msdnmo
|
first, start with yourself. hire quality people who are professional. train them well. give them clear information as to what is expected and what won't be tollerated. be fair but firm. once this is done make sure you tell your staff how much you appreciate them and the work they do. i use to go every morning to each staff member and say good morning to them. at the end of the day i would tell each one 'thank you for today'. it made a difference. incentives are always welcome. even if it's a certificate (an attaboy). i worked in education and i always made sure each teacher had a birthday cake on her birthday (many are single moms who would not get a cake otherwise). and if they have to take a day off or call in sick, don't make them feel like dirt for it. people get sick and have things to tend to. if they've earned the days, grant them with a smile. be patient. don't go off on a staff member in front of everyone. everyone has the right to their dignity.
good luck. |
Simon D
 |
Management shouldn't just know about financial and business management. They need a thorough understanding of everyone's job. That is the real reason they get paid more, because it should be harder.
Every job I left had the underlying reason of a clueless budget-sighted manager (budgets were done in a closed meeting comprising only money-managers).
A manager who knows your job, helps you to do it by giving you freedom to do the things you can, and stops you from doing alone the things you cannot. In this way he is also a teacher and mentor. You then respect him, and treat the company as part of something that you respect. But more importantly, he understands and fights for a good budget - then tells his troops to aim higher.
All managers have to do the forecasts and budgets and all that tedium. But at the companies I stayed at, it didn't interefere with the proper running of the company. The two companies I left, had managers who only knew the bottom line, and hired technical managers would thought like them. I left before people died (and die they did - it was a construction company).
Once this is in place,
we only need fair or competitive renumeration;
we like to work the job and not the hours, which means we pull nights when the manager tells us to go home, but expect a 'yes' if we need to do some banking or meet with the gasman at home (punchcards make us feel like slaves).
And lastly it's the little things that make the difference. My first manager said, 'If you've got a hangover, call me and you can come in a few hours late, but call me'. When I did just that a few months later he laughed, called me a reprobate, and gave me couple of hours leeway. I think I maybe had 3 hangovers in the 6 years I worked for him, and nothing else. Because he had my respect I didn't take liberties.
(edit)
In my experience.
A boss who says, 'there is still a few minutes on the clock' will have clockwatchers for staff.
A boss who says, 'times up, everyone go home' will hear, 'just a few minutes more, I'm not finished yet'. |
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