How to… be a good supervisor

Why is it important?

All businesses rely on effective supervisors. Good supervision often means the difference between meeting targets and missing them. As role models of good practice, HR professionals must possess and display top-notch supervisory skills.

The leap from being led to leading can be a daunting one. “You will be the jam sandwiched between your team and the individuals you report to,” says Mike Perrott, consultant at learning and development consultancy MaST International.

But most people have the potential to become effective supervisors, as long as they understand their role and approach their job in the right way.

Where do I start?

As a new supervisor, it is important to clarify your role and objectives to individual employees and to your department.

Accept that you may no longer be part of ‘the gang’ in the same way you once were. This does not mean you have to feel alienated, it is just that the relationship will be on a different footing.

Even if you knew those in the department before, take the time to get to know their strengths and weaknesses and find out what motivates them. What are their personal and professional aspirations? Are there any skills gaps that some training might overcome?

Finally, ensure you have a firm grasp of what they need to do their jobs effectively.

What skills do I need?

Effective supervisors need a combination of technical HR skills and good interpersonal skills. Being technically competent will help secure the respect of the department, as it shows you know what the job is all about. But you also need some core management skills, including being able to communicate clearly, excellent time management, decisiveness, performance assessment, and being able to delegate and influence.

Manage performance

Establish benchmarks and guidelines for performance so everyone has a clear picture of what is required of them. And when allocating or delegating tasks to individual members, make sure your approach is fair and even-handed. “Be sure to delegate effectively, allocate work properly and don’t hold work back without good reason,” advises Perrott.

Give full credit to the team for its successes, both at team and individual levels.

Develop assertiveness

While new supervisors should beware of being too heavy-handed, it is important to assert yourself and be prepared to have difficult conversations in the early days. Find out what the issues are and build your credibility by confronting them head on.

Don’t let a department member get away with something just because you once worked alongside each other, as you will be setting a dangerous precedent.

Similarly, be prepared to query decisions made by your manager or defend the actions of your team if you think it is appropriate, as long as you can back up what you say.

Prepare for pressure

Increased responsibility will mean increased pressure, and it is important to recognise the effect this will have on you. “You must really want to do the job. It will involve personal risk and you will have more pressure in your life as a result of this,” says Perrott.

“This is a job that may require you to hold down your day job and be a supervisor, requiring a great deal of balancing,” he adds. Counter the effect of this by keeping a healthy work-life balance and try to leave work hassles at the office.

For more info

Books

• The New Supervisor: How to Thrive in Your First Year as a Manager, Martin M Broadwell, Perseus Books, £13.99, ISBN 0201339927
• Skills for the First-Time Supervisor, Douglas Gordon, Delmar, £10.29, ISBN 0538432292
• The Effective Supervisor, John Adair, Spiro Publishing, £9.99, ISBN 0852904622

Articles

How to make it as a new manager

How to improve your decision making

If you only do  5 things

1. Clarify your role and objectives
2. Be prepared for personal risk
3. Develop effective listening skills
4. Acknowledge the contribution made by both individuals and the team
5. Deal with underperformance quickly

Expert's view... being a good supervisor

How important is it for HR professionals to have effective supervisory skills?

Vital. HR practices relate to the rest of an organisation, so ineffective supervision in HR can potentially have a huge impact on every part of the business, and on employees’ lives. For an HR department to function efficiently, effective supervision is essential.

What are the most likely pitfalls for first-time supervisors?

• Letting people get away with things. This is only natural for new supervisors as they strive to avoid difficult conversations, but must be overcome early on. If they let a team member off with something, this is likely to set a pattern for the rest of the team. This might knock team performance, and could attract attention from senior managers.
• Vague instructions. If you’re not perfectly clear about instructions or objectives you’ve been set, there is no way your team will be clear about their own instructions.
• Unconscious favouritism. A difficulty many first-time supervisors face is that they are selected to lead a team they were previously a part of. This can sometimes result in unconscious favouritism, whereby the supervisor may favour those members of the team that they were closer to prior to their new appointment. This can lead to other members of the team feeling sidelined and resentful.
• Putting off decisions.
• Making unrealistic promises to team members.
• Being disorganised. This is the worst sin of all and will have a huge impact on the productivity of your team. You cannot expect to accomplish objectives if you hand work to your team at the last minute.

What are your top tips?

• Be clear about your team’s objectives – what must they deliver?
• Give recognition for effort.
• Deal with underperformance.