Poor attitudes and practices travel downhill. If your employees are stuck with a destructive supervisor, they can hardly be blamed for negative results and missed deadlines. The problem begins and ends with management, the men and women responsible for looking at the big picture and making it a reality.
Here are 6 poor management habits that you should change immediately if you want to see your employee morale and engagement improve:
Micromanagement
The idea that nothing can be finished unless you directly oversee or complete the task rests at the heart of micromanagement, which can single-handedly destroy communication between employees and their supervisors.
There are many reasons to avoid micromanagement, most of which affect your bottom line. When employees feel distrusted, uncomfortable, or disengaged at work, your company loses thousands of dollars in decreased productivity.
Statistic Mania
While numbers are important and inherent in setting reasonable goals, they are nothing compared to the engagement and respect of your employees. If you spend more time focusing on spreadsheets and numbers than real-world issues, you may distance yourself from the people who matter and spread your resources too thin.
Choose two or three numbers that best highlight the progress you want to see. These numbers should be shared with your employees to help improve morale.
Poor Communication
There is nothing more toxic than poor communication in the workplace. You must make yourself available to your employees, in case they have questions, comments, or concerns.
Leave deliberate room in your schedule for employee meetings or, more directly, schedule weekly meetings yourself. These meetings are an ideal opportunity for two-way communication. Just remember to let your employee do a healthy amount of the talking!
Destructive Feedback
You’ll find a stark difference exists between constructive and destructive feedback. Constructive criticism shares your concerns with an employee and offers advice on how to improve. Destructive feedback is largely negative, with little focus on the actual problem.
Avoid name-calling and verbal abuse, no matter how frustrated you get. There is nothing to be gained from hurting the feelings of your employees.
Stealing Credit
A manager should never, ever steal credit for the hard work of employees. While management organizes the plan and ultimately delivers results, employees are doing the busywork. They deserve credit for their efforts. If this proves a consistent problem in your management team, you may need to reconsider what you define successful management.
Placing Blame
On the same token, a manager should never place blame on employees. Management is responsible for the organization and completion of every project – including the result. If employees are confused or misguided, the blame rests solely with their supervisor, who should be more than willing to accept blame and offer ideas for improvement.
At Star Staffing, we understand your need for impressive employees on every level. Contact our experienced team to learn more about our services.