Business Savvy » Micro-Managing: Knowing when to Back Off

Micro-Managing: Knowing when to Back Off | Business Savvy

Jun 14 2007

Micro-Managing: Knowing when to Back Off

Published by Jennifer at 10:11 pm under Management Styles

Training periods and new project assignments can be stressful for both new and seasoned employees. The same is true for managers of the departments who have to oversee those projects or employee positions. What each manager needs to know is that there is a time to look over your employee’s shoulders, and there is a time to back off.

If you are a manager now you should try to think back when you used to be an employee and how you would react if someone were constantly watching you. Did you ever feel like your boss was unnecessarily hovering over you? You may have even thought it was insulting back then. Now, you would probably sympathize with the neurotic tendencies of you ex-supervisor, because you know what that person has to deal with.

However, it may be important for you to not want to repeat those same mistakes. Not becoming like managers of your past can be easier said than done, however. If you are a manager who has been stiffed by numerous employees it may be hard for you to trust people again. You may want to watch their every move and not let them out of your sight for one minute.

In addition, if you continue to watch every employee like a hawk, you will have quite a few frustrated employees who are talking behind your back. You won’t even know they are until one of them finally spills the beans, or the tension becomes so thick in your office someone quits on the spot.

For the first few days you may have to watch your employees closely to make sure they understand their job correctly. If they appear to be getting it, you will not have to worry. You can check on them less and less throughout the day as time goes on. Besides, you are the one that hired your employees. To trust your employees is to really trust yourselves.

If you truly do not feel you can trust an employee, then you may have to consider a few things. What type of hiring and recruitment program did you choose to pick your employees? Did you complete any background checks on the person, or check their personal references?

After considering that and you know you did all this, you will not have a problem trusting your employees. If you did not, you may have good reason not to trust the people you have hired, and you will know next time to choose new hires more carefully. The more thought you put into choosing employees that are reliable the less you will have to worry about once they are hired.

If you choose employees wisely they will be more likely to be reliable on the job, and capable of the job. If you choose capable employees, you will find that you do not have to look after them as often as you would have if you had not even checked their references beforehand.

Realize also that even the best employees can occasionally make costly mistakes. Mistakes on the job are not always something can be avoided. However, you can learn from them, and so can your best employees. As long as you trust your employees and you do not be too hard on honest hardworking people your firm will grow. Not only that, but your employees will respect you because you have confidence in them.

If you can see that your employees are catching on fairly quickly to what they are doing you will know that you have a good catch. You may not have to watch that person as closely. Not only that, but if you make it clear to your employees that it is okay for them to ask you for help, you will not have to check up on them as often.

One more thing you should realize to and that is that different employees have different comfort levels. Some employees work very well with little or no supervision. In fact, those employees often will find themselves not performing as well when being watched. This is very important for you to remember because although you need to check up on your employees once in awhile you may cause them not to perform as well if you check up on them too often.

Other employees work better if you check on them often, and seem to work better when you are in the room, and so forth. If you prefer one type of personality and work ethic to another, that would be something to consider in your hiring process.

If you are looking for advice on hiring new employees you may want to check in with various career centers. They often have free tools for you to use. You can also read more informative articles such as this one.