A key set of principles is the foundation of the responsibilities facing every manager. Ingraining these concepts into your daily activities and corporate culture can go a long way toward successful management and business growth.
Here are three management principles to consider as you begin the New Year:
Have a customer-driven mission and vision.
Your mission and vision should clearly describe who you serve and how you serve them, as well as what you want your organization to become. Core values associated with mission and vision outline the commitment and behavior needed to reach your ideal business state.
- Keep it simple and powerful. You don’t want or need a long, complicated statement that nobody understands or can remember. Your mission and vision should do more than just look nice on wall posters or in your annual report. Every word should be meaningful, so they can be repeated over and over to keep everyone focused on common goals.
- Communicate your vision. Follow through on all plans and openly address any challenges that arise. Do not enable mediocrity.
Hire and retain the best people.
The future of your company is directly tied to the quality and talent of the people you attract and keep. Hire employees who can deliver what is important for excellent customer service.
- Your lowest performer sets the standard for acceptable performance throughout your organization. As you identify top-performing talent, look for competence, character, collaboration, communication and commitment. Hire for attitude and train for skills.
- Keep your employees happy. People search for two critical items: The opportunity to do meaningful work on important projects with talented peers, and a sincere appreciation for their contributions.
- It’s up to you to understand what motivates and interests your employees. Know what they want out of their jobs and their careers. Provide the right growth opportunities and work/life balance. Offer confidence, trust, and the independence for them to get on with the tasks assigned to them.
Maintain robust communications.
The number one problem with struggling businesses is a lack of open, honest, courageous communication. Successful communication, on the other hand, is based on these simple yet sometimes challenging principles:
- Honesty: Tell the truth, all the time.
- Empathy: Listen actively. Convey information directly and respectfully.
- Courage: Put uncomfortable topics on the table and encourage discussion around them.
- Safety: Create a safe environment for people to communicate. Never punish anyone for saying it like it is.
- Intellectual rigor: Ideas, as well as people, should be safe. Encourage team members to challenge each other’s ideas in a respectful way.
- Transparency: Let information flow freely through your organization.
As you finalize your HR management strategy for 2016, call on the expert team at Employment Professionals Canada. Whether you’re seeking your next great employee or looking for a better, more effective talent management approach, we can help. Read our related posts or contact us today to learn more.