How To Be An Effective Field Employee Manager

Want to be an effective manager? Then don't be a micro-manager! Effective managers do everything they can to boost the morale of their employees, and if you want to be an effective manager, you need to learn not to be a micro-manager and take your hands off the process as much as possible.

If you micromanage your employees, you will only end up hurting yourself and hurting your team. To be an effective manager, you have to trust your employees, not pester them with constant management and oversight.

Here are tips for managing your employees effectively without getting in their way and stifling their growth and productivity.

Tip #1: Help your team find their strengths.

There are two major things that need to happen for someone who manages field employees and help them become effective. The first is that you need to trust the people you are managing and not micromanage them.

We all have an instinctive desire to be hands-on when we know that someone else might not be up for the task, but our instinct may not always be correct. If there are tasks that you feel don't need your attention, let them go! This will free up time so you can focus on other tasks at hand.

The second thing is knowing when your team needs guidance or help from the outside. Just because they are out in the field doesn't mean they will always know what's best for their customers or their business goals.

Sometimes, all you have to do is provide some direction, feedback, or input about how something could work better. For example, if you are working with a team of direct sales representatives who are selling home security systems, and they ask you if you want to make an introductory call with one of their clients (and would then take over after that).

This would be a great opportunity for you to get face time with one of your company's potential clients as well as give your valuable representative coaching. So, accept the task, and during the call, you will realize things that need more support than just one phone call.

For instance, you can tell whether or not you need to set clear expectations around key steps like qualifying leads or setting appointments. And should there be a need, you can start creating training videos for your team, so you don't spend time on individual calls but still coach team members remotely.

Tip #2: Praise, don't punish.

Many managers are afraid of their employees making mistakes, and they try to avoid this by micromanaging. However, this can be counterproductive as it can discourage employees from being proactive and creative. It may also cause resentment among the employee if they feel like they are always being watched or that their manager is constantly expecting them to make mistakes.

As a manager, consider praising your employees when they do something right instead of punishing them when they make a mistake. Praise shows that you believe in your employees and that you trust them with more responsibility.

One way to do this is to start giving them individual assignments instead of supervising every little detail. You'll know your employees are ready for more responsibility if they ask for tasks that will allow them to demonstrate their abilities without much supervision or input from you.

For example, if you have someone who's doing administrative work and has shown initiative, give him a sales task so he can show his skills.

Another way to promote initiative is to let your employees set goals independently. The best way to measure progress on these goals is through frequent feedback and check-ins rather than micromanagement.

Tip #3: Use the right tools and resources.

Research the best software programs and tools that will help you manage your team.

Of course, this will depend on the type of business that you are in. Some ideas for tools include Google Drive, Slack, Asana, Trello, Basecamp, and other lesser-known programs like the hpdm framework. Make sure that these tools are compatible with your employees' devices so that they can work at any time without having to worry about compatibility issues.

It's also important to remember that some employees may not have access to or knowledge of these resources, which is why it's important for managers to be able to use them proficiently enough on their own.

One way to do this is by signing up for management training courses. Another option would be to partner with other businesses that offer training courses in management skills, such as communication, leadership, and financial analysis. These courses often vary depending on the size of your company, but most training sessions last between six weeks to three months.

In addition, many companies offer discounts if you sign up more than one employee at a time so take advantage of that opportunity if it applies to you!

Tip #4: Stick with your employees.

If you want your employees to be successful, let them take the reins. Let them know what the goal is, and then stay out of their way. The more you try to control everything they do, the worse off they will be because they won't know how things are supposed to get done.

Let them show you what their skill sets are and find ways for them to work within those. Managers often make the mistake of assuming that everyone can do everything, but this isn't true. It would help if you started looking at your team's talents and strengths so that you can use them effectively in your workplace.

It might take some time to figure out where each person fits best, but it will make all of your jobs much easier when you finally find their niche. And if there are any mistakes, they will usually come from trying to do too many tasks on their own rather than delegating certain duties to another employee who excels at that specific job.

Tip #5: Create achievable goals for your employees.

One of the most important parts of being a field employee manager is setting achievable goals for your employees. This means that you should set goals that are realistic and achievable so that the employees can be successful and feel good about themselves when they achieve their goals.

For example, if your team is tasked to make five cold calls per day, don't ask them to make ten calls each day. Instead, ask each one of them to make three or four cold calls each day. The goal may sound difficult at first but will not seem nearly as difficult once it is broken down into manageable chunks.

