How To Manage People Effectively

Your profitability, customer satisfaction and business development all depend on how capable, energised and motivated your people are. They generate your revenue, keep customers happy and unlock new business opportunities.

So, how do you motivate them?

The simple answer is keep them happy.

On an Individual Level

We can’t deny that income is a very basic but very important motivator for top candidates that companies will be competing over. However, it is not only competitive salary we are talking about, it is what you offer on top of the salary.
It’s essential to make your salary, bonus/benefits system clear and transparent. People love to be treated fairly and understand how the system works.

Things like medical and life insurance, cars/travel allowances, mobile phones and other IT tools have become ordinary packages. Having a smart bonus system that is linked to results adds value and is a key determining success factor.

Health & Wellbeing is a big trend for 2018: flexible working arrangements, gym discounts, employee assistance programmes, health days and sports competitions should be part of your people offering.

Different digital platforms with additional benefits, salary sacrifice schemes and perks comprise another stylish trend. Be ahead of the game.

Getting into the heads and hearts of your people is a winning strategy. Not crossing over any private barriers but understanding what makes them turn their performance up. Ask a simple question: “What is important for you?” and you will get to know each individual better, their needs and expectations. By asking “How can I help” and acting on the suggested items you can win your people.

All people want to see a perspective so having regular 1-2-1s and discussing the way your people can develop is a must-have to retain them. You are to help them to identify their next role and sponsor their growth into it: whether it’s an investment into training, finding internal or external mentor / coach, a short assignment – your investment will be returned. The only thing to remember is that you need to measure the output and make sure that the knowledge received from these initiatives is put into practice, sticks and brings value.

On a Team Level

People come for the company and leave because of a bad management.
Even if you can’t afford all the fancy benefits, investing into hiring and developing responsible, sustainable managers is a definite go.
You can endlessly try to create an agenda on the top level and pay your HR but if your line managers do not translate priorities, values, best practices and more importantly practice them, all efforts are useless.
Fact 1: Line managers are role models.
Fact 2: Minimum 30% of Line managers’ time should be spent on their people. Have you noticed how children pick up styles and habits from their parents? The same pretty much works here.
I developed a 5E mode for one of my clients which reflects the main purpose of every manager / leader:

Engage

Translate strategies into plans that can be effectively executed and engages others to constantly look for better ways of doing things.

Encourage

Encourage others to act and think in ways that will get the job done, take appropriate risks on people using critical experiences and stretch assignments.

Enable

Minimise or remove barriers that get in the way of achieving results, sharing and leverage understanding of key business drivers to enable others to achieve better results.

Empower

Empower and coach others to build their skills, give constructive and actionable feedback to help people improve their performance, share knowledge and skills with others.

Embrace

Embrace others via fostering a positive and inclusive working environment where all people feel respected and valued for their contributions.

If you do not share a bigger picture, coach or mentor, delegate and discuss what is important for your people and how they want to develop – you are at risk to lose them.

On a Company Level

Draw a line from the company’s strategic priorities to team priorities and then into individual ones. People engage more if they clearly understand your company’s direction and priorities and know exactly how they contribute to them. They feel much more valued if you ask them to make in input into creation of the strategy and consult them. Regardless of the level of seniority your people can have great ideas about the way you can improve on both strategic and operational levels. Just ask them! Then share business progress with regular updates, challenges and successes in an open and encouraging way. An awards system to reward the successes and people behaviours you want to see more, will help you to celebrate your wins!