Running an efficient & growing business is hard. Without the knowledge of management concepts, it becomes a lot more difficult. With the help of some tried and tested management tools, teams can find their groove back. While they may appear soft & a bit too theoretical, there is elaborate research backing them.
Imbibing the below management concepts can improve your team in many ways. It can help reduce turnover, improve employee relations and even increase productivity.
#1 Treat Business as a Series of Relationships
Successful executives view their business as a series of relationships to be nurtured. They refrain from taking sides and seek to understand the conflict that arises within the organization. Once they understand the conflict, they work towards aligning individuals with the organization. This way everyone works towards a common goal.
As the focus shifts to achieving a common goal in the organization, there is a reduction in conflict. Employees are more inclined to connect & work together. Team members can focus better on their work and building relationships with customers. They no longer have to worry about whether management is on their side. The whole company becomes more productive and effective.
#2 Envision the Company as a Community
It is common for executives to view their company as a machine they need to control. In reality, no one likes to feel like their actions are controlled by their managers. When you don’t like what you are told to do, it can quickly start to feel like you are a replaceable part in a machine. (sounds a lot like micromanagement, doesn’t it?)
Executives who view the team as a community are more likely to connect with employees as individuals. They take the time to discover their employee’s hopes and dreams. This helps employees to feel valued. In turn, they will become better producers. They will devote more of their energy to the goals of the organization and take more pride in their work.
A great way to start viewing your business as a community is to plan events that include the entire workforce. For example, hold a company picnic, get involved in a community fundraiser, provide training events that emphasize communicating with each other. A consistent after-work activity, such as a happy hour or softball team is another great way to unite people.
Getting people together outside of work is a great way to get to know one another and build a sense of community within your work culture. This management concept aims to make work seem less like work and more social.
Some such activities are listed below:
Community activities:
- After work happy hour
- Corporate training events
- Company picnic
- Holiday parties
- Company volunteer work
#3 Define Management as a Service Position
Managers usually tend to start their job with the idea that they ought to control the employees reporting to them. These new managers are not used to being leaders. They tend do focus on making employees follow dictated directions, rather than find them on their own. This can stifle creativity.
Redefine your manager’s role as a service position, as a servant leader. Managers should be viewed as coaches, rather than dictators. When the manager is viewed as a coach, employees may feel more comfortable approaching them for advice on how to improve their work performance.
Managers should guide their teams to form their own rules without interference. They should set an example for their team to follow. Managers should be available to consult with when problems arise.
#4 Treat Employees With Respect
People want to feel respected. You can show your employees that you respect them by listening to their ideas and expecting that they will complete their work without prodding. Treat your employees like the intelligent, capable adults that they are.
Keep expectations from your employees high, but don’t turn them into unrealistic expectations. Don’t lower your expectations of your employees and start to micromanage them. This demonstrates that you don’t have confidence in their skills and abilities. People will rise to meet your expectations.
Show your employees respect through positive engagement with them. Engaging with your employees increases their commitment to your organization and their enthusiasm for work. According to Bonusly, highly engaged employees are 75% less likely to be looking for a new job compared to disengaged employees.
The management concept of treating your employees with respect will lead to happier employees and higher retention rates.
Steps to take to increase respect:
- Be a good listener.
- Learn your employee’s strengths and weaknesses.
- Communicate positively with employees.
- Reward great work.
- Assign challenging tasks.
#5 Use Technology to Increase Productivity
Technology can be a great boon for your business. It can be used to track the daily activities of your team. Technology can also become a tool to micromanage your employees’ work, but avoid using it in that way.
The technology focus should be on becoming more productive. Use technology for planning long term and short term goals for the company. Good use of technology will free up your time to connect with your employees and spend more time on the creative processes.
Technology should be used to automate menial processes. This will alleviate your workers from mundane tasks and free them up to become more creative. They will build more relationships with customers and have meaningful conversations at work.
Improving communication with technology can also increase your productivity. CRMs, Chat applications & email can make communication with your employees and leads more productive and profitable. These tools provide you with the ability to communicate and collaborate more efficiently. They allow you to track the customer’s journey and monitor where they are in the sales process.
#6 Get Organized
First comes thought; then organization of that thought, into ideas and plans; then transformation of those plans into reality. The beginning, as you will observe, is in your imagination.– Napoleon Hill
Once the goals of your organization are in place, the management should be in charge of organizing resources to accomplish those goals. When the work isn’t organized, it doesn’t get accomplished. Items can get lost and time is wasted.
Effective organizing within management requires the mastery of work specialization, a chain of command, authority, and delegation. Managers that have mastered the organization will understand who to assign tasks to and where to allocate resources.
The organization creates harmony within the different groups that must interact. Without organization, it can be confusing as to who should be completing which assignment.
Areas to Get Organized:
- Time frames – days, weeks, months, year
- Resources and Materials – where will they be convenient for employees?
- Employees – who does what? when?
#7 Be Accommodating
Management teams that are accommodating of their employee’s personal lives tend to retain employees longer. It also increases the satisfaction level of the employee. Accommodating your employee’s lifestyle decreases the need to continually hire and train new employees.
According to Forbes, one of the top management trends are teams becoming increasingly diverse. This will require different accommodations. Employees who are parents may require flexible hours, and employees with disabilities may feel require the flexibility to work from home. Globalization and an aging workforce have also created a variety of needs to accommodate.
It may be necessary to hold meetings over Skype to include workers who are in different time zones or prefer to work flexible hours. Allowing employees to work from home may prove more productive than getting them into the office every day. It enables parents to focus on their work around their schedules. They can devote their focus to work without worrying about their child care.
To prepare for a more diverse workforce, make sure that you know how each person prefers to communicate. Ask if there are hours that they will need off or if they will be available to work on the evenings and weekends. Discover each employee’s technical proficiency and how it will impact the team.
Conclusion: Management Concepts
The company is only as good as its management practices. Implementing effective management concepts is key to your success. As you focus your management on serving your team, being accommodating, and treating individuals with respect, your company will start to improve. Business is a community and when the relationships in the community function well, all of the employees are going to be able to do their jobs better.
