Management is difficult. Here’s some advice from people who make it look easy.
9 Management tips
Focusing on real business value should *already* be a routine task for #HR – if not, shows how far we have to go. – Rob Briner
Rob shares this insight on his Twitter account, which is full of links to interesting articles and useful resources. Human resources drives the talent of an organization, which means that it’s one of the key players in providing value to the business. If you aren’t already doing this, it’s time to focus on how you can add value.
The journey of change doesn’t begin with intention, it seriously begins when you start to move. – Lolly Daskal
Lolly shared this insight on her Twitter account. She also writes frequently for Inc on topics such as motivation and productivity. As a leader, you must be the first to set an example. Implementation should begin with management and work its way down as the knowledge is properly diffused.
Adopt an intern – Heather Huhman
Heather advises businesses to adopt an intern in her blog, where she states that adopting an intern would be a great way for employers and students about to enter the workforce to connect. This is a great idea for management, since you get to tap into talent before it even enters the talent pool.
If we consistently exceed the expectations of employees, they will consistently exceed the expectations of our customers. – Shep Hyken
Shep shares this on his Twitter account, where he shares insight on content marketing and customer service. He specializes in customer experience, and applies his knowledge to management. Shep states that if managers and leaders demonstrate their ability and willingness to go above and beyond, their teams will follow suit.
When it comes to what makes us our most productive, it seems to me that we need both passion and purpose. – Sharlyn Lauby
Sharlyn states that employee engagement and employee motivation are different things in her article Which Is Better: Employees Who Have Purpose or Are Engaged. Employee motivation is the level of energy, commitment, and creativity they bring, whereas engagement is the extent to which they feel passionate about their jobs and motivated to do well. She says that in order to foster a high-performing team, you will need to cultivate passion and purpose (meaning), as well as motivation and engagement (drivers).
I have a working theory that 92% of an HR leader’s job is managing expectations. – Laurie Ruettimann
Laurie shares this insight in her blog, Managing Expectations in HR and Beyond. She states that personal problems often overflow into the workplace, where HR needs to handle them and provide counseling. One way to set clear expectations is through radical transparency during the hiring process; be ethical and honest, even when it means losing a candidate–because you would have just ended up with an unhappy employee in the end anyway. Laurie’s writing takes a stand, has a unique and powerful voice, and it’s clear she’s not afraid to take a stance when it comes to HR. Her blog is definitely worth a visit if you want to be challenged and inspired.
The only rules you are going to break are rules that need to be broken because they are out of date or because the rules themselves are harmful. – Liz Ryan
Liz shared this advice on in her Forbes article, Five Workplace Rules To Follow — And Five To Break. There are times when a company manual gets outdated, but never updated. This results in rules and regulations that don’t make sense, are a hindrance to growth, or are outright harmful to the business and its talent. HR needs to constantly reevaluate whether the regulations set in place are helping or harming the company, and innovate for improvement.
Ensure inclusion happens through education – Tim Sackett
Tim shared this insight in the article 5 Tips for Building an Inclusive Company Culture, which was an excerpt from Laurie Ruettimann’s book. Tim says “It’s both naive and shortsighted to assume that your employees know anything about people who’ve come to work in America from countries all over the world. If it’s important for your workforce to know the difference between Pakistan and India, help them learn through online tutorials and video modules.”
This incredibly valuable advice applies to our workforce here in the Philippines as well, with a large number of expats and international interns. Even within each company you see a gap in socioeconomic status, education, and perspective. Your job as HR is to bridge that gap.
Keep being nice, offer alternatives – Penelope Trunk
Penelope shares this insight on her blog, Tips for negotiating with a liar. If you’re lucky, you’ve never had to work with a liar on the team, but most people are not so fortunate. If you do have to deal with someone who lies or procrastinates, Penelope says to stay cordial and offer alternatives. For example, if someone is consistently late to work as if they’d like to switch to the night shift.
What are we missing?
Do you want to see an inspirational HR pro on this list? Is there some great advice we should add? Let us know in the comments below.
About the Author: Jocelyn Pick
