8 Tips About How to Get Results From Your Employees

8 Tips About How to Get Results From Your Employees8 Tips About How to Get Results From Your EmployeesWhen people think about becoming a manager, they may have unrealistic expectations about how they can get results from the employees they will manage. Sometimes people who havent ever been managers imagine that being a manager is somewhat like sitting in a big leatzu sich chair and issuing proclamations. The modern-day equivalent of being a king. The reality is tzu siche might be a leather chair involved, but proclamations are few and far between. Managers need to learn quickly how to get results from their employees- proclamations wont cut it. The responsibilities are serious and heavy. Even if youre the CEO, theres someone youre reporting to in- the CEOs case the stockholders or the board of directors or just your own bank account- and all other managers have managers above them as well. If youre a manager, you need to get good results from your employees or youll find yourself out on your ear. How can you do that? Well, its a lot of hard work, but doable. Here are eight tips for getting the best work and results from your employees. Hire People Who Are Better Than You Are You need to hire the best people you can find. Not that you must hire perfection- perfection doesnt exist. You need to look for great people who will ask you questions, who will point out errors and who will work without you hovering over them. If you pay well, youll find it easier to recruit high-quality people. When youre interviewing candidates, be painfully honest about the problems and the benefits of the job. Dont say that everything is peaches and cream when, in reality, you have demanding clients, unpredictable schedules, and everyone has to take a turn cleaning the bathrooms. You want someone who understands what they are getting into when they take the job. Youll get better fits if youre honest about the positives and negatives of the job. Give Great Training Lots of manag ers are super busy and often new hire training gets a back seat. Sure, someone sits down with a new employee and shows the employee how to log on to the system and such, but make sure you have a dedicated trainer that the new employee can question whenever needed. Train about company culture as wellas how to operate systems. If necessary, send the new employee to a training course to learn your systems. Its worth the time and effort to get the new person up to speed as fast as possible. Set Clear Goals How can you expect your employees to be truly productive and effective if you never explain exactly what they are supposed to accomplish? So many managers let employees flounder and then discipline when the employee doesnt live up to expectations that they never knew existed. For instance, if you expect your employees to respond to all emails within an hour, say that explicitly. Dont say, Hey, we believe in a prompt response to our clients. That can mean anything.Ifyoure going to hold an employee accountable, you need to let them know what youre judging them on. Additionally, if you have financial targets, productivity targets, or anything else that youre required to do, let your employees know. Every year when you do your performance reviews and goal setting make goals that are measurable and applicable. Follow up in your regular one-on-one meetings (you do need those), and youll see results clearly. Youll also see if someone is struggling and you can either fix it or terminate the employee promptly. Either way, youll get great performance. Be Fair Do you want employees that give you great results? Dont think about playing favorites.Judge people based on their work. Give fair schedules. Reward results. If an employee reaches her goals dont pull back a promised bonus. If an employee exceeds her goals, dont respond by increasing the goals for next year without a corresponding rise in salary and/or bonus. Provide Feedback Did your employee resolve a co mplex client complaint satisfactorily? Let her know youre grateful. Did she screw up? Let her know the same day (and privately) so that she doesnt make the same mistake again. Give your employees feedback and theyll know how to improve and what works best. Give Employees Leeway to Do Their Jobs When youmicromanage, you may get exact results, but you wont get great performances. If your reportingemployee says that she needs X training in order to solve a certain set of problems, arrange for that training. If another employee says that she wants to revamp the monthly reports to make them consistent across the organization, dont say, But weve always done it this way If you think its a bad idea, ask her to explain her reasons and then listen to her. Chances are she knows her job better than you know her job. Unless you have extremely strong reasons (like changing the reports would involve implementing a new $25,000 system), let her do what she does best- her job. Listen For the love of Pete, please listen to your employees. Listen to their ideas. Remember that you worked hard to hire the best people you could hire. Theres no point in hiring good people if you are going to treat them like robots. They arent robots. Listen to their ideas. Talk to them. Get their feedback. Give Credit When your boss praises your department for something, say, Thanks so much. Jane, John, and Horace did an amazing job. Im super happy to have them on staff. That can inspire your employees more than a bonus can. (Although you should give bonuses as well.) Dont take credit yourself. Your boss will know its your leadership that helped Jane, John, and Horace do a great job. You dont need to pat yourself on the back. Likewise, when theres an error, take responsibility. Yes, you have to take responsibility for the bad and give credit for the good. Your employees will know that you have their back, and theyll work hard to keep the trust youve given them. Its the best way to go abou t it. Suzanne Lucas is a freelance journalist specializing in Human Resources. Suzannes work has been featured on notes publications including Forbes, CBS, Business Insider and Yahoo.

