It’s no secret that making goals and then achieving those goals is what drives people forward and helps them achieve incredible things. But this isn’t just a personal endeavor—this is the way to give you an edge in your career and move your business to bigger and better things. The following goals are a great way to start moving forward as you strive to be the best workplace manager possible.
Communicate Effectively
An important goal for any workplace manager is to communicate effectively. Can you think of a time where miscommunication led to unnecessary problems? Effective communication makes the difference between getting what you want and getting something else. It’s as simple as remembering to ask for no pickles on your hamburger. Seems easy, right? Nope—it requires practice and conscious effort. Because communication in workplace management is so much more complicated than ordering a burger, sometimes you may still end up having to (figuratively) pick out the pickles.
Besides speaking clearly, giving enough information to your employees and helping them understand what you need is essential. There are some simple ways to practice communicating more effectively: Explain what you need, listen to your employees as they ask questions, answer questions to the best of your ability. What points were confusing to your employees? But remember that it works in the reverse when others come to you. Ask questions, listen to your employees, ask follow-up questions to make sure that you understand. Practice being positive in your communication to encourage your employees to communicate with you more. There are even software programs and apps that you can use to help facilitate better communication in the workplace.
Build Trust
Business is so much more than a mechanical machine with pieces manufactured to fit together perfectly. You work with things that are far more important (but far more complicated) than manufactured pieces. You work with people and big ideas. Sometimes the pieces that make up a business don’t fit together naturally. There are many different personalities, ideas, ways to approach problems, etc.
Trust is what fills in the space between the imperfect puzzle pieces and helps your business run, and it is impossible for your business to run without this trust. Your employees are the lifeblood of your company. You need to trust them to do their jobs. Likewise, they need to be able to trust you to treat them fairly. Effective communication is one way you do this. Following through with what you said is another. Trust is not something that is built overnight, but it is an essential goal for a workplace manager.
Increase Productivity
Workplace managers are already extremely busy people. How can one increase their productivity when they are already so busy? Increasing your productivity can come in many forms. You can work on your personal productivity by improving how you plan your time and planning ahead. You can ensure that you get enough food and breaks to stay at your peak performance. You can set goals and checkpoints to help keep you on track.
But don’t stop at your personal productivity. Increasing productivity extends to increasing productivity throughout your business. Help your employees to work more productively as well. Set goals as a business. Create an environment where your employees feel welcome and rejuvenated. Plan checkpoints for your business as you work together to move forward.
Create Efficiency
Alike to increasing productivity, there are often many little things you can do to help your business run more efficiently. Get creative as you work to increase the efficiency of your workplace. For example, if you are working in a manufacturing shop, consider investing in a self-dumping hopper. Self-dumping hoppers add efficiency to your workplace and help your shop floor stay clean.
Think of your employees as you strive for better efficiency. What will best help them work efficiently? What are their needs? What are the rusty gears in your company that keep your employees from being able to work more efficiently, and how can you clean off the rust?
Foster Inclusivity
As a workplace manager, one of your primary goals should be to create a culture of inclusivity for all of your employees. Get creative as you reach out to those who could be marginalized. Listen carefully to your employees if they come to you with concerns about the culture in the workplace. Be sensitive to culture differences that may cause misunderstandings, and mitigate those misunderstandings by learning more about your employees.
Learn about the strengths of each of your employees and learn to celebrate those strengths. This will help them feel welcome and appreciated, but also help them contribute the best they can to the company as a whole.
Understand your Business
Whether you are a founder, a manufacturer on the floor, or in marketing, there is always something that you can understand better about your business. As a workplace manager, it is even more essential that you understand every level of your business. Learn about your business’s clients and how your employees are filling their needs.
Keep Learning
Similar to understanding more about your company, learning about what you do in general can be a worthy goal that will help you be a better workplace manager. Seeking help is a fantastic way to keep learning. Find a business coach. Keep coming to articles like this one that help give you ideas of goals to work towards. Read books that can help you learn more about business. Another way to learn is to talk to others who are in similar positions to you. Take advantage of conferences that will help connect you with other people in your field.
Solve Problems
In the end, you are first and foremost a problem solver. Being a problem solver requires creativity and critical thinking skills. One of your goals as a workplace manager should be to develop those skills as you anticipate potential problems. Often, you solve problems before they ever come to your workplace. Look into the future to see what the potential problems are, and then create plans to avoid them. When problems do come, have a plan in place to deal with those problems.
In the end, your goal is to be the best workplace manager that you can be. Use these goals as guidelines to get you to that ultimate goal of serving your employees and business as best you can. It is not just the little things, but the big things that help you achieve the best workplace possible.
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