Babysitting at Work? Sound Familiar?

Julie Shenkman
Posted by in Management & Business


Do you ever feel like you are babysitting at work? Your 2 year old at home is well mannered than this! It is time to scream, but you have to maintain your cool because you are the manager or the owner. Respect is lost, motivation is lost, and no one cares. You figure that the business will fall apart in about a year if things keep going the way they are. You have no control and you don’t seem to care anymore. How do you handle it? You are so far gone with a headache that you are engulfed in stress and blind to the next step.

Ever feel like this? If you are a manager or a small business owner, I bet you have at one point or another. The answers and solutions are easily at your fingertips. Tools are available and free advice does exist. The question really is, are you willing to deal with the problems?

Simple solutions are available. It is time to get back to the basics. Communication. Sounds simple, but it can be complicated. It is a matter of having a format and a conversation that sets the expectations and yet involves the employee in the meeting. You need to engage the team in order to succeed. In doing this, create a format that covers what you need to cover but also creates a team building event.

A simple suggestion for a team building event would be to create a vision for your team. It doesn't matter how large or small your company or department is. A vision can link into corporate values just as much as it can to set the bar for a small business. Take your goals and plug them into a simple sentence or two that everyone's voice is included. Gather information on what the team wants to do to improve and grow. Write it on a flipchart and then create the vision that includes these ideals. Print it and post it in the employee break room to give a constant reminder that they are part of a team!

Expectations. Have they been set? Do you ensure that you effectively communicate? It may sound simple enough, but the work can become frustrating if not implemented effectively and efficiently. Expectations should be set forth at first day of employment. It can be part of the new hire checklist. If time has gone by and expectations were not officially set from the beginning, don't fret, as they can easily be set now. The recommended way to do this is to have a regular coaching session with an employee. Once a month would be sufficient enough, but some people choose once a quarter. You would need to choose what you prefer based on employee issues and time constraints.

Create a format for this meeting. Ask the employee to bring their own evaluation to the meeting with positives and areas of improvement. Openly communicate with them and ask them for their own solutions to resolving any area of improvement. Empathize and support them along with adding your own suggestions. Most importantly, ask them for input about how you are doing. This will allow the employee to voice their opinion in an atmosphere that they feel comfortable to talk. Take this information seriously as you will find out your own strengths and weaknesses as viewed by your team.

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