I am worried that Your FLOCK will take away the job of the manager?

Posted July 24, 2020

In Blog, Company Culture, Employee Engagement, FAQs

We promise it won’t…

Computers systems from the beginning of this century have been a cause for concern for some. So were the machines of the industrial revolution before this. So were tools made for spinning cloth. And perhaps even animals that were used in fields before this.

Who knows how far back this fear goes. But each time technologies are created – they create more jobs, not less for human beings. This includes in the modern world of managers.

TEAM LEADERS AND MANAGERS.

Many managers know they don’t have enough time to manage people effectively in this new world of work. One of the reasons for this might be that:

“At least 23 hours per week senior managers – is spent in meetings”. (Source: DocuSign)

In fact, between 1960 and 1980, the amount of time executives spent in meetings doubled, as confirmed by time management studies and statistics. Unnecessary meetings waste a lot of time. This time eats into managers time. The times they should be doing the managing or even better leading of the team. As managers are responsible for ensuring their team is motivated, supported, and performing well. This is no mean feat, as there is a delicate balance between supporting staff and micromanaging them.

Unfortunately, managers are often not performing in the way they should, as one of the main reasons employees resign is a lack of support from managers and changes in management.

In addition, managers are not spending sufficient time developing employees; they are distracted with admin, meetings, and other day-to-day activities. And one of the reasons for this might be the shocking statistic that:

“Only 18% of people have a proper time management system.”

Which means the other 82% of people either make a list by hand or do nothing at all to properly manage their time. That means that the vast majority of the population is not living up to their full level of efficiency.

TIME EFFICIENCY AND EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE

Not being efficient with time might be ok for all of us, employees or business owners but for managers this becomes a real problem. And one which Your FLOCK with our team engagement platform CANNOT solve.

But what we can help with is getting employee engagement levels up and getting employee feedback to managers so they can do their jobs more efficiently.

One of those jobs is being emotionally intelligent.

As if employees are drowning in work—and 70% of them feel like they are, according to research by Tiny Pule and feedback from our employee engagement surveys — managers need to be understanding. And have emotional intelligence.

Emotionally intelligent managers know that people need to feel cared for and valued — people are happiest when they are learning, working on challenging projects, given room to make decisions and encouraged to use their judgement to do their job.

Managers need to be able to put themselves into their staff’s shoes and imagine what it’s like to do their jobs.So if you are hiring look for managerial candidates who understand the importance of empathy.

“When managers don’t listen to their employees and understand where they are coming from, bad things like workers leaving your company or losing your trust can happen.”

In fact, a whopping 91% of CEOs can see the link between this often overlooked trait and their organisation’s financial performance. So a BIG management question is…

How often should a manager meet with employees?

There is a tried and tested answer for this. Which is that managers should have a weekly one-to-one scheduled with each direct report. It is understandable if it needs to be rescheduled in a specific week, or if it doesn’t happen from time to time. But in my experience, managers should aim to have one-to-one meetings at least three out of every four weeks. It is interesting to note that:

“It is thought that around 6 hours a week is the most effective for managers to spend on employee development (for a better employee experience.) But, of course, this will depend on the size of their team.”

This is where Your FLOCK helps managers and team leaders. As that 1-2-1 meeting can now be shorter. Your FLOCK as an employee engagement survey and as a training development tool helps managers get the feedback they need. To do MORE with their time. Not less.

BUT I DON’T HAVE TIME?

This is often said by managers. Which is again why YourFLOCK was built. However, this mentally is dangerous as Ben Brearley rights says in his

“Being a victim is no fun, especially as a leader. And when I hear someone say the words “I don’t have time”, this is exactly what I’m hearing. Managing your time effectively as a leader is a critical part of success. It’s not necessarily about productivity or efficiency – it’s about focus and knowing your boundaries. It’s about understanding what is important, and what can wait.

So when I hear a leader say that they don’t have time for something, I hear a victim. Somebody who is not taking control of their destiny, instead being buffeted by the stormy winds of their workplace”

Your FLOCK as a team engagement platform is built to help team leaders save time and get the most out of their team. To get their team’s feedback – especially around values. So that they can not just manage their time but manage their teams.