You have probably heard the phrase “I hate my manager!” at some time in your life (or even said it yourself). While we have all had bosses we didn’t like, we should not be the cause of that statement as a manager. "Managing people is complicated and takes hard work. There is a lot to consider about co-workers when they each have different personalities and values," said Penny Milburn, Head of Customer Success at Data Center Systems. "Observing, learning, and caring about their values, personality, strengths, and weaknesses, can save you both a lot of frustration."
Have you ever hired someone who started out with a great work ethic but a year later they are doing the least amount required to complete their job duties? It can be disheartening for a manager to realize a co-worker has not lived up to their expectations. It can be equally disheartening for an employee to realize that their manager does not appreciate them, listen to them, or value them. Misunderstandings between co-workers and their bosses can lead to a loss of passion and enthusiasm.
Below, you will find Ms. Milburn's tools to prevent misunderstandings with new hires:
- Provide a Company Overview: Describe how the organization creates value – explain how that value contributes to customer success and why doing that creates passion and enthusiasm for the company.
- Define the Role: Specify the employee's responsibilities and explain how they create value for the organization. Explain in detail why they were hired using specifics about their strengths, knowledge base, or experience shows the new hire that you see what they have to offer and what they have accomplished.
- Establish Responsibilities: Specify the employee's internal and external customers. Show them that serving their internal and external customers provides expectations of other co-workers and departments, as well as customers on how the job is to be done.
- Set Goals: Start out by setting annual goals with quarterly reviews of those goals which include feedback on performance to set the tone for success. The goals are specific and achievable. Showing enthusiasm for another’s growth is showing value for them as a person and grows into a value for the organization.
- Get To Know the New Hire: Spend time with the new employee to learn their personality, their values, how they like to be appreciated, and their strengths.
- Introduce Yourself: Share your leadership philosophy with them, your values, as well as the culture of the company and its core values.
- Provide Expectations: Explain the method of communication that works best for you, the department(s), co-workers, etc. Try to find out their triggers so you can use emotional intelligence to avoid conflict.
"It doesn’t take much time to get to know someone and let them learn about you in the process," says Milburn. "You, as the manager, set the tone for their area of the company. While first impressions are important, we would all rather be remembered as someone that not only cared for and respected them but helped them learn and grow both personally and professionally."
