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Providing Managers with Support Becomes
Greater Priority in Turbulent Times

     There’s no shortage of chaos these days. While the economy currently is stable, customers continue to become more aware and are expecting better service and products than ever before. Companies must respond faster to market shifts. Despite low labor demand in some industries, labor shortages continue in healthcare, education and other key skill areas. Large numbers of workers are nearing retirement age than ever before.
     Managers now face intense multiple challenges from leadership, staff and customers. Organizations that seek to excel will concentrate efforts in supporting middle and line managers during these times of greater demand on managers’ abilities to provide excellent leadership in the midst of an ever-faster pace.

Consider these factors impacting today’s managers and supervisors:

• Managers today typically have more direct reports than in the past.
   

• Customers have become accustomed to higher service levels established in the boom years.
   

• Employees still seek meaning, learning, growth and job satisfaction. Some are changing their priorities, wanting more time for family and personal enjoyment outside of work.
   

• Leaders are stressed and concerned about the organization’s future amidst an era in which history only offers partial lessons. It’s harder to find time to meet with managers.
   

• Purchases of technology upgrades and equipment that would improve workers’ satisfaction and productivity remain at a slow, cautious pace in many companies.
   

• Everyone’s jumpy about the future, still insecure because of layoffs and rapid change over the past two decades.

     The list of challenges is not only long, it’s different than in past eras. Managers can easily become overwhelmed trying to balance all that comes their way.

Three Basic Responses

Three fundamental concepts can improve managers’ effectiveness in this uncertain environment:

1. Ensure managers have the time to manage well. Addressing today’s staff and customer issues requires time. A typical, and valid, concern of many managers is that they are so busy there’s no time to invest in key areas that would offer a big payoff.
   Brainstorm with managers how to find time for these essential activities: Understanding customers’ requirements; working with staff individually and in groups to build skills; providing good starts for new hires; holding problem-solving sessions; coaching and mentoring staff; and meeting with other managers to improve process issues and customer responses.
   Some of these tasks can be delegated to staff with the side effect of improving their job satisfaction. Develop a buddy system for new hires so they can be introduced to the company and the department by one of their peer superstars. Implement a knowledge-transfer process in which the best staffers coach others.

2. Help managers improve their own skills. Managers want to learn and grow, too. While training budgets may be limited in some organizations, creative alternatives have proved successful.
   Many in-house experts are often eager to share their knowledge. Your best managers can coach newer managers. Trade and professional associations may provide classes or will send an expert. Improving managers’ “soft” or people skills is essential to making the best use of staff during lean times.
   Create a networking process for managers. Past turf wars negatively impacted customers who demand seamless service. Building camaraderie among managers and supervisors helps them share best practices, solve interdepartmental inefficiencies and develop improved service models. The mentoring and sharing is cost-free and benefits the company, employees and customers.

3. Provide greater levels of company information and more open communication among managers and senior leadership. Managers and employees want to be “in the know” even more during times of change. Adjusting department or functional-area strategies to address market shifts requires a quicker response; therefore, sharing corporate objectives and proposed tactics is critical.
   Regular meetings with senior leaders to openly share information helps managers and supervisors select the best approaches for their work area, set timely priorities and improve customer responses. Passing this information on to staff helps engage their creativity and problem-solving skills to keep the company on track despite weak and shifting markets.

Retention Agenda
     Begin by asking managers what they need in order to be more effective. You’ll save huge amounts of time and effort by beginning the dialogue with the managers rather than assuming their needs.
     Encourage managers to maintain new sharing and mentoring processes. Providing some initial organizing help (such as scheduling space and time) helps the efforts get under way. From then on, it’s best that the managers own the new venues.
     Senior leaders can increase their availability in a number of ways: Regularly scheduled office hours, forums and dialogue sessions and weekly e-mail summaries of marketplace news are ways to begin providing greater support of managers and supervisors.

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