| |
| |
|
Management Information |
|
|
|
Top 7 Methods to Empower Employees
How many times have you asked someone to do something like "draw up a plan for such and such project"? Your employee completes the plan, but then you say, "That is not what I wanted" or "That is not how you do it". And so the employee thinks: you didn't tell me exactly how you wanted it done. If you find yourself having back and forth misunderstandings with your employees, then you might have a communication problem. And this could be creating bad feelings, low morale and inefficiencies. To remedy this, perhaps it's time you thought about creating a Policies and Procedures Manual. Let's look at 7 methods to strengthen communication and performance. 1. Implement Effective Policies and Procedures A Policies and Procedures Manual is a communication tool designed to empower employers, managers and employees with a consistent approach to accomplishing their daily tasks. It provides a set of policies, plans, reports, forms, and work routines that convey the pulse of the organization. A properly developed manual focuses your everyday business communications between employees and management on what is really important to get the job done. This focus is the first step in empowering your employees. Empowerment requires a shared vision, the communication of necessary information and adequate training. 2. Convey Management Policy and Vision A manual should be used to communicate both corporate policies and the appropriate procedures for implementation of the policy in a combined style format. If employees know the vision, then they feel confident to make decisions. Keep in mind, though, policies should not be confused with procedures. Policy - A definite course or method of action to guide and determine present and future decisions. A policy is a guide to decision-making under a given set of circumstances within the framework of corporate objectives, goals and management philosophies. Procedure - A particular way of accomplishing something, or an established way of doing things. A procedure is a series of steps followed in a definite regular order that ensure the consistent and repetitive approach to actions. 3. Improve Communications and Efficiently Run Operations A manual serves to translate the company's business philosophies and desires into action. A well-designed manual is an invaluable communication tool for efficiently running operations within departments and bridging the gap between interrelated departments. If a department has specific information that it requires to process a task, then this information is easily captured in a form that accompanies the task. In business forms are commonplace, acting as a guide for such things as purchase orders, employment applications or asset requisitions. 4. Reduce Business Process Training Time A policies and procedures manual is a functional guide for training new and existing employees. It prevents difficulties in performing duties due to lack of understanding or inconsistent approaches from personnel changes. And it will assist you in developing a consistent method in handling any task. 5. Improve Productivity and Decision Making Policies and procedures speed up employee decision making by having a handy, authoritative source for answering questions. Well-developed and documented manuals can ensure compliance with regulatory agencies affecting your business, including the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), Food and Drug Administration (FDA), government contracting authorities and independent certification organizations (i.e. ISO). 6. Strengthen Organization and Quality A comprehensive manual covering all departments within an organization can become a "quality" manual for the whole company. This will help ensure optimal operations and consistent delivery of the finest in product or service from the company. It will "empower" employees to make decisions independently without the need or time delays of involving various levels of management. A well thought out manual will enable just about everyone in the organization the ability and flexibility to make the right decisions in his or her job responsibilities. For example, a customer service representative should be able to handle a customer's problem and have the authority to resolve the problem right on the spot. In addition, a production team should be able to diagnose a quality problem and formulate and resolve the problem in conjunction with engineering without having to go through various channels up and down the corporate ladder. 7. Meet Objectives with Policies and Procedures Manual The goal of the policies and procedures manual is to identify the ways and means of communicating, as well as getting the service performed or the product manufactured at the least cost in the minimal amount of time. Not only will it be used to empower the organization, but it will have the added benefit of increasing job satisfaction and employee morale. Chris Anderson is the managing director of Bizmanualz, Inc. and co-author of policies and procedures manuals, producing the layout, process design and implementation to increase performance. To learn how to increase performance, visit: Bizmanualz, Inc.
