The business environment is currently uncertain. Last March 2020, ‘uncertainty’ ‘unprecedented’ were the kind of words there were frequently used in blogs, and gradually, ‘remote working’ became the buzzword. And finally, it’s been just days since we started speaking about returning to normalcy. But history is repeating itself, and the second wave of COVID-19 has hit us. 

Instead of speaking about how to manage your remote workforce in these times, it is better to educate companies on the skills that would help despite any kind of environment. Managers are the bridge of communication between employees and the higher management. They play a crucial role in boosting the morale of the workforce and increasing the productivity of the team members.  

According to a study, 57 percent of employees complain that they are not given clear direction and guidance by the managers, and 69% of managers do not feel comfortable with speaking to their team members about the performance. Providing proper leadership training to the managers is mandatory to create an open and transparent culture. Creating an open culture is significant as that has a major impact on the employee engagement rate and performance.  

The Best Performance Practices include, 

• Continuous check-ins 
• Regular meetings 
• Feedback Delivery 

Continuous Check-ins 

Continuous check-in is a feature of effective performance management and engagement system that enables a manager to build a relationship of mutual trust and loyalty with his/her employees/ team members. With continuous check-ins, managers can learn the aspirations, likes, and dislikes of the team members. So that, when an opportunity knocks, the managers can recommend the employees, whose future career goals match the requirement.  

In this remote working or even while working from the office, these one-on-one meetings can help employees speak up and discuss their concerns with the management team. This approach, when the right action is taken, will make employees feel cherished and the employee well-being and engagement rates would increase, resulting in higher productivity.    

Regular Meetings 

Frequent meetings, be it virtual or physical, would foster collaboration and bring the team members together. The rapport is always maintained, and even if something goes wrong, the manager would learn about it sooner and can take the necessary measures to overcome it. Besides, when it comes to role clarity and goals management, regular meetings can help a lot. The employees will never lack guidance and direction, and they will be right on track and always aware of what is expected out of them. 

Feedback Delivery 

Feedback is not about complaining about someone’s performance. It is not about saying good things to escape from being in the employees’ bad light. Feedback should be constructive and help employees to improve themselves. For that to happen, follow the steps to deliver feedback that can be really helpful. 

• Start with a positive tone 
• When you speak of the negatives, tell them instances where they had done that 
• Prepare before you meet an employee on what to speak  
• Recommend training programs and courses to help them improve 
• If an employee had exceeded your expectations, appreciate them during the feedback session and also find different ways to recognize their actions. 

Warning Signs That You’re Being a Really Bad Boss 

Are your employees frequently absent from work? 

Do your high-performing employees all of a sudden resign and also refuse if you are ready to give the same offer as the other company? 

Then it is a really bad sign to your company, and it implies that your managers are not being good bosses. If you are a manager who is reading this, and you say ‘yes’ to the above questions, then you seriously need to analyze yourself and identify your areas for improvement.  

Are you Being a Passive-Aggressive Boss? 

Do you say things directly to your employees or try to communicate ironically or with gestures leaving them to infer? Do you not accept your faults and take responsibility? Do you stay quiet without taking any action on your team members’ concerns? Someone else performs your work? If your answers are all positive, then you are demonstrating a passive-aggressive leadership style at work, which really disengaged your workforce and diminishes your team members’ morale and motivation. 

Managers should be identified and trained and should not be given such a responsibility just because they have stayed around for too long or they do an executive’s job well. Or if that is what your company policies demand, then high-level training for managers should be arranged. 

Toxic Triangulation 

No matter why triangulation happens, it definitely inhibits the growth of a team or a company in one way or another. Miscommunication is the one main outcome of triangulation which increases the complications in a team. If your team members have some problems among themselves, allow them to resolve the issues on their own. Do not interfere thinking that it might bring out a solution, it will just make things worse, which will also affect productivity and engagement.  

The team members should know everything that happens between you and your customer; it is even better if you are a part of the conversation and the employee assigned deals with the customer. Your employees should be allowed to talk to the super bosses, if necessary. Give them the freedom to communicate with the concerned person if they identify a problem. 

Scapegoating and Taking Credits for Someone Else’s Work 

Scapegoating and taking credits for your team members’ work make you a really hated boss. Baby Boomers had put up with these kinds of bosses, but millennials will not. The statistics show that the millennials quit their bosses, not their jobs. So, you will have to definitely get rid of this really old way of working. That will make you a mature boss. If it is someone else’s work, reward them and recognize them in front of everyone. If you have done something wrong, take responsibility and do better next time, instead of blaming it on someone else or something else. 

Today, millennials expect bosses to be a mentor and a coach who will guide them in their career path and also teach them some helpful professional and life skills. What kind of boss you are going to be? 

A matured one or a toxic one? Your choice will decide how you will be perceived by others and how your career would be.