| |
| |
|
Management Information |
|
|
|
Partnering for Performance
"The difference between a boss and a leader: a boss says, 'Go!' - a leader says, 'Let's go!'" -E. M. Kelly * Are you a boss or a leader? * Do your employees see you as part of the team or as looking over it? * How would your team members define your management style? I ask these questions as a challenge, and offer the opportunity to take a look at your manager/team member relationships. Merriam-Webster states that a boss is someone who exercises control or supervision; someone who dictates policies. A leader is someone who guides or directs operations, activities, or performance; someone who goes at the head or goes first. Now think about the bigger picture - how your management style affects your direct reports and Call Center team. Which person are employees more likely to trust, go to with problems and concerns, or listen to? I'm guessing that you, as well as your team members would be more likely to approach a leader. Although there are times when a manager must exercise authority, on a day-to-day basis a leadership approach will foster a team feeling and eliminate the "us versus them" perception often associated with the manager/subordinate relationship. The relationships you develop with your direct reports can make or break the success of your team. Developing solid relationships with your employees creates an environment of teamwork, productivity and success. This environment encourages feedback for improvement. Performance issues and areas of opportunity and achievement are no longer an uphill battle, but rather an effort between partners. This is referred to as "Partnering for Performance". What is Partnering for Performance? A partner is someone who participates in a relationship in which each member has equal status. The partnership for performance focuses on the actions of manager and team member for successful achievement of workplace goals. These goals can be related to areas such as improved quality, efficiency, or even ongoing career development. As partners, both manager and employee work together to create the solutions. Partnering for performance is centered on building relationships and allows managers to create a relationship with your subordinate that harvests success. Communication is one of the key elements to building relationships and tools for building relationships through communication may be easier than you might think. Communicate to Foster Relationships * Ask questions and get to know your team members * Show interest in their personal and professional success * Verbally recognize performance and achievements (Be Specific) * Listen to the employee * Set expectations for your team members * Ask your team members their expectations of you as their leader * Discuss how you will support team members in their performance, and what you expect in return * Conduct regular one-on-one meetings to discuss performance, successes and future direction * Set goals together * Agree upon what both partners will do to achieve those goals What Partnering for Performance is NOT Partnering for performance is not placing individuals on an action plan or performance improvement plan. Although these plans are components of management and necessary tools, without an established relationship you may meet resistance or be unsuccessful when enforcing them. Managers cannot create relationships with employees if the only conversations between them occur when there are problems or issues. When partnering for performance, it is counter productive to deliver directives such as telling someone what they will do to solve the problem. Instead, a manager who is a partner would ask what he could do to help, what the employee's thoughts are for solving the problem, or what they think the next steps should be. Benefits of Partnering for Performance The benefits are extensive. The partner relationship: * Creates accountability for the team member as well as the manager. * Defines responsibilities in the improvement or development processes. * Establishes trust. * Invites two-way dialog. * Develops approachability for the manager. * Involves the employee in their development path. The message partnership sends is "I am on your side." "We are on the same team." and "We will work together to accomplish our goals." When a Partnering Does Not Exist Managers who do not create a partnership often encounter resistance to coaching. More often than not, there will be an attitude of "us & them" toward management. The environment will look like a disconnected group of individuals working together rather than a team. The manager who does not build the partnership with their team members also may be perceived as unapproachable, which creates a dangerous territory. Team members will not feel comfortable discussing career goals, bringing up work environment issues, or makings suggestions and that negatively affects the work experience. Finally, this manager will be revered only as a boss rather than a leader. Reaping the Benefits In Call Centers, managers often spend 90% of their time dealing with the most challenging employees. Mangers work to improve performance, attendance, and overall productivity, but the risk taken in focusing too much time on low performers is neglecting high performers or even steady performers. Like a snowball effect, the top performer may resent your neglect and cease to perform up to what has become expected. It is imperative for the manager to help low performers improve, encourage steady performers to become high performers, and inspire high performers to maintain their standards. One way of juggling all these tasks is to partner for performance. As a team leader, your job responsibilities include evaluating your team's performance and taking action based on that performance. A performance partner identifies employees on three levels (high performers, steady performers, and low performers) and determines a course of action to raise the bar performance standards. By partnering for performance you can sustain the high productivity of top performers and develop your steady performing team members into top performers. Top performers ? Approach them about their success. ? Learn what they do well and share it with team members who are not as efficient. ? Discuss where they would like to go in their career. ? Ask their overall career goals and help them acquire the skills they need to move forward. ? Partner with them to make a plan for their ongoing development. Steady performers ? Acknowledge them for their ability to meet goals. ? Learn what they do well too. ? Provide them with the necessary support to exceed performance goals. ? Ask about their career interests and determine what skills they will need to acquire. ? Partner with them and establish a plan for continued development. Low performers ? Continue to work with them to improve their skills. ? Determine if the obstacles to their success are related to SKILL or WILL (Is there more knowledge they need to succeed or more motivation?) ? Establish if they need more knowledge or motivation to succeed. ? Partner with them to plan for their improvement in skills. Partnering for Performance is a tool like any other in the manager's tool box. It is a philosophy for success. Building relationships, commitments and productivity are the tangible rewards of the partner relationship. Partnering for performance is a worthwhile challenge that enables you to become a team leader. Go out there, partner for performance, and say "let's go!" Watch and see how many people will follow! About the Author Jenny Kerwin is a writer and member of http://www.CallCenterCafe.com Members of http://www.CallCenterCafe.com have access to articles like Partnering for Performance and materials related to Call Center Management, Training, Human Resources and Quality. The Café is full of resources for Call Center Professionals including a staff waiting to answer your questions. Take a 15 day test drive starting today.
