Find the Right Job for Your Staff

A manager has to use their resources well if they're to get the job done. If staff are asked to do jobs they are not suited to or excited about it can result in many hours being lost.

Managers toiling to meet a deadline due to the shortage of a key resource are often left juggling tasks and priorities, shuffling employees around, quickly retraining staff and pleading for extra resources. In the end the manager and their key employees work far too much overtime and this soon begins to take its toll.

Of course, key team members will want to be busy and feel needed, but there is a fine line that, if crossed, can lead to burnout, resentment towards the demands being placed on their skills and, ultimately, a search for employment elsewhere. Meanwhile, other members of staff can feel underutilised, bored with work or unhappy being retrained to do tasks they have little skill or interest in, and this can lead to them seeking employment elsewhere too.

Bad Career Choice

People can find themselves in the wrong job for a variety of reasons. Some may want the prestige of a job but have no interest in the work, others are stuck in a job they do not like and are unable to get anything better suited to them, perhaps because they lack the specific skills needed, the initiative or the job hunting skills. Pressure to stay in the family business or to stick with a career that is expected of them can lead to other reason for being unhappy. After all, many people start work with the first job they can get and many stay in that industry for a long period of time.

Much more work gets done when people are given tasks they have talent and a real passion for. A manager has to delegate effectively and, rather than oversee every detail of every task, should give staff the leeway to decide how to do their job. That way, employees will do tasks in a way that is most enjoyable for them. The result will be a more productive, satisfied team member who is less likely to run off to seek employment elsewhere. This tactic will also free more time for the manager to look at the big picture and concentrate on aspects of the job that they do best.

Find Suitable Tasks

More importantly, a manager has to be sensitive to the skills and interests of their employees when assigning tasks. Try to put team members in jobs that suit them. An extrovert may be ideal for customer service, a meticulous individual could be better suited to a task with more structure and a dreamer would prefer a creative role.

Pre-employment screening and testing can determine the career path an employee should take. This can be a useful tool, but it is too late for careers advice once an employee has been hired. In this case, it is far more important for a manager to find meaningful employment for each member of their team and so make the most of their available resources.