4 effective steps to handle employee complaints
From minor beefs to major dilemmas, employees present a variety of complaints to their managers. Here’s how leaders can address what they hear.
Managing People at Work
Identifying and handling issues with your difficult employees
Every team has them and every manager needs to handle the challenges that come along with those difficult employees. The worst thing you can do is ignore the behavior—otherwise, you will lose your valuable, easy-to-work-with staff. Here are the problem personalities you may encounter, and how to wor
Handling the move from “one of the gang” to manager
Has an internal promotion created a scenario in which you now manage former colleagues? Such a power shift requires some adjustments from all involved. Here’s how to navigate this potentially tricky road.
10 crucial questions to ask your employees
As a manager, it’s your responsibility to understand your employee’s strengths, weaknesses, natural talents, goals, aspirations and personal preferences. That’s quite a tall task if you manage large teams consisting of 10 or more people. Yet getting to know your employees becomes much easier if you
Keep it Legal: Tread carefully when monitoring employees
With rapid advances in technology, monitoring the workplace has become easier and cheaper. It’s no longer just cameras in common areas. Now it’s possible to examine productivity measures like keystrokes taken during a shift and out-of-office activity through vehicle location or company-issued cell p
Hands-off versus micromanaging: 4 ways to find the perfect balance
Managing employees is a never-ending balancing act teetering between undermanaging and micromanaging. Tipping the scale too far in either direction is a recipe for disaster, so your best bet is to stay snug in the middle—not breathing down your employees’ necks while not letting them run entirely am
Change management: Involve employees early to get increased buy-in when making changes
Change often scares people. A shift from the familiar generates feelings of uncertainty. The environment one knew how to navigate becomes filled with potential obstacles and hazy outcomes. Organizations can reduce some of this discomfort and boost the likelihood of workers getting on board with chan
How to strengthen your empathy muscle—crucial for managers
Being a good manager isn’t easy. It takes a lot of time and effort to develop the skills and abilities necessary to effectively lead a team. Valuable lessons are learned through trial and error, and the constantly changing work landscape necessitates the development of new methods and approaches to
Managers: Encourage employees to take vacation time
When was the last time you used your PTO to take a vacation? If you’re like most Americans, it’s likely been a while, as 55% of workers don’t use all their paid time off. But encouraging your employees to use their time off is a win for you and for them.
5 actions managers must take regarding political expression in the workplace
When it comes to political and social issues, managers walk a sometimes-delicate line between respecting freedom of expression and keeping the workplace on task and civil. Make navigating this potentially rocky terrain easier by doing the following.