People Management

• Managing people often translates into managing performance, and that includes encouraging the good performers just as much as improving poor performers.
• Ensure your staff and your business set SMART objectives (Specific, Measurable, Agreed, Realistic, Time-Based)
• Keep people focused on their objectives by reviewing them regularly at one to one or team meetings.
• If you are using an appraisal system to help you manage performance, remember that one meeting once a year is not enough. For best results follow it up with regular, ongoing, informal feedback.
• Take a genuine interest in employees training and development and ensure they understand why they need training and how it is going to help them and the business.
• When giving feedback ensure it is timely, specific and that the focus is on the behaviour of the person - do not attack their personality.
• Delegate to your staff - they expect it and will develop more in their role if you do.
• If you don’t delegate enough as "it's quicker to do it myself", this may provide a short term quick win for you, but you miss out on a much more beneficial longer term gain.
• When you delegate, you delegate responsibility not accountability so regularly follow up - you get what you inspect not what you expect.
• Great managers are not frightened to ask staff for feedback on their own skills as a manager – how else will you know where you can improve yourself?