Create clear guidelines for performance evaluations, too. It's important that employees know what their performance evaluation guidelines are before starting work. If you have a written policy in place, then your expectations will be known by everyone in advance, and there won't be any surprises later on down the line.

Performance reviews need to be based on both quantitative measures (i.e., production output) and qualitative assessments (i.e., customer service). While quantitative measurements are important, these numbers alone don't paint a complete picture of how well someone has performed.

For example, let's say one employee only sells one product today out of the eight she was expected to sell today; does this mean she didn't do her job? Of course not! What would have happened had she sold more than one product today? She might've made too many sales because she was trying to meet quota, leading her customers' needs to go ignored while they were left standing around waiting for assistance.

Tip #6: Trust your employees and give them space.

It's important for managers to trust their employees and give them space and autonomy. Your employees are looking to you for support, not constant micromanagement.

If you're trying to find out more about what your employees are doing, try checking in with them at the end of the day or asking them about their progress in weekly team meetings. That way, everyone is on the same page.

If you have any specific feedback or concerns, try addressing them before they become a bigger problem. You can sit down with your employee one-on-one and talk through it together.

Ask questions like What should we work on next? or How can I be more supportive? Instead of being overly critical, focus on providing solutions.

Make sure your expectations are also aligned so that there aren't any surprises! You want to make sure your employee knows what they need to accomplish as well as what will happen if they don't do well.

For example, let's say you expect all employees to attend quarterly company meetings and put in six hours of time outside of regular office hours. Say that meeting attendance isn't mandatory, but it helps the company get recognition from potential partners. And say extra hours come with bonuses based on performance (i.e., meeting benchmarks).

If your field employee doesn't meet these goals, then the bonus may not be available. But if they do, then congratulations!

Tip #7: Give clear and direct feedback.

Giving your employees clear and specific feedback will not only help them improve, but it will also keep their morale high. Feedback should be timely, well thought out, and detailed.

Feedback can come in the form of praise, constructive criticism, or something else entirely. What's important is that you give employees feedback on everything from their work ethic to the quality of their work--even if it's negative.

It may seem daunting at first, but as time goes on, you'll get used to giving feedback and see just how helpful it is for both parties involved. When it comes to praise, try to find something they're doing right, so they feel acknowledged and good about themselves.

If you need to criticize someone, make sure there are no bad intentions behind it and have a positive outlook, so they don't feel discouraged by what you say. Use this opportunity to explain why something went wrong, then explain what could be done differently next time.

Asking questions like What would you have done differently? or How could this be improved? gives people the opportunity to think critically while still being able to offer up solutions.

Tip #8: Set clear expectations.

Good managers are able to set clear expectations and hold people accountable. Clear expectations are necessary for the success of both the employee and the company.

As a manager, you need to provide your employees with everything they need in order to do their jobs well. This includes:

• A list of tasks that need completing;
• The timeline for completion of these tasks;
• Some insight into what is expected for each task, which is determined by company policy or customer needs; and,
• A deadline for when completed work should be submitted back to you, so it can be reviewed before submitting to higher management.

If needed, help your employees understand how long certain tasks will take to complete and help them understand how much work they will have in relation to other things on their plate.

Key takeaways

As an effective field employee manager, it is essential that you have a focused mindset and remember these things:

• I will have clear and concise expectations for my employees.
• I will give them the resources they need to do their job well.
• I will provide employees with adequate training before they start on the job
• I will give feedback that is constructive and specific
• I will find ways to support my employee's goals and aspirations
• I will be flexible with my employees' schedules as needed.
• I won't micromanage my employees and allow them room to take the initiative.
• I will foster open dialogue between myself and my employees.
• Regarding project management, I will offer enough detail and information to my team.
• Finally, when giving feedback, I will focus on the positive.

The bottom line

To be an effective field employee manager, you need to be flexible and open-minded. If you're rigid and stuck in your ways, it will hinder your employees from operating on their own. Plus, if you're not present for day-to-day interactions with them, then how do you know what's going on?

Approaching each day as one big experiment will help you figure out what works and what doesn't work. If you can admit that there are more than one ways to get something done and that some of the tried-and-true ways don't always work, then you'll be able to adapt to new challenges faster.

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Recommended reading

If you enjoyed this post and have time to spare, why not check out these related posts and dive deeper down the rabbit hole that is improving workplace productivity.

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Tags: Management, Career, Human Resources, Guest Post