6 Skills for Effective Employee Management

Whether you manage a small departmental team or head a large corporation, people management skills are a vital component for success. Leadership and management skills include everything from excellent communication to a positive attitude. We’ve outlined the six most important skills for employee performance management below.

1. Communication

Perhaps unsurprisingly, communication is at the top of the list. You simply cannot manage a team without being able to communicate objectives, processes, and strategy. Corporate communication involves speaking and listening, but you should also have strong writing skills to draw up procedural reports. Your goal as manager is to help each member of the team complete their short and long-term tasks in the most effective way possible.

Excellent communication includes:

• Affability

• Persuasion

• Clarity

• Attentiveness

You must know what you need to say, and how to say it in order to convey your business’s strategy in the most concise way possible.

2. Problem-solving

Another fundamental aspect of employee management is the ability to solve problems. Problem-solving skills come in handy when the unexpected happens and your team turns to you for assistance. If you’ve been in business for any time at all, you know that all manner of things can happen to derail a project, whether it’s supply chain breakdown or new government legislation. You’ll need to think on your feet and show natural leadership to get your team back on track.

On a day-to-day basis, employee performance management involves basic problem-solving skills like scheduling, inventory management, and HR issues. You’ll need to pay attention to details both great and small with a proactive attitude.

3. Organisation

Today’s managers wear many hats, from managing budgets to setting deadlines and delegating everyday tasks to their team. To tackle all of these different moving parts, you’ll need to be an expert in organisation. Employee management software is quite useful for coordinating team members and schedules. You can schedule alerts, keep track of calendars, and plan meetings all using team management tools.

4. Goal setting

Another part of employee performance management is the ability to set goals. Try getting team members involved in goal setting, making them feel a part of the organisation. To help set appropriate objectives, you should think about things like your overall strategy and company mission statement. Don’t be afraid to set lofty goals to challenge your employees, but at the same time you should include short-term, achievable benchmarks to keep them motivated.

5. Positive motivation

This skill is key for employee engagement. Teams perform at their best when there’s a positive atmosphere in the workplace, and much of this is down to management style. As a manager, you must be supportive and empathetic, with a high emotional intelligence and positive attitude towards your own tasks. Employees that feel seen and heard are more likely to work hard towards organisational goals.

Give credit where it’s due with proper employee recognition. Think about implementing merit-based compensation and other performance rewards. However, even in the absence of materials rewards a simple thank you works wonders in building motivation.

6. Decision-making

Finally, don’t be afraid to lead. A good manager makes even the hardest decisions, which builds trust amongst their employees. Your decision will have a direct impact on your team or project, so be sure to weigh all factors into each choice you make. The right course of action might not always be the most popular, but you must build confidence and stick to your guns.

Tips for developing people management skills

If you’re not currently ticking all the boxes on this list, don’t despair. As a manager, you should be constantly working on your leadership and management skills. Take your skills to the next level with the following practices:

• Take an inventory of your current employee management skills, strengths, and weaknesses.

• Ask for feedback from your team members.

• Set goals for professional development.

• Learn a new employee management software

• Sign up for a management training course.

• Seek out mentorship opportunities

• Put your skills into use with future projects.

By working on your own leadership and management skills, you’ll be more effective when guiding your team to success.

We can help

GoCardless helps you automate payment collection, cutting down on the amount of admin your team needs to deal with when chasing invoices. Find out how GoCardless can help you with ad hoc payments or recurring payments.