Customer-led Management

Imagine if your employees were customers and you were a provider of management services. Now imagine that, if they weren’t happy with the service they were getting they could switch suppliers. That would make all of us as managers sit up and think about the OUTPUTS of our management, ie what we do to and for the people we manage, how we support them and generally what sort of ‘management service’ are we providing? We are constantly told that we should listen to our customers and orientate our services around this. So let’s take a look at what our customers say, (what employees really want from a manager), and it may just change the way we work.

Many managers are technical experts promoted for practical achievements, not for their excellent interpersonal relationships. Managing people is not easy - they don’t conform to laws of physics and they can be unpredictable; so why do we do it? And at the end of the day we very rarely know what our employees want from us.

The following statistics come from a survey by Lore International Institute; they surveyed 500 employees from a wide range of industries and sectors to ask the simple question: what do you really want from management? The results may not be what we expect.

What do employees want?

‘Loyalty’ is a difficult concept to define; to many people it probably means doing the best job you can whilst you are there. It therefore doesn’t mean staying for life. A study by Walker Loyalty Reports suggests that even the most ‘loyal’ are only committed to managers and companies for about two years.

Understanding what people really want from a manager, can boost our chances of keeping them longer. Here are the results of the survey:

Honesty

91.5% want honesty and integrity from their manager

Fairness

89.2% want their manager to be fair and to hold everyone accountable to the same standards

Dependability

81.2% want to be able to depend on their manager

Collaboration

77.4% want to be a part of their manager's team and be asked to contribute ideas and solutions

Appreciation

74.4% want their manager to appreciate them for who they are and what they do

Responsiveness

73.9% want their manager to listen, understand, and respond

What employees don't want

It is important to understand what employees want but it is also helpful to know what they don’t want and this section brought out some really interesting results too:

Friendship

Less than 35 (just 2.9% to be precise) want their manager to be a friend or companion

Conversation

Less than 15% (14.2%) want to have interesting conversations with their manager

Emotional Support

Only 25.4% said they want emotional support from their manager

Cheerfulness

Less than 30% (28.8%) want a cheerful or happy manager

Humour

Only 29% want their manager to be fun-loving or good-humoured

Why managers should care

The way you treat employees largely determines whether they stay with you or choose to leave. A recent Harvard Business Review report notes that most employees would rather work for a 'lovable fool' than a 'competent jerk.' Yet anyone can become more of a people person if they choose to modify their behaviour.

So how do we give employees what they want?

Understanding what people want is essential to being a successful manager, but you must also know how to provide this ‘service’ and that takes time, patience, skill and determination. Try a few of the following tips:

People are human beings - not human resources

Remember - they are people first and employees second. So make sure you call everyone by their name, celebrate (or at least acknowledge) birthdays and also learn a few details about employees' lives-even if you have to jot them down to remember them.

Encourage ideas

Bring the best out in them; ask people what they think, what they’d change, what would make it better - both one-on-one and in team meetings. Determine the best ideas, act on them, and give credit where credit is due.

Trust them with difficult assignments

Trust people with some of the more difficult or 'stretch' projects even when the outcome is uncertain. It'll give them a chance to shine-or to fall short and grow. Employees prefer meaningful, purpose-driven work that really challenges them. Help them find ways to do their jobs better, faster, or cheaper, provide training and development opportunities, and ask regularly for ideas on how to make better use of their talents and skills.

Look after them

The workplace isn't black and white. Rules are made and broken. Projects start off strong and can end up failing. Show people you've got their backs covered and help them regroup and recover when the going gets tough.

Be there for them

An open-door policy means nothing if you're never in! Do your best to really be there for people, even if it means setting aside a regular time when all you do is connect with employees.

Engage

Multi-tasking can be a great attribute - but not if it means your people aren’t getting your full attention. Turn off the phone, leave your e-mail, and meet people face-to-face with no distractions. When you don't, you send the message you're preoccupied or indifferent even if you keep up your end of the conversation, or worse still they will feel that they’re just not important to you.

Respect confidentiality

Have respect for what people share with you in confidence. Unless a secret crosses a legal or ethical line, keep it to yourself - even if the information powerful. Nothing damages a relationship faster than a manager who betrays an employee's trust.

Show you’re human too

Admit your shortcomings. Own up to your mistakes. Laugh at yourself; reminding people that you, too, are only human shows self-confidence and builds trust.

Really care

Take time to really care about people, really care; people can smell insincerity a mile off! Ask them what's up when they seem low, and create a safe place to laugh, cry, or let off steam without fear of judgment.