MORE RESOURCES:
Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Are You Measuring Something Meaningful? Avoiding inert measures that anaesthetise your performance management.INTRODUCTIONYou sit before the monthly report, which might be an inch or so thick, and you contemplate whether it's the best use of your time to paw through the pages to check if there's anything useful in there for you. Customer Focus - Just 5 SimpleThings You Need to Think About You can boil down the difference between successful businesses and the rest in how they work with their customers, in just five areas.So, what does this mean? What They WantSelling what your customers really want is just critical. Is Your Business A Dysfunctional Family? The other day I brought my mother into an appliance store to purchase a television. By the time we left with her new television, she was completely disgusted. Supervisor-Employee Relations: Tips For Managers Supervisor-employee relations are a critical part of a work place atmosphere and promoting productivity and cohesiveness. The following tips address these issues:1. Profits and Business Success - 5 Profit Traps to Watch Out For The old saying 'You have to spend money to make money' can be a dangerous one. Every business has it's costs, but not every business owner takes the time to distinguish between what is an essential expense, and what is a 'nice to have' expense. Dialogue: the Four Dialogic Principles For Successful Communication "But you don't understand!" exclaimed the manager, "this new initiative is vital for our team. If it doesn't work we could all be out of a job!" "Uh-huh. Toxic Bosses What's everyone's favorite topic around the water cooler? Bad bosses! You know, the ones who make life in the office unbearable? Here are some of the more common varieties you'll find.1. Nine Vital Lessons For Avoiding Training Fads That Waste Time, Money and Enthusiasm Unfortunately, at least two thirds of much of the training and development effort undertaken by organisations to develop their people is wasted.This is such as shame isn't it? Waste of money is bad enough but even more serious is the waste of human energy and enthusiasm. Managing Motivation "Without the chance to meaningfully participate in steering one's own destiny, without the opportunity to gain the sincere respect of one's own peers, without an honest stake in making the community more successful through one's own work and ideas, employability can quickly decay into generic training programs or bogus choices.. 3 Steps You Can Use Developing Leaders In Your Industry With the economy bordering on a recession, every company is looking for ways to increase revenues while decreasing costs. Some companies believe one of the easiest ways to do this is to cut their employee training budget. Employee Discipline: How to Nip Problems in the Bud Are you uncomfortable with delivering disciplinary action, even involving employees you know deserve it? You're not alone. Disciplinary action is one of the least favored tasks a supervisor must occasionally perform. Performance Evaluation: How To Create Change STEPS TOWARDS GIVING A GOOD APPRAISAL INTERVIEW: Give specific feedback. Statements such as, "You're doing a good job" and "You'd better shape up" are almost without value unless accompanied by specific feedback on what the employee is to continue doing or to stop doing. Building Trust in Your Business Relationships - 10 Steps There are some simple things you can do with your people to ensure that they start to trust you. As a letter from Mike Emmott of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development in the UK says, in April 2005's UK Management Today says:-"Our surveys show that only one in four employees trust senior management to look after their interests"Is that not appalling? How on earth can businesses develop, survive and above all hang onto their best people if they are seen to be untrustworthy?It's horrible. Is Your Company in Need of Family Therapy? How Companies Are Like FamiliesLike a family, a company is a group of people who have an ongoing relationship with one another. Companies have several things in common with families:1. Building the Trust in Your Employees - 12 Easy Tips In Stephen Covey's great book, "The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People", he talks about the 'emotional bank account', where you have to build a credit in your relationship with the individuals who you work with (and everyone else as well!).If what you do isn't 'trustworthy', then all you have done in your gentle listening and asking great and interested questions to build, is to 'debit' your account. A Rare Leadership Skill: Dealing With People Who Want Out By Offering Crowns For Convoy As a leader, you'll inevitably be faced with people wanting to leave your team or organization. Dealing with the challenge is critical for your leadership success. What One Thing? A few weeks ago I asked my readers what the most important issue was in their business. Hundreds responded with a variety of answers, but one of the most common was, "How do I get everything that needs doing done?" Happily, I have an answer for this question, but like many things in life, it carries both good news and bad news. 6 Steps to Effective Communication Effective leaders are known for being excellent communicators. Here's what to do. Choices in Appointing International Managers Globalization is requiring companies to make important choices about how to deploy international managers. The costs of making the wrong choice are heavy both economically and in the emotional and physical toll it can take on employees and the impact it can have on the overseas branch. Safety Policy Sample Outline Writing a safety manual is a tough job and most larger corporations outsource such jobs or they have someone on staff with the proper credentials in risk management. Imagine writing the safety manuals for NASA? I had the opportunity to be in the unique position of being able to imagine just such a thing when writing our company safety manuals.
|
| home | site map |
| © 2006 |
