What is the most important responsibility of a manager? That is difficult to answer, since managers have so many of them. They are responsible for planning, organizing, controlling, coordinating, and decision making. By definition, all managers are factotums that wear many hats. They even have their own philosophy.
Management philosophy is generally defined as a set of beliefs that are used by a manger to guide his decision-making process. But toward what end? The goal of a manager is to always strive for continuous improvement. That means getting the most out of his employees each and every day. A good manager will create and promote a pleasant work environment that is nonetheless highly competitive. He must be understanding and approachable, but he cannot let his employees take advantage of him, or business will suffer.
How does he do this?
Probably the best way to motivate employees is to give them positive feedback as often as possible. Many managers make the mistake of only talking to their employees when they reprimand them. This is not a helpful or productive way to operate. Workers are far more likely to feel like a part of a team and to work harder if their efforts are acknowledged.
It is also important to deal fairly with employees. This is harder than most managers think. Dealing fairly with your staff does not only include personal interactions, it involves planning, organizing, and coordinating. What do we mean?
Let’s say, for example, that a worker calls in sick. What does the average manager do? He contacts the workers that are off that day and asks one of them to come in. Even if the employee doesn’t want to work, the manager may ask for a favor that he is in no a position to deny. This often leads to resentment against managers and workers who have habit of calling in sick. Employee scheduling software can help.
What is it?
It is astonishing to us that in the electronic age some managers still rely on antiquated time clocks and erasable boards to help them plan and keep track of their employees’ schedules. Neither device can help a manager improve efficiency or worker morale. Online employee scheduling software, on the other hand, can help him save time, improve output, and reduce labor costs.
A manager who works for a company that schedules by shift must make weekly schedules that let employees know when they will be working. Online employee scheduling software is as easy to use as an Excel spreadsheet. There is no reprogramming or erasing when changes must be made. All the manger has to do to change a schedule is click on any shift and alter the start and end times of the assigned worker. Once the new schedule is published, notifications are automatically sent out via email and/or text message to all employees affected by the change. This simple feature means that managers no longer have to waste time calling each worker and apprising them of alterations.
But that’s not all. Employee scheduling software online also helps managers find replacements when someone calls in sick. Instead of calling up every worker who has off and begging them to come in, often against their will, the program automatically identifies employees who prefer to work at the given time.
Employee scheduling software online can help any manager cut costs, improve productivity, and boost worker morale.
