A complete guide to employee management

Managing employees is more than just telling them what to do. It’s having an organized system for growth, communication and conflict resolution. It’s giving employees structure as well as room to experiment and challenge themselves. Plus it’s about supporting employees to do their best work, removing barriers and providing advice and guidance when needed.

In this article we’re going through some of the fundamentals of effectively managing your team, as well as tips and example templates for employee management. 

Employee management is about providing structure and support to help people do their best work. Let’s go through some of the fundamentals of managing staff effectively. 

Employee management starts by hiring the right people who work well with others, who want to grow, and who can take feedback on their performance. Creating an HR process that focuses on company values is an important part of managing employees well from the get go.

Make it easy for employees to know if they are doing their work effectively by setting key performance indicators (KPIs). This way you both have tangible evidence of their performance that contributes to overall team productivity and personal growth.

Growth and progress are important parts of employee satisfaction. Creating a space where employees are actively encouraged to set both personal and work-related goals is just as important as managing an employee’s work tasks.

You set the standard for how employees interact with you and the rest of the team. If you want them to interact with you positively, you have to lead by example first.

As a manager, completing day to day work is no longer your responsibility. Instead, it is your responsibility to guide people and delegate work to the most appropriate team members and support them in doing it well. Trust that your employees will get things done, and give feedback if and when they don’t. Otherwise, keep focusing on management tasks.

How you communicate with your employees is critical for a healthy workplace. The bottom line of communication? They will meet you at your level of trust. If you talk down to people, they won’t rise to your level of performance. If you are disorganized or disingenuous, they will match your level of chaos, lowering themselves down. Communicate in a way that shows them that you are listening and care about reaching resolutions. 

Remember that it is your responsibility to keep the team on an even keel. If conflict arises between staff or when someone isn’t performing to expectations. Managers need to step in and get everyone back on track. Remember: you need to earn the right to influence people by getting to know them. If you put in the effort to know people on a personal level before conflict arises, you give them much more reason to trust you and your judgement

Ready to put some of these employee management principles into action? Here are a few tips on building effective manager-employee relationships. 

Whether you are managing a remote team or a team on-site, keeping communication open will make everyone’s job easier. Make sure everybody knows when and how they can come to you with issues (whether that’s in person, during specific meetings or via email). 

Building rapport outside of everyday tasks is a great way to build working relationships. Showing that you care about your people and what is going on in their life means that they will be supported in their work life better. 

Everybody wants to be seen. Look for opportunities to tell employees specific things that they are doing well! This will build positive connections and is much more effective than only ever giving them ways to improve. 

Even though you are the manager, you will build much better relationships with people if you can show your human side as well. This is different to being a push-over. Showing a genuine and honest side of yourself and admitting when you don’t know things gives people confidence in you and in their ability to speak up about any issues they might have. Balance being a manager who is decisive and direct with being approachable. 

When done right employee feedback is a tool for helping your people improve performance, to set goals and to figure out any gaps in their work. 

It is an important part of running an effective team and creating a modern workplace that challenges employees to continuously grow and learn and do better in their field. 

Providing constructive feedback to employees can:

• Boost professional development 
• Grow relationships between managers and employees 
• Set expectations 

Giving feedback effectively is about growth, not blame or pointing out negatives. 

If conflict arises, the environment you create to deal with it can make a big difference to the resolution. It is important to hear both sides of a story, give employees an opportunity to speak, and to avoid involving people who it doesn’t apply to. For example, it is important to have office space where other employees can’t overhear issues that don’t involve them. This is part of maintaining professionalism in difficult circumstances. Take a moment to think about the physical and mental atmosphere you create when issues come up. 

How you manage your employees can make or break a team. Regardless of what employee management template you use, always remember to be genuine in your interactions with employees and they will do the same in return! 

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