Manage People
A manager's most important, and most difficult, job is to manage people. You must lead, motivate, inspire, and encourage them. Sometimes you will have to hire, fire, discipline or evaluate employees. These articles and links will help you find the best ways to handle these people management issues.
Giving Directions to People
Managers spend a lot of time giving direction to people. When done well you can achieve great results. Make a little slip up and everything goes wrong. Here's how to do it right.
Project Management 101- People Management
One of the four main elements in successful project management is managing the people resources. Here's what you need to know to do it right.
Team Building - It won't work unless people see the benefit
It is not enough to get your group together off site and have a few icebreaker games. If you want team building to work, you have to show the members of the team that it benefits them personally.
There Is No "I" In Team
One of the hardest things about building teams in the workplace is the lack of good examples. Here is a way to overcome that. From Your About.com Guide to Management.
Onboarding
Onboarding. The secret to maximizing employee performance is to start them right. Learn how to onboard new employees quickly and well.
Onboarding: Before The Employee Starts
The process of onboarding new employees begins even before they start. The process is important so these steps can help you be successful.
Stand up for Your Team
Your role as a manager means standing up for your team when they make mistakes. See why doing so also makes you a better manager.
Hire, Inspire, Admire, Retire
An employee life cycle is the steps the employees go through from the time they enter a company until they leave. Managers are in a key position reduce employee cost using the condensed employee life cycle of HIAR (pronounced hire) - Hire, Inspire, Admire, Retire.
Delegate, Don't Dump
Most managers don't know how to delegate. They hold on to tasks that others should be doing for them or they just dump those tasks onto subordinates. Both are wrong. Learn these secrets to delegating and it will make your job easier and make your employees happier.
Manage Older Workers
Gen X managers need to learn how to effectively manage older workers. An aging work force will require new skills of all managers and the older workers.
How to Give Orders
Instead of giving orders, a smart manager gives instructions. Learn how to give instruction instead of giving orders to become a better manager.
How To Review Subordinates' Work
How can managers assign work to their employees and still manage for quality and timeliness while giving the employees freedom to do the work to the best of their ability. The dilemma is answered in this article, How To Review Subordinates' Work.
Lunch with the CEO
Few CEOs do enough to maintain good relations with one important group of stakeholders, their employees. Lunch with the CEO is one way to correct that.
How To Screen Online Resumes
Managers often need to screen hundreds of online resumes when they hire employees. How do you screen online resumes to find the best employees without wasting time?
I Don't Want To Be A Manager
If a manager tells you they don't want to be a amanager, what would you do? You may never have to face this situation, but here's what you need to know if you do.
Employee Grade Levels
Many companies find it useful to create employee grade levels. Creating employee grade levels assures equal compensation for the same work across different departments and divisions. These are sample employee grade level descriptions.
Alternatives to Layoffs
Reducing the workforce has become an automatic response for companies who need to cut costs to look good for Wall Street. It's wrong. It's counter-productive. It should be a last resort, not a first choice. From Your About.com Guide to Management.
Business Management In Time Of War
This three part feature looks at the impact on businesses of their employees leaving for military service. How to prepare before war starts, how to manage the losses, and reemployment of returning employees are covered.
Business Management And War - Part 1 - Before War Starts
Part 1 of Business Management And War looks at preparations, what to do for your business and employees before the call ups start
When Your Employees Go To War
Part 3 of Business Management And War, Reemployment Rights of Former Military Personnel, looks at the reemployment rights of workers returning from US military service
When Your Employees Go To War
Business Management and War Part 2, When Your Employees Go To War, looks at steps you need to take after the call ups start and your employees go to war
How Managers Monitor and Control Worker Behavior
Monitor and Control describes how managers monitor and control worker behavior to keep everyone working toward the goal. Managers adjust team makeup, activities, and plans when monitoring shows it is needed.
Giving Positive Feedback
Don't ever underestimate the power of positive feedback. We are quick to point out to someone when they make a mistake. Sometimes we forget to acknowledge them when they do something right.
Giving Negative Feedback Properly
"Jane, you ignorant slut.” No one who heard Dan Ackroyd say that on Saturday Night Live had any doubt that he was about to strongly disagree with whatever Jane Curtin had just said. That’s not the way to give negative feedback. Try this instead.
The Lesson of the Red Horse.
The key to performance is employee motivation.
Hiring Manager's Guide To Recruiting
How Hiring Managers Can Recruit The Best
Larry Doesn't Work Here Anymore.
Why do some employees seem to 'retire in place'? What can you do about it? How can you help the employee and your company succeed? From Your About.com Guide to Management.
The Annual Performance Review - How to maximize the benefits
Three key things to remember if you want to get the maximum benefit out of this annual exercise in wasting a manager's time.
Are Your Top People Ready To Leave You?
How to tell whether your top people are ready to leave, and what you can do about it. From Your About.com Guide to Management.
The Right People in the Wrong Jobs
How you can make your people, and yourself, more productive and happier at the same time, from your About.com Guide to Management.
Do your employees trust you?
A recent survey suggests they probably do not. Does that matter? And how do you find out?
Flatten The Pyramid
Effective use of self-directed teams can limit the effect on a business of rising incompetence. From Your About.com Guide to Management.
Inverse Promotions
Employees in hierarchical organizations tend to rise to their level of incompetence. One novel way to deal with the resultant loss of productivity is by allowing employees to step back. From Your About.com Guide to Management.
Napping at Work is OK?
"Napping at work" is different than "sleeping on the job". That difference can help you.
Performance Management Instead of Layoffs
It costs too much to leave an incompetent manager in place. If the employee won't request a return to a level at which they were competent, the company must take action. From Your About.com Guide to Management.
Relax Your Office Dress Code?
Why you need a written dress code, regardless of how casual or formal.
What Good People Really Cost
The why and how of Employee Retention can save you more money than you think. From Your About.com Guide to Management.
What You Need To Know About Surviving Layoffs.
Surviving in an era of layoffs and RIFs means learning these coping and survival skills for managers, and for employees. From Your About.com Guide to Management.
Meeting Management
Meetings can be very productive. Or they can be a tremendous waste of time. These simple guidelines can help you make your meetings more effective.
Hire The Right Candidate
To hire the right candidate you need the right job description. If your job description isn't right you will waste time and hire the wrong person.
Your Best Onboarding Experience
Read about the best onboarding experiences. Can you match these? Should you be doing onboarding like this in your company?
The American Society for Training and Development
ASTD is a leading resource on workplace learning and performance issues, providing information, research, and analysis.
FirstStep Employment Law Advisor
This new US Department of Labor web site is designed to help employers determine which laws apply to their business. It also provides links to compliance information.
Society for Human Resource Management
This organization is a professional association for those involved in human resource management. The site offers a number of online publications in the HR field, a membership directory, information on their certification programs and a number of sites on workplace trends.
Retail Management Tips -Tips To Manage Your Retail Business More Effectively
Top 20 Quick Retail Management Tips on Leadership, Business Management, Personal Development, Marketing, Quality, and More to Make You More Effective.
Why Should We Hate HR?
Why Should We Hate HR?
Time Sink
Definition of the business management term time sink