120 AUSTRALASIAN DENTIST COLUMNISTS Pam McKean By Pam McKean, Director, AB Dental & Medical Employment Agency Manager Effectiveness: Why it matters and how to improve Whether it’s you or your practice manager, managers are responsible for keeping their employees on track, working together as a team and being productive. Manager effectiveness depends on various skills, including communication, goal-setting and transparency. The current climate puts us in a position of facing an unusual set of challenges brought on by the combination of a tight labour market, and the widespread expectation of a recession. Businesses need to cut costs, enable teams to deliver results more effectively, and keep employees engaged and satisfied, or they risk the very real possibility of losing them. It’s a juggling act. What is manager effectiveness? Manager effectiveness is a combination of many skills and traits that can help you manage your employees effectively. Elements of manager effectiveness include overseeing performance management, keeping employees engaged, setting and achieving goals at the individual and team level, and more. Manager effectiveness is important because good management is a key part of a successful workplace. Being an effective manager can have many benefits, including increasing employee productivity, boosting employee morale, cultivating a positive work environment and more Additionally, because managers are the leaders of their workplaces, they often model the qualities that they want to see in their employees, making it important for them to be effective managers. In this article, we look at manager effectiveness in the workplace, why this quality is important for team success, plus tips to help you manage your employees as well as possible. Listen to your employees It’s crucial to listen to your employees if you want to be an effective manager. Along with giving feedback to your employees, be sure to listen to them as well. Encourage them to give feedback and share their ideas and opinions. Listening to your employees’ feedback and concerns can help show them that you care about them, and it can also give you ideas about how to improve your workplace. You can practice improving your listening skills. Build trust Employees follow their leaders when they trust in them. They trust managers because they believe them to be competent, honest and reliable. You can instil trust for your leadership in three ways: u Create credibility: Do what you say you are going to do. If you promise your employee a project or learning opportunity, follow through on your word. u Be respectful: Ensuring your people are set up for success. Arm them with the resources and support they need to do their best work. u Make fair decisions: This is fundamental for building trust in your management effectiveness, especially when it comes to promotion decisions and for people who are different than you (whether gender, racial background or tenure). Communicate with your employees One essential tip for improving your manager effectiveness is to communicate with your employees. It’s important to communicate well with your employees to manage them effectively. Therefore, try to develop your communication skills and implement communication channels for your employees. You can also give your employees feedback so that they know how they can improve at their jobs. Goal setting Set strong goals for your employees to work toward. You can use the SMART method to set great goals for your employees that are: u Specific: Goals that you set for your employees should be clear and specific so that your employees can understand them easily. u Measurable: It’s important to create measurable goals so that you can use metrics to gauge your employees’ progress toward achieving them. u Attainable: be sure to set goals that your employees can realistically attain so that they don’t get overwhelmed or discouraged by unrealistic expectations. u Relevant: You can create goals for your employees that are relevant to your company’s overall goals. Time-based: Try to set time-based goals that have deadlines to help your employees stay on track toward achieving them. Setting great goals for your employees can help them stay focused and complete work that contributes to your overall company goals. Recognition It’s important to recognise and reward your employees for their performance at work. Recognising your employees for their work is a critical part of keeping themmotivated. It can show them that you appreciate and value their work, which canmake them feel more connected to their jobs, boosting employee engagement andmorale. You can recognise employees for their performance through techniques like u Offer fun projects or professional/ personal development opportunities u Take them to lunch or provide lunch as a perk u Distribute non-cash rewards u Loosen the reins u Encourage peer-to-peer recognition u Just say thank you! Lead by example Another tip for improving your manager effectiveness is to lead by example. As a leader, it’s important to set a good example for your employees.Therefore, try to behave the way that you want your employees to behave. Leading by example can help you create a positive work environment and increase the quality of work produced by your employees.
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