Having competent, efficient supervisors is key to developing an expansive and competitive company. However, if you are like most CEOs or managers, you probably have supervisors who aren’t living up to their talent and improving operations.
“In many companies, there’s a gap between senior management’s goals and what’s happening on the floor,” says BDC Business Consultant Stéphane Chrusten. “To achieve your goals, you need supervisors who can control the floor and maintain continuous improvement initiatives.”
So if you are like most CEO’s, you are also probably wondering how to go about improving supervisor performance in order to create a more productive company.
That’s why here at Luxa, a company that fosters leadership development, we gathered five tips to help get you on track:
1) Express the importance of each supervisor’s job
It’s crucial that each supervisor is aware of their place in your vision of having them lead change in your company. Make sure you are constantly communicating with them in order to give feedback, as well as hear their point of views on your operations. It’s also important that each supervisor properly fits his or hers tasks. Don’t be afraid to shuffle around some people to find the right fit.
2) Reduce administration work and increase problem solving tasks and quality checks
More often than not, supervisors fall in a slump of spending most of their day doing paper work, training, and other administrative tasks. This is great, except for the fact that these are supposed to be your main people tackling problem solving tasks and, as their title suggests, supervising! Make sure you are giving priority to making minute-to-minute decisions, making changes to increase workflow and elaborating new ideas to increase efficiency.
3) Look for team-leading qualities
Successful supervisors generally…
- incorporate humor into their work and interactions
- communicate regularly and directly
- deal with under-performance early
- ensure consistent treatment and non-favoritism
- use good coaching techniques
- are decisive and give clear instructions
- give credit for successes and take blame for failures
- give their supervisee a voice in decisions regarding their time allocation
- encourage continual learning
4) Measure and analyze performance properly
If you want to improve your supervisors, then you need to make sure you are accurately obtaining data regarding their performance. A good way to do this is by using a perfomance dashboard, where you monitor a limited number of key performance indicators (KPIs). With this tool you can make the proper tweaks to a obtain a smooth running operation.
5) Develop a log or journal for your supervisors
Have your supervisors keep track of their daily activities, thoughts, and goals in a daily journal. This will allow them to keep an organized record of theirs thoughts and activities without getting overwhelmed by daily problems. The journal should include a checklist of the tasks they must do, as well as space for them to explain any interruptions that happened that caused a delay. Also make sure to give them space to write down ideas for improvements.
By implementing these 5 tips, your company will be on its way to improving its supervisors, which in turn will lead to a more efficient and competent organizations.
