It’s never been easier to manage people resources for success. With so many new and better ways to track and manage people, it can be challenging to know how to best go about it. But with a little bit of wisdom, common sense, and a strong focus on results, you can manage your team’s success without falling into the trap of over-promising or under-delivering on expectations. In this blog post, we explore the top management tips for managing people resources for success. Read on for more information, or watch the video above for actionable steps you can take right now to optimize your organization’s productivity and effectiveness with people resources.
Learn the art of giving and receiving feedback.
One of the best ways to manage people resources for success is to find a mentor or peer who can help you learn the art of giving and receiving feedback. It’s essential to have a healthy work relationship, and it’s also crucial for individuals to regularly receive honest and constructive feedback. When you find someone who you trust to help you grow, they can both help you identify and address issues from the past so you can move forward stronger.
Distinguish between organizational goals and personal goals
As an organization grows, it’s natural to want to consider all of its teams’ goals together. But often, personal goals are at odds with organizational goals. To help avoid confusion and miscommunication, it’s best to clearly identify which teams’ goals are related to which others. If you’re unsure which team(s)’ goals you should be considering, ask yourself this question: “How would I feel if this were my team?” If you find that you’re feeling off, or that you have an issue with someone else on the team, it can be a good sign to share that information with the team and get some support from you all.
Communicate your organization’s culture clearly.
One of the best ways to communicate your organization’s culture clearly and to make sure people know where they should be focusing their energy is by posting it in an open-source resource like Github. You can also make use of tools like Slack and Trello to help keep everyone on the same page. While it’s always important to maintain a certain level of confidentiality around sensitive operations, you can also make a conscious decision to share some pieces of your organization’s culture with the world. You can create a visual representation of your culture using a tool like Canva or make a poster of your organization’s values and goals and hang it up in your office or team space.
Be proud of the employee engagement scorecard
One of the best ways to ensure your employees are satisfied with their work is to collect the feedback they’re willing to share. At the end of each day, survey your team members to see what they’d like to see from their employer. When you conduct these surveys, you don’t just want to get your employees’ feedback on the service they receive at your company. You want to get their thoughts on how they’re treated at home, what they enjoy, what they don’t like, and how they’d like things to change. This engagement data is critical to showing your team that you care and that you value their contributions. It can also help you identify areas for improvement so you can focus your efforts on driving positive change.
Use analytics to inform decision-making.
Another great way to help make sure people resources are being used as expected is to analyze data. When you know precisely how your team members are using their time, it’s easier to make adjustments so they’re not spending too much time on unproductive activities and are instead using their time more effectively. When it comes to employee engagement, it’s important to understand the context of each action taken by a team member. If you know that an engineer spent 80% of their time creating a new feature and 20% of their time testing it, you can make changes to their workload so they spend less time creating and more time testing.
Use an actionable plan to guide your strategy.
Another way to ensure that people resources are being used as intended is by following an actionable plan. Having a plan helps you identify what needs to be done next. It also prevents you from falling into the trap of promising more than you can realistically deliver. If you have a clear direction for people resources, you’ll know where your efforts are needed the most. A clear plan can help you identify what actions need to be taken next and in what order. It can also help you prioritize your efforts and set goals for the upcoming quarter so you can start working on them now.
Bottom line
People resources are essential to business success. With so many new and better ways to track and manage people, it can be challenging to know how to best go about it. But with a little bit of wisdom, common sense, and a strong focus on results, you can manage your team’s success without falling into the trap of over-promising or under-delivering on expectations.