17 quarter-life crises everyone has (or will experience)

17 quarter-life crises everyone has (or will experience)17 quarter-life crises everyone has (or will experience)Familiar with the good ol quarter-life crisis? If youre not sure whether youve had one, you probably havent (lucky duck). Quarter-life crises come in many forms, big and small, but we bet youve experienced or will experience the seventeen life events below.Unfortunately, they hit you in the face like a Mack Truck. Just remember They wont quite kill you, but theyll teach you some hard-earned lessons.1. You abflug questioning whether your chosen career path is purposefulComing out of college and landing your first job feels like an accomplishment in itself. But theres nothing worse than having a few years under your belt before you start wondering what kind of impact youre making on the world. Our advice? Dont just think about being a positive influence through your job. There are tons of opportunities beyond work, like volunteering, that can help fill the void and find meani ng.2. Your friends are getting married and popping out kids faster than you can pop MMs at the moviesIts tough to watch your friends go through huge life events when youre still at square one. Dont beat yourself up too much, though. Everyone has their own timelines.3. You suddenly realize that your parents are getting legitimately oldYoure visiting your hometown one day and take a few seconds to look at your parents faces. Maybe you notice some extra wrinkles, or they seem shorter than they did. Yep, theyre getting old. Its heartbreaking, but true.4. That friend youve been straining to connect with for months may not want to be close with you anymoraYou may have been connected at the hip in college, but people change. Lives go in different directions, and though it sucks that your Facebook timeline reminds you of that amazing night you spent together at the frat house foam party, you gotta let her go. RIP, Courtney.5. Your savings plan is a joke401(k) who? Your savings account might be a little weak right now, and it certainly doesnt help that your parents are stressing that you wont be able to retire if you dont act now.6. You compare what your parents did at your age to what youre doing nowWhile millennials are roasted for eating avocado tischrede instead of buying homes, theyre secretly crying over how impossible it is to be a functioning adult in 2018. Sure, our parents may have been able to afford a mortgage and three kids on one income at 25 years old, but that is nearly impossible now.7. You realize that the path you took is different from the one taken by everyone around youIts easier to do things with a buddy, right? Well, what if your entire family lives in suburbia hundreds of miles away while youre fulfilling a dream that they could never dream of attempting? Even though its tough to be the only one doing what youre doing, know that your independence will only grow that much more. Youre creating your own destiny, and that will feel pretty damn powe rful once you stop panicking about it.8. Your home will never look the saatkorn way as it did when you were in high schoolMaybe that home isnt even there anymore. With so many physical memories wiped out, you might feel a little sad and nostalgic. But just know that your memories are still yours, and you can remember the good times while accepting new experiences.9. You realize you have to figure out where your home is (thats not your hometown)Once you leave the nest, youre off seeking tons of opportunities, but then you have to settle down somewhere. Where will that place be, and will it feel like home in the same way your hometown felt? Is your home still back there? Youll have to answer these questions at some point.10. You want a dog, but then you realize how much physical, emotional, mental and financial responsibility it entailsNot everyone is ready for a pet, even if they adore animals. You have to be stable enough where you are that you can care for another being. More impor tantly, you have to be prepared for that 4 a.m. hospital visit that ends in a $2,000 bill.11. Your body doesnt bounce back anymore after that 3 a.m. pizza bingeWomp womp You cant slam back half that pizza without feeling intense heartburn the next day, along with serious guilt and a moral obligation to go to the gym for five hours. Your body is not interested in anything but kale these days, sadly. That said, dont deprive yourself Everything is good in moderation, right?12. You cant remember the last time you tossed back shots without thinking about your own funeralYeah, remember that pizza? You can say goodbye to binging on both the cheesy goodness and that cheap vodka you chugged during freshman year. You might have to choose the nicer stuff or switch to a less aggressive alcohol. Or, you know, dont drink it straight from a thermisch bottle.13. You clean out your childhood room and realize how much youve changedTheres nothing more equally heartwarming and heartbreaking to find tho se notes you wrote back and forth with your boyfriend from the ninth grade. You had so many hopes, dreams, and passions at that age, and probably thought even through high school that anything was possible. Maybe your dreams changed or you didnt accomplish what you thought you would. Come to terms with it or its time to switch up your priorities.14. You start understanding that employment is not guaranteed or stableYoure taught in school to work toward getting a job. Once you get a job, its all good, right? Maybe youve been through a nasty layoff or left a company because the workplace conditions were unbearable. Dont give up hope. You will find the right job for you if you listen to your instincts.15. Ordering Girl Scout cookies is straight up dangerous nowAs a child, you tore through a sleeve of those puppies in minutes. Now, youre reading the back of the box hoping that you can have more than a few without wrecking your body. The sugar content in those cookies iswell, dangerous.1 6. You ask your parents a question and they tell you to figure it out yourselfMan, if that isnt a letdown all on its own. You assume your parents are there to guide you through every issue you may have. But unfortunately, your parents dont know everything. Even more They want you to start making your own decisions and learning lessons for yourself. Its honestly the best thing they can do for you. Start relying on your own knowledge and resources to find what you need.17. The fear of bringing someone home to meet your family is realThis one isnt just a silly crush like the ones you brought home in high school. This person might be the one, and thats a huge deal. The thought of your family not liking this person is brutal, but you have to trust that theyll give you an honest opinion and respect your wishes.This article first appeared on Swirled.

