Even slight skill-level disparities might become glaringly obvious when working in a group. In contrast to the team member who consistently takes on the most challenging tasks and stays up late to get work done, another team member continually fails to meet deadlines, is always late, and produces unsatisfactory results.
Assigning all of the most crucial tasks to your most reliable employee may be tempting, but doing so will do little to promote the company’s goals. The most productive teams have members who share the load. But fair sharing doesn’t mean everyone has to work on the same things. Some team members may need the entire day to complete a task that takes your star performer only three hours.
Mistakes Managers May Want to Avoid
Therefore, as a manager, you must divide tasks so that each employee uses their unique skills while also benefiting from the synergy. Please don’t skimp on your efforts. One of the most challenging tasks for a manager is maximizing their team’s efficiency and output. Here are five mistakes you must avoid:
Your best workers should not be overburdened
In nearly every group, a standout performer volunteers to work overtime or take on the most challenging tasks. Since you know this individual can always be counted on to produce high-quality results on time, you probably feel comfortable delegating all of your work to them.
If you take advantage of your best employees too often because of their reluctance to say “no,” you risk lowering their productivity. Not only might this team member feel overworked and tired, but they may also start to resent the team for expecting too little of them.
Don’t make ineffective team members feel more pressured
It’s essential to keep an eye on your staff and intervene if you notice any signs of stress, such as agitation, mental blocks, or a complete inability to go forward in the face of adversity.
As tempting as it may be to try and help your team’s underachievers catch up to the top performers, doing so could backfire. Instead of forcing them to work more, you can figure out what these workers are good at doing, such as social media management or communicating with clients and give them more of that kind of work.
Do not make arbitrary choices when determining how to distribute tasks
One of the most critical aspects of your role as a manager is figuring out how to manage the skills of your team members to produce better results for clients. That’s why it’s not a good idea to put off planning until you have some downtime in between more active duties, or even worse, not to prepare at all.
Instead of worrying about the day-to-day, you can use this time to plan for the future and increase your team’s production and capability.
Make sure your strategy has room to adapt to changes that may occur over the week
Don’t avoid having tough conversations with underachievers in your team. Consistently communicating expectations to your staff is essential. Once you’ve laid out your requirements, discussing why an employee isn’t meeting them becomes less of a mystery.
If you want to help your team grow professionally and as a unit, you should be open to having one-on-one conversations with each member. You can learn more about why a low performance isn’t living up to your standards during these encounters. All you need to do is inquire how you could lend them further assistance to speed up the completion of their work.
Clear out any confusion regarding who does what
If workers believe their efforts contribute to the team or the agency’s success, they are likelier to put up their best effort. It’s easy to get disoriented and lose motivation, though, especially while working for a large company.
Avoid having a small number of employees take on too many responsibilities by not defining their roles. If everyone on the team knows what they’re responsible for, they’ll be more likely to pitch in and do their part.
Doing this may assess where your present workflow could be lacking and reallocate your employees’ tasks to use their skill sets better.
Time, tolerance, and regular check-ins with the employee are essential to the success of this endeavor. However, the staff will be happier and more productive if the agency invests in workload balance.
