Ten Good Habits for Managing Your Staff
Ten Tips for Prospective Employees
Ten Good Habits for Managing Your Staff
The employment relationship
1. Show your keenness and integrity at all times.
Being an upright person yourself is very important. You have to EARN the respect from your employees.
2. Ensure you act legally in employment issues such as pay/holidays/time-off, and especially health and safety.
You don't really want to be prosecuted, do you?
3. Provide good conditions (for work and a reasonable working week, good rosters, time-off and holidays) to attract and retain good staff.
There are plenty of jobs around. Nobody HAS to work for you. Make them happy about what you've offered.
4. Maintain clear communication with staff and provide them with the resources they need.
Haven't you heard that "communication is the key"? Meetings, chats, emails, phone calls... Make sure you understand each other clearly. If anything is needed for the work, don't be too tight. Your staff are making money for you!
Recruitment and selection
5. Select the 'right (matched) staff', not just anybody.
How many times have you successfully unlocked the padlock with the WRONG key? It doesn't work! Good employment 'fit' is vital between employer and employee.
6. Create and maintain balanced expectations between employer and employees.
Isn't it frustrating when you try to figure out what exactly it is that the other party is expecting from you and cannot? Do talk about issues raised at work.
7. Develop staff, help them to see that they can progress further as they gain more knowledge and experience.
Be real. How many of us would like to be in a spin in the SAME place ALL the time?
The work
8. Conduct regular development/planning performance reviews to make sure you are going in the right direction together.
You will make much more progress if everybody pulls together in the same direction, but you will have to talk a lot to make sure expectations are clear.
9. Keep jobs as interesting as possible with job variety and good team work to speed through boring jobs.
Remember variety is the spice of life and this goes for work too!
10. Celebrate successes at work, and have fun together.
You work as a team, so celebrate your success as a team, too. And why not have fun?! (You know what they say about all work and no play...)
Ten Tips for Prospective Employees
1. Being loyal to the employer is vital, as are keenness, integrity and honesty. Tell your employer early if anything is going to take you from the job unexpectedly.
Be open and honest, and earn the respect from your boss.
2. Be careful to be ready to start when you are expected to, not ten minutes later, and work the full hours required.
Punctuality is a basic requirement from the employer.
3. Be prepared to help out when crises arise.
Going the extra mile for the employer is much appreciated, e.g. putting in extra time. We all have times of need. When you are in trouble, you would want help, wouldn't you?
4. Look after the employer's business, property and animals as if they were your own.
Your employer trusts you to look after these things. Don't break this trust.
5. Own up directly if you break or damage something, so any problems can be corrected quickly.
It probably won't look very good if you wait until your boss find out who did it.
6. Try and put yourself in the employer's shoes and think what he or she would want in a situation, and do it.
Don't be afraid to take the initiative when needed.
7. Tell the employer what you are looking for in the job from the beginning, and be willing to discuss any differences in expectations, so a good relationship can be negotiated and put in place.
Communication, communication, communication!
8. If you do not understand an instruction, or know how to do something, do not be afraid to ask. It is not a sign of weakness, but of the intention to do a good job from the beginning.
Don't let confusion and misunderstanding bug you.
9. If what you want from your job changes, tell you employer about it before it becomes a problem.
Don't wait until it's too late.
10. Make sure you have a good night's sleep before work.
You are not just a machine. You need a good night's sleep to ensure good performance during the day.