Did you ever have the chance to babysit another child when you were younger? Babysitting was my first official job. I was paid fifty cents per hour to watch a child while keeping her safe and focused on healthy activities. That was before years of education and experience qualified me for greater things. Yet, as I travel the Midwest and speak with managers in my training and consulting practice, many supervisors and managers say they feel more like highly paid babysitters than managers.
They share the following reasons why they feel like babysitters: 1. keeping an eye on staff because they are not always working as hard as they should be; 2. refereeing when staff get into petty fights with other employees; 3. nagging employees to do work that is most important versus work that is easy; and 4. answering questions that staff should be able to figure out on their own. So, what is going on here? Why do some managers have these types of employees while other managers would never describe their employees in this way?
To begin answering this question, four additional questions need to be considered: To begin answering this question, four additional questions need to be considered:
- What type of person is being sought after from the job description? It is helpful to list not only the technical skills of a position but also the behavioral needs of the position. For instance, a fast food cashier might need to know how to operate a cash register and a fryer, but must also know how to work under pressure while serving customers with a great attitude. The last two descriptors, “working under pressure while serving with a great attitude,” need to be sought out in the recruitment and interview of candidates. Once they are hired these behaviors need to be evaluated in the formal evaluation process.
- Does each employee truly understand what is expected of them with tasks prioritized? Create a list of key responsibilities for each position under your watch, and make certain each person doing that task has the tools and training to feel competent and committed to those tasks. In addition, allowing each employee to measure their productivity by themselves in their key areas motivates them to stay on track. For instance, if providing customers a great experience is part of a cashier’s duties, why not have them keep track of how many customers leave the store smiling or laughing?
- As a supervisor are you recognizing the positive behaviors as much as the negative behaviors? Make certain you are celebrating the good behaviors so that your staff feels motivated to continue those good behaviors. What you focus on expands. If one of their duties is to create reports in a timely manner, compliment them in front of their peers at a staff meeting for their continued great performance in this area, and let them know how it makes your work and others’ work easier.
- Are you able to hold your staff accountable? One of the toughest jobs of leading others is holding them to the standards you expect of them. Many managers would rather have a root canal than correct an employee’s behavioral issue such as tattling on others. If their behavior has a negative impact on their co-workers’ productivity, they should be given the opportunity to correct that behavior or should be shown the door if that behavior persists. Some employees are great at the technical aspects of their job but need coaching with a behavioral issue like having the need to win all the time. You might want to consider hiring a coach for valued employees to see if the behavior changes.
Also, make sure your training processes include the multiple ways that adults learn, i.e., auditory, visual and hands on. Don’t assume that because another staff person trained your employees they will now perform flawlessly. Continue to direct them at the early stages of a task, and become a supportive coach as they gain confidence and commitment to their tasks. Many managers today think that telling employees what to do will lead to them being seen as micromanagers. In the early stages of learning a task, telling an employee what to do and when to do it will actually feel more supportive versus directive. An employee feels smothered when an employee masters a task and the manager continues to direct them. Being a manager means managing or telling your staff what to do when they are new to a task.
Make certain, as their leader, that you are not the main problem. Some supervisors thrive on being needed, so they create chaos amongst their staff by setting unclear expectations, by hiring anyone who can fog a mirror and by not holding their staff accountable. Yet by following the steps above you will move from babysitter to coach and mentor, and you and your employees might actually begin to enjoy your work (again).
