Among the most important personnel in any business are the managers. They contribute in a wide range of ways – some of which might not be immediately obvious. Let’s take a closer look at some of them.
Hiring
It’s managers who make hiring decisions. Consequently, a good manager should be able to recruit a good team just beneath them, while a bad manager might bring in a series of poor recruits who ultimately prove difficult to shift. In this sense, investing time, energy and money in attracting the best managers will tend to pay dividends in the long-term.
Feedback and development
Managers aren’t just there to bring in the best people. They will also oversee them, ensuring that they follow instructions. More than that, a good manager will observe how effective their instructions are carried out and look for where improvements might be made. This might come in the form of a formal performance review, or it might be a more low-key arm around the shoulder.
Mentorship will help you to develop your existing employees, and to build up their skills so that they can serve you in the future. This is something that employees tend to value; as such, an effective manager will also bolster your staff retention.
If you’re looking for a means of developing your leaders, then you might bring in an outside perspective. There are a range of leadership development services available from reputable consultants.
Prioritising
The workload of any given department will need to be managed – and this job, appropriately enough, usually falls to the manager. A good manager will be able to plan for both the long-term and the short-term, such that everything that needs to be done for a given day is, in fact, done. Without a good system of prioritisation, important tasks can languish unattended, for weeks. A good manager will seek to implement this system.
Taking Responsibility
A good manager will cherish responsibility. If the team’s performance begins to dwindle, then the manager will be there to look for reasons, and to try different approaches. This means that upper management can concentrate on the bigger picture.
Culture
Your management staff will instil your workplace culture of choice. If you’d like to take a more relaxed attitude to things like punctuality and dress-code, then it’s the responsibility to management to get everything across. But managers can also observe your business from the inside, providing a unique perspective that will ultimately help to shape your culture.
It’s managers who ultimately determine the direction taken by the business, and thus managers should be selected for their preferences when it comes to business philosophy, as well as their competence.