listing an unfinished novel as a work accomplishment on your resume

listing an unfinished novel as a work accomplishment on your resume listing an unfinished novel as a work accomplishment on your resume A reader writesIm a copywriter. Its my first time hiring for a copywriter position.I dont want to be petty or unfair to applicants, but I dont want to hear about peoples unfinished novels on their resumes or cover letters. In my opinion, it comes off as either immature, self absorbed, or really uninformed about the work (copywriting is really elend at all like writing a novel, other than that they both use words). But is it wrong to reject applicants purely because they cite their unfinished novel as evidence of their writing skills?If you complete the novel, even if its not published, I feel like that could rise to the level of a geschftlicher umgang accomplishment because it demonstrates dedication. But if youre working on a novel for free (i.e. a publisher has not given you an advance), then thats not really evidence that you can write especially well or even that you write regularly. Theres no deadline or editor that youre beholden to.I could see bringing it up in an interview when discussing culture fit or if you were looking for an editing position at a publishing house.Am I missing something? I would love you know your take on this.Full disclosure I have about 150,000 words of my own unfinished novel but I dont put it on my resume.Yeah, its not something that should go on a resume, for exactly the reasons you say. Its not evidence that you can write well, since theres no accountability to others involved. And thats not just because its unfinished you could have a finished novel, but if its unsold, it indicates that you have stamina, but not much about the writing itself.But I wouldnt reject an otherwise excellent candidate for including it on their resume. It would raise my eyebrows, yes, and I wouldnt be super impressed with their judgment in this regard but if they had really strong experience and skills, those would outweigh it. On the other hand, if they kept citing it in the interview, that would be a fairly strong strike against them, because theyd be showing they didnt really get that its not significant to the work of the job.However, if the person didnt have other evidence of strong writing and editing skills, and offered up only the existence of a partially written novel as qualifications for the job, then yeah, thats a rejection - because the person isnt really demonstrating any qualifications in that case (assuming you want to hire people with experience and a proven track record).