MORE RESOURCES:
Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Can Your Corporate Policy Pass the Monkeys, Bananas, and Water-spray Experiment? Five monkeys were placed in a cage. A banana was hung on a string and a ladder was placed below it. Training Adults, Not Teaching Children Adults are vulnerable to personal and professional embarrassment from poor performance in the training program. Poor performance in the classroom may become the basis for personnel decisions by supervisors or the source of ridicule by peers. Results of Poor Cross Cultural Awareness Results of Poor Cross Cultural Awareness. Having a poor understanding of the influence of cross cultural differences in areas such as management, PR, advertising and negotiations can eventually lead to blunders that can have damaging consequences. Great Employees = Passionate Consumers Companies spend millions of dollars each year identifying their brand, and then communicating their brand promise through various media.Employees are the primary "media" in the majority of brand contacts. 7 Essential Elements To Every Organizational Change [This article is based on excerpts from the special report "Overcoming Resistance to Change" by Dr. Mike Beitler. Human Resources: The Misidentified Subject Interest in the field of human resources has exploded in recent years due to the promises it offers for a better understanding of human beings at work. The term is now as ubiquitous as it has once been obscure. Service Level Agreement (SLA) Boot Camp Service Level Agreements, or "SLA's" are tricky but useful mechanisms for managing the risk of an on-going relationship with IT service providers. Unfortunately, most SLA's that show up in service contracts as worthless, cosmetic paper additions. The Comfort Zone The Comfort Zone I have a friend named Gene, a serial entrepreneur who currently runs a software business. Like many people, last year was a tough one for his company. Time Management - How to Have Productive Meetings One of the greatest time wasters of all are unnecessary or poorly run meetings. If you want to dramatically improve your time management skills, then learn how to have productive meetings. Narcissism in the Boardroom The perpetrators of the recent spate of financial frauds in the USA acted with callous disregard for both their employees and shareholders - not to mention other stakeholders. Psychologists have often remote-diagnosed them as "malignant, pathological narcissists". Communicating Effectively In The Workplace: Four Vital Steps Ineffective communication is a major, yet avoidable, obstacle to business productivity. And yes, it can be avoided. Terrible Meetings - Ten Ways to Spot Them! Sometimes, better than giving advice about how to run things well, it can be useful to have a hit list to notice to help you identify when things are less than productive. Meetings can be hugely productive, especially if you keep a sharp eye out for these Ten things:-No AgendaWhen there is no agenda, there is no opportunity to prepare, no framework for the meeting and no purpose. Ten Secrets of Super Successful Meeting Planners Whoever said that being a meeting planner was easy, lied! Rather, it should be classified under the tough and demanding job category. But, along with being tough, it's also fun, exciting, exhilarating, stimulating, and never, never boring. The Challenges of Human Resource Management IntroductionThe role of the Human Resource Manager is evolving with the change in competitive market environment and the realization that Human Resource Management must play a more strategic role in the success of an organization. Organizations that do not put their emphasis on attracting and retaining talents may find themselves in dire consequences, as their competitors may be outplaying them in the strategic employment of their human resources. Five Principles of Effective Communication The problem with communication is the illusion that it has occurred. George Bernard ShawI'm sure this has happened to you: a colleague has just done the exact opposite of what you wanted him to do. Focus and Shoot One of my earliest childhood memories is watching Lew Alcindor (Kareem Abdul-Jabbar) win his third Most Outstanding Player award while leading UCLA to its third straight NCAA title in 1969. Of course, March Madness? is now ingrained in our sports psyche. Innovation Management - IBM Opens Lid On Its Treasure Chest IBM, which registered 3248 patents last year, has decided that sharing technology can sometimes be more profitable than jealously guarding its property rights on patents, copyrights and trade secrets (Herald Tribune, April 11 2005).International Business Machines have come to the above conclusion 205 years after the invention of electric light - thus clearly illustrating that even the 19th largest company in the world (fortune. A Fast and Simple Way to Update Your Business You open your computer, the flashing button says, "We have a new update for your software program. Do you wish to update now or later?" You choose the Update Now button and immediately your computer begins to download a new version of the software program. Getting Information From Prospects You're at a networking function and you've made that all-important contact. You want to get help from this individual but you know that you need to start working on building a relationship with them first. ISO 9001 2000, Getting Started on The Route To Registration ISO 9001 2000, Getting startedBefore starting the ISO 9001 2000 route to registration you will need to have the top management on board. This can be achieved by highlighting to top management the cost benefits to the business of ISO 9001 2000 registration.
|
| home | site map |
| © 2006 |
