How to Set Supervisors Up for Success

Research and experience consistently demonstrate that the #1 reason employees leave organizations, and the primary reason they join unions, is dissatisfaction with their immediate supervisor. Unhappy workers cannot possibly provide excellent products or services, which means the organization’s bottom line will suffer. To increase the likelihood of success in your business, make sure you can attract and retain good employers by investing in your supervisors.

Research in the 1980s revealed that there are specific behaviors that influence employees’ satisfaction with their supervisors. None of those behaviors – e.g., the extent to which supervisors listen to workers, the way they treat those who make mistakes, and the degree to which they follow through to ensure problems get solved – are rocket science. However, people who are promoted to supervisory positions without benefit of training, preparation, or support seldom are fully successful because they simply haven’t been given the opportunity to learn how to manage effectively.

Here are seven ways that you can set your supervisors up for success:

1. Provide realistic job previews during the selection process so candidates have an accurate picture of the position’s requirements.
2. Ensure the candidates are willing and able to do (or learn to do) the appropriate managerial tasks.
3. Once candidates are hired, set specific expectations of performance by clearly defining the required behaviors and results.
4. Provide the necessary training and professional development at the beginning and throughout the supervisors’ careers.
5. Help them make the transition from employee to boss.
6. Reinforce desired behaviors and results.
7. Help them pay special attention to the behaviors that influence employees’ satisfaction with their supervisors.

Providing this kind of support increases the likelihood that organizations will achieve their goals because they are able to attract and retain good employees. As the economy continues to improve, people will have more choices about where they work, especially those whose skills and abilities are highly valued. Supporting your supervisors so they can manage effectively will result in a huge return on the investment in their success.

To learn about additional behaviors that influence employees’ level of satisfaction with their supervisors, as well as how you can increase the likelihood of the supervisors’ success, take a look at our article How to Increase Employees’ Satisfaction with their Supervisors.

To find other articles and resources that may be of value to you, I invite you to visit my web site at www.BusinessAlignmentStrategies.com and my blog at www.OptimizeBusinessResults.com.

Alignment Solutions is a concise, bi-weekly newsletter written specifically to help organizational leaders optimize their business results. Your e-mail address is never shared with anyone for any reason. You may unsubscribe by clicking the link on the bottom of this e-mail.

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© 2013 Pat Lynch. All rights reserved.

Are You Measuring the Right Things?

What do your measures say about your organization’s priorities? Do they emphasize its activities and performance? Or do they demonstrate the value it provides to customers? The saying, “What gets measured gets done” is true: people pay attention to the things that are measured. Yet countless organizations metaphorically shoot themselves in the foot by measuring their activities or performance instead of the value they provide customers. Is yours one of them?

First let’s define the relevant terms. Activities are tasks such as attending meetings, interacting with customers and vendors, and taking training classes. Performance represents outputs – i.e., what happens when people – individually, as a team, or as an organization – carry out their assigned activities. Typical output indicators include the results of individual performance evaluations and customer satisfaction surveys, and the availability of a pool of qualified applicants. Outcome is the desired end result, the “big picture” to which the organization aspires, such as “bringing good things to life” (General Electric) or “successful self-sufficiency and well being for all” (Community Action Agency).

Next, ask yourself this question: “Do our stakeholders care most about our activities, our performance, or the outcome we can provide them?” Unless they are highly unusual, they won’t care at all about your activities, though some may pay attention to your performance. Instead, their focus is on the customer experience they expect from you.

Here are three benefits to utilizing outcome measures: (1) you grab stakeholders’ attention because you are addressing what matters to them; (2) your organization is able to demonstrate clearly the value it provides its customers; and (3) because your employees unmistakably can see what’s important, their efforts will be directed toward the desired outcome instead of concentrated solely on activities or outputs.

How do you identify outcome-oriented measures? Follow these three steps:

1. Identify a possible measure by asking, “How will our stakeholders know that we have done [insert action or result]?”
2. Determine whether that potential measure matters to them by asking, “Do they care?” If they do not, return to step #1. If they do, proceed to step #3.
3. Discover whether you truly have an outcome measure by asking, “So what?” If there is an answer, you aren’t there yet. Keep repeating “So what?” until there are no further answers. That result is your outcome measure.

For example, the Community Action Agency’s job is to oversee the implementation of various anti-poverty programs. Its stakeholders know the organization conducts job training programs because they see clients working (step 1). They care because the results show the programs are successful (step 2). So what? By helping people find work, the organization is contributing to the successful self-sufficiency and well-being of the community (step 3).

Please note: while activities and outputs are necessary and should be assessed, their measures are not sufficient to enable employees and stakeholders to remain focused on, and achieve, the end result. Keeping the big picture as the organization’s top priority requires outcome-based measures.

To find other articles and resources that may be of value to you, I invite you to visit my web site at www.BusinessAlignmentStrategies.com and my blog at www.OptimizeBusinessResults.com.

Alignment Solutions is a concise, bi-weekly newsletter written specifically to help organizational leaders optimize their business results. Your e-mail address is never shared with anyone for any reason. You may unsubscribe by clicking the link on the bottom of this e-mail.

Click here to Join Our Mailing List!

© 2013 Pat Lynch. All rights reserved.