Manage Teams
How do processes help you manage a team?
There are lots of tricks to managing a team. And lots of ways to NOT manage a team. No one wants to be a micro-manager, and no one wants (or likes) a micro-manager, but how does one keep from over managing?
It comes down to trust. Does the business owner, or manager, trust that the employee has the knowledge, skills, and ability to do the job right.
Manage Teams by Knowing the Job!
One way to ensure that you’re hiring the right person is to really know what the job entails. Now, one doesn’t need to know all the intimate details (the HOW), but they DO need to know the WHAT of the job.
- What skills does it require?
- What experience level is needed?
- What capabilities does the person need to have?
A lot of entrepreneurs just don’t know everything that goes into each job description. They know what they do but can’t explain it clearly. This is where process documentation can come in really handy.
When you can lay out the steps of a job clearly, you see what knowledge, skills, and capabilities are needed to perform the tasks effectively.
There are clues within the processes about what a prospective new hire should know. There will be key terms and phrases that will clue you in as to your prospects ability to perform the tasks. All this leads up to easier hiring decisions.
Manage Teams by Effective Training
Another way to ensure your employees work out is to train them effectively to the standards you require.
Having your processes written provides the structure of your business and gives your new employee the roadmap of your expectations. The tasks are laid out clearly and can be easily followed.
Processes show the new employee how to navigate in your business, and to see what gets done when and why.
There will be some initial time required to ensure that the new employee is learning and can perform the tasks effectively, but afterwards you will be able to let those tasks slip from front of mind because you KNOW the job is getting completed to your standards.
Using Processes as One Tool in Your Management Toolbox
Processes are an instrumental communication tool for any business. In a well laid out process, expectations are clearly stated, the order of operations is laid out, and accountability can be verified and measured.
You, as the business owner, can hold your employees to the high standards you’ve put in place without having to micro-manage.
In the end, though, it’s about the fit of the person. If they have the skills, experience, and capabilities but don’t fit the “vibe” it won’t work. If they have the “vibe” and have demonstrated that they have or can learn the skills (and you’re willing to take the time to train them) it could be a match made in heaven.
Hiring is never an easy task. You get a few hours to determine if the marriage will work or not, so don’t beat yourself up if a sour grape gets in the mix a time or two.
Having your processes in place helps you to weed out those who don’t fit the bill and gets those you’ve chosen trained up quickly and efficiently. You effectively create a team of “mini-mes” that you easily manage and they help your business grow and thrive!
Learn more about documenting your processes with ease and create your own “mini-mes”… Check out the First Step to Cloning Yourself!
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