.Understanding the Role of the Manager
In many companies, there is a belief and practice that only the HR department should deal with employee matters. But recruiting and formation of a team is only the beginning. In practice, management wants to turn all of the activities and processes which take place in the company into real business effects. It is the manager’s responsibility to ensure that his or her team performs the right tasks connected with the implementation of the strategic business plans.
The manager is accountable for that process – distribute responsibilities between team members and set the internal goals which match with the organizational structure and contribute to the implementation of the company’s strategy. In addition, the manager, oftentimes, is also in charge of the team members’ development and career progression. He or she must take care of the correct information flow, proper communication, and cooperation as well. The manager becomes a crucial link between the management, the team, and also HR.
2. Dividing Team Tasks
Businesses today need employees to act efficiently, effectively, and consistently achieve better results. To meet those requirements, the tasks or activities of every team member should be tailored to each person’s capabilities and skills. Managers are able to skillfully plan the division of roles and responsibilities in a team only if they are aware of the advantages, abilities, and limitations of the team. Simultaneously, managers should understand what kind of knowledge and competencies are needed for each position. This knowledge will help them to not only adjust tasks to meet the organizational requirements but to also create smart work plans.
3. Building the Employee Business Awareness
We already know, that fair and clever distribution of tasks is significant. Each team member should have responsibilities in the line with their competencies, while not feel overloaded with the work. However, to make the employees work effectively and to let them achieve better results, they should be ensured with a broader perspective of the company’s strategic goals. To reach that, it is necessary for the employees to look beyond their own position or department. And one more time – not the company per se, but the manager is responsible for helping employees to obtain that. By his or her decisions, the company’s goals should be transformed into activities perform by his or her team. One way to do this effectively is to cascade goals.
Managers can empower employees by “cascading” responsibilities – dividing into individual tasks, and setting priorities, as they have a different role for the implementation of the plan. This can help the team get a sense of the broader context of the goals and provides a sense of accomplishment as a team rather than as an individual. The next step in understanding the activities of each team member is to follow the performance metrics and measure the effects.
4. Communication and conversation, conversation, conversation
The flow of information is essential for interpersonal relations. In team management, communication is the foundation of efficiency. A constructive dialogue between manager and staff allows articulation of key tasks that need to be done. The simpler and brighter message is, the less space there is for misunderstandings. Every confusion may result in slowing down the work and creating an atmosphere of unnecessary tension or chaos.
Team members should not only be informed on the expectations that are being placed upon them but also they need to be able to see the perspective of their development – the path of movement and achieving goals. To ensure that, it is crucial to provide continuous and ongoing feedback by discussing progress, analyzing areas that need to be improved, and creating further career plans. Conducting one-on-one meetings, during which these matters can be analyzed, gives employees a sense of security, build commitment and trust in the team leader. Both sides should appropriately prepare for such conversations. It is necessary to gain as much information as possible, analyze past actions, and think about the next steps. This process should not take place just a few minutes before the meeting, but be a result of gathered information.
In conclusion, running a team is not easy. The manager is in charge of the group that consists of individual people. To do this effectively, he or she should get to know the team members well and be able to influence the factors on which the effectiveness of their work is built. Therefore, an appropriate distribution of tasks, consistent with the competencies and capabilities of team members, is crucial. On the other hand, each employee should be aware of how their individual activities help achieve the goals of the organization as a whole. Proper communication and continuous development are the basis of that.
Skilo is a Salesforce native app that provides a ready to use talent management solution. It streamlines, simplifies, and unifies the end-to-end process of talent acquisition, development, and retention. Skilo provides effective performance management, competency frameworks, along with skills development, career planning, training management, feedback, reviews, and social employee engagement. For more information, please visit www.skilohr.com, Skilo Linkedin profile, and Skilo Facebook page