Forgive me: I cannot resist the urge to jump on the New Year’s LIST bandwagon. At this time of year we see countless TOP 100 Lists: books, movies, U-tube videos, excuses for missing school or work, and on and on. That’s not the bandwagon of which I speak, although it might be fun to see what list I could come up with: The Top 100 HR Conundrums. Now, that’d be interesting reading.
Nope, I am all over lists of New Year’s Resolutions. For the employer and the employee. In this column we’ll list 12 things an employer/supervisor can do to improve the workplace and their experience in it. Next column will contain a similar list for employees. I made the list include 12 things, but not so you rush through them like the 12 Days of Christmas. (OH! That’s another great idea: “The 12 Days of HR”. “Five golden parachutes!”) Anyway, I picked 12 things because you may want to take a month for each one to be accomplished or developed into a habit.
In no particular order, here are things an employer and/or supervisor can resolve to do during 2010:
1. Determine the temperaments of your employees: once you know how they process information you can more effectively match their work assignments.
2. Discover the strengths of your employees: build on these strengths and find ways to work around their weaknesses. This will result in better results for all.
3. Greet them every day: not as obvious as you might think. It matters.
4. Ask them what will keep them working for you: discover what turns them on about working for you.
5. Ask them what would prompt them to leave: don’t wait for the exit interview to find out what you could have done to retain good employees.
6. Read The Radical Leap, by Steve Farber: it defines leadership as cultivating love in order to generate boundless energy and inspire courageous audacity.
7. Learn how to delegate: no, it is not dumping, and you do have to follow up. It is great for both parties and the business.
8. Re-read the One Minute Manager: the simplest management book and still one of the best.
9. Determine your temperament: oh yeah, you should know how you process information and communicate, too.
10. Evaluate the makeup of your workforce for diversity: the most successful companies draw on the talents of a diverse workforce.
11. Review your Employee Handbook: does it reflect the company’s personality? Toss out anything that doesn’t sound like you (except the legal stuff). Do you really need that long list of ways to get fired?
12. Have every employee write their job description: does it match what you think they are doing? What they should be doing?
OK, that’s it. Let me know what you think. What I think is that in 12 months you will have a happier and more productive workforce made up of employees who love what they do. Happy New Year!
Hi Betsey,
ReplyDeleteThis is a very good list. I feel compelled to comment on #10 "Evaluate the makeup of your workforce for diversity: the most successful companies draw on the talents of a diverse workforce." Diversity in these times makes us think of race, gender and sexual orientation. We should also be aware of the wealth that can be had when we have diversity in temperaments (#1). I found it interesting in '03 when I administered the Meyers Briggs Type Indicator for my IT employees. Every one of them had an introverted communications style while mine was extroverted. This was eye opening to say the least. My focus on the next several months was to insure that how we all interacted was consistent with our temperaments as much as possible. Styles are not wrong because they don't match what I'm comfortable with. They are just different and have every bit as much to offer as I do.
Thank you for diversity.
Greg