Best Practices Manual For New Supervisors

Best Practices Manual for New Supervisors

To become a supervisor requires knowledge of how to motivate employees, ability to communicate with others, and common sense. The success of the supervisor in the performance of its duties determines the success or the failure of the programs and objectives of the company. Our ability as supervisor is to obtain first-rate performance through others and is far more important than what you can do yourself. The attitudeвЂ"as viewed by othersвЂ"is critically important to obtaining excellent performance through our staff. The following are some guidelines that will provide new supervisors with good practices in different supervisory responsibilities.

I. Communication Skills

“Communication is the act of exchanging information. It can be used to inform, command, instruct, assess, influence and persuade other people. In our business world, invariably there are times we wish we would have done or said things differently. That is why supervisors need to master their writing and oral communication skills. There are situations we need to avoid when communicating with employees. One of these would be communicate in a negative way. “Be sure that the content and tone of [any] document are appropriate for the audience.” (Rue, Bryans. 2004 pg. 46) We need to try to be positive, enthusiastic when we communicate to our staff. As supervisors, we will have to let the employees know that we are ready, willing, confident, and able to accept new responsibilities.

Good communication helps organizations and their employees achieve their goals. The ability to write and speak well becomes increasingly important as we develop our skills as supervisors. People put things on writing to create reports, letters, and e-mails. “The main basic purposes of business and administrative communication are to inform, to request or persuade and to build goodwill.” (Locker. 2006 pg. 27)

A) Written Communication

When a supervisor inform, he explains or tell the readers something. When a supervisor request or write to persuade, he wants the readers to act. Good business and administrative writing should meet some basic criteria. It needs to be clear, complete and correct. This will save the reader’s time and will create a good understanding of the purpose of the message.

The supervisor will need to organize the information to fit the audience, the purpose, and the situation. For example, if a supervisor needs to communicate directive orders, supply an employee with new information, or communicate information that require immediate action, written communication is the best way to do it. Improving writing skills will help managers to save time. Since comprehension will be easier, it will reduce the reading time. In addition, it will reduce the misunderstandings that may occur when the reader has to supply missing or unclear information. This will make the issues clear, so when disagreements surface, they can be resolved quickly.

B) Oral Communication

“Not all business communication is done in writing. In fact, most business communication is done orally.” (Rue, Bryans. 2004 pg. 46) The efficiency of oral communication depends on how exactly is used and performed. “For communication to be effective it must be possible for it to be first remembered, [understandable], and finally interpreted as intended. Whether messages are sent verbally or non-verbally, this may not always happen, unless communication is viewed as an interactive process with the sender checking with the receiver that each of these intentions has been accomplished. Even when [oral] messages are heard and understood correctly; [employees] may receive inappropriately because the meaning to them is ambiguous.” (Chafer. 2003 p13)

In order to avoid this, manager need to:

- Make sure that employees can follow oral directions.

- “Always be courteous. [Supervisors should] avoid getting angry when other people are talking, even if you disagree with what are they saying.” (Rue, Bryans. 2004 pg. 47) This will build trust with employees. They will know that you are listening, and they can communicate and express any issue without having any negative experience.

- Be direct and avoid any bias when reprehending employees, explaining complex concepts, or giving instructions.

Remember, the supervisor goal is to get enough information, so he can work with the employees to solve any problems and increase productivity.

II. Effective Orientation and Training Methods

This manual includes the basic information on orientation for new employees when they start working at this company. Each phase is expected to be complete in a full working day. The supervisor is responsible for these activities to be completed on time. On the first day, the employees will be presented with a verification list. The verification lists assure that each new employee receives precise directions on all the aspects of security, orientation and training procedures related to his work. On the same day, the employee will receive orientation on subjects related to the area of personnel as well as on the part of security, rule and regulations of the company. All new employees will participate in the general orientation phase and later receive training in specific aspects related to the responsibilities that have been assigned them.

When the first two phases are completed, the new employee will follow the third phase called “job-instruction-training (JIT) along with an assigned supervisor. In several points during this training, the apprentice or new employee must solve tests to make sure that he completes each phase of the qualification in which he has acquired the abilities necessary to come with the following phase. At the end of each phase, the new employee and the supervisor must sign the verification list thus to be able to take a useful registry of the advance of each individual. The fact that the orientation and training are completed does not release the supervisor with the responsibility to distribute progressive qualification. With the purpose of guaranteeing the conservation of the abilities, there will be formal classes of qualifications that will settle down so the employees will make a review of the diverse abilities that they require for this work. In addition, the supervisor will formally review the improvement of the employee in different areas. All new employees