First published on Wednesday, November 20, 2024
Last updated on Monday, November 25, 2024
Managing a team of people is no easy task. Whether it’s a team of 3 or 30, managers will face challenges. And to make matters worse, a large majority of leaders have not been provided with the necessary training to manage people effectively. However, that doesn’t mean your people management processes can’t be made simpler.
In this guide we offer advice and guidance on people management for leaders, managers, and business owners. Highlighting the importance of people management skills, how to implement these effectively and the benefit of a HR software for streamlining your processes.
What is people management?
It’s simple really. People management is the process of managing people.
From day-to-day activities like assigning tasks, communicating objectives, and resolving conflicts, to hiring new talent and conducting performance reviews .
Without proper people management processes, it can be difficult to oversee what each of your employees is doing within their roles but also prioritise their wellbeing and performance.
Importance of people management in a workplace
People management is important for many reasons. But its main purpose is to ensure a positive working environment for all employees. Contributing to employee engagement, performance and the overall success of a business.
A business with motivated employees and positive working relationships is more likely to experience healthy, manageable growth, overtime.
Key elements of people management
Whether you manage a small team or oversee the operations of a growing department, the following areas of people management apply to all:
Communication
Attracting and retaining talent
Complying with the law
Training and skills development of staff
Performance management
Workplace culture and employee wellbeing
Employee engagement
Diversity and inclusion
Essential people management skills for managers
To be a good manager, it is important to possess the skills required to implement and manage efficient people management processes.
These skills, also known as ‘soft skills’, are important for the success of both your team and the business:
Communication
Communication is one of, if not the, most important skill of a good manager. Good communication skills help to elevate almost every business process. From assigning tasks, to presenting ideas, and providing employees with feedback.
But effective communication doesn't just involve talking—It includes active listening.
A good manager will be able to listen to the thoughts, feelings, ideas, and feedback of their employees just as well as they can communicate their own requirements and needs.
Problem-solving
Where a problem arises, big or small, a manager should be able to step in. With the right approach a manager will put out the small fires before they escalate. Good problem-solving skills often come with experience, but it is possible to develop these with a thorough process for handling issues in the workplace.
Conflict management
With a boiling pot of opinions and personalities, conflicts in the workplace are sadly unavoidable. To make sure conflicts do not affect the wider business, managers should take charge.
Using conflict management skills to cool down heated situations. Often this can be as simple as identifying an issue and offering both parties an alternative solution.
Organisation
We've all claimed to possess good organisation skills, be it in an interview or in our CVs, but being organised at work is an essential element of effective people management.
Managers should have organised processes for delegating work, setting goals, managing time, and using calendars to keep everything in one place.
Modern digital solutions such as HR software, has made these processes much easier for managers in recent years.
Decision making
It takes a strong leader to make a final decision. A good manager will have the ability to move forward with a decision, taking accountability for its outcomes. Good decisions will ultimately lead to positive outcomes for the team and business, while bad decisions could hinder business growth.
Trust and honesty
To manage people well, you should be able to trust the talent you have hired. Putting faith into their skills and their knowledge. A manager who lacks trust in their employees will often fall into bad habits, such as micromanaging. Which inevitably impacts workplace culture and employee relationships.
If you need any training on the people management skills mentioned above, our HR software comes with a built-in learning management system—packed with essential e-learning courses for managers and employees.
Tips for managing people
To manage people in the most effective way at work, you can use your soft skills to implement these practices into the everyday running of the business:
Delegate and communicate tasks effectively
With effective communication skills, you will manage your team’s tasks and workloads. Making sure everyone is aware of their expectations, deadlines, and priorities. With each employee aware of what is expected of them day-to-day, you will notice an increase in employee engagement and output.
Provide regular feedback
With completed work ticked off, you can provide regular feedback. Employee recognition makes a big difference to the motivation and engagement of an employee within their role.
However, people management should also include procedures for employees to provide feedback too. Open and honest communication from both sides allows for a safe and friendly working environment to form. One-to-one meetings or performance reviews are excellent tools for receiving and providing feedback.
Offer unique goals and objectives for each employee
Efficient managers will utilise procedures such as one-to-one meetings and performance reviews (or staff appraisals) to set goals and objectives. By doing so, you will provide each of your direct reports with clear pathways for progression. Offering actionable steps for them to improve their workplace performance and develop their career.
Not only will this step support the growth and success of the business, but these meetings will allow you to get to know your employees better too.
Organise workplace processes
For every minute spent organizing, an hour is earned.
Proper organisation of your team will save you time and the business money. Organised people management guarantees structure and higher levels of productivity. Helping to avoid administration errors, workplace conflicts, and a lack of knowledge sharing.
Wise business leaders will utilise every resource available. Including HR software platforms to streamline operations and simplify the organisation of processes.
Recognise and praise high performing employees
People management not only includes the role of delegating and overseeing, but it also provides opportunities for recognition and praise. Staff who are regularly achieving or exceeding their targets should be praised to keep up employee morale and increase engagement and retention. Afterall, you don’t want to lose your high performers!
How to manage difficult employees
No two people are the same. So, while you may be blessed with a team of overachievers, it’s not uncommon to come across difficult characters. People who are difficult to manage or who display poor work ethic.
Sometimes the solution for this is to find tactics to help you manage difficult employees before they become a problem for the company.
Often people are not acting in this way just because. There will be a root cause for their behaviour or responses. The first step in managing a difficult employee is to communicate effectively and fairly.
For example, by holding a one-to-one meeting with the employee to discuss:
What the issue is
How it may be affecting others on the team
What their perspective is on the situation
Learn what the cause of the behaviour may be
How you may be able to provide support
Explain the potential outcomes of the situation if the behaviour continues (such as informal or formal warnings).
By undertaking these steps, you may notice a significant change in the employee. However, if they continue to be difficult to manage and work with, escalating this issue further is the next step.
With the right processes in place, managing different types of people will become easier. Even those who cause conflicts or don’t follow instructions.
Enhance your business processes with people management software
Your employees are your biggest asset, so it’s essential that they are managed efficiently.
Armed with a human resource management system, you can support every employee with the digital solutions to streamline your processes and optimise the output of your team.
Our BrightHR software and mobile app has been designed with many excellent features to help you structure, organise, and manage your employees in the best way.
Unplanned absences and lateness tracking
Discover these features and many more expert tools to streamline your people management when you book a free demo today.
You can also call us on 1 300 029 198 to speak to a member of our friendly team.
