HR is a manager’s best friend when it comes to recruiting and onboarding the talent needed to achieve business goals. But for those companies who don’t have a fully staffed HR department, or whose HR reps are otherwise unavailable, managers (and organizations) can be missing out on important information and advice that helps teams grow and change in a fast-paced environment. Here are a few tips from the HR handbook that can help you enable your teams today.

TIP #1: DO YOUR HOMEWORK

When it comes to background checks and references, always put in the extra effort to vet your candidates. It’s easy enough for an applicant to look good on paper, and even to sound good in person, but if they don’t have the references to back up their claims, something fishy might be going on behind the scenes. Avoid buyer’s remorse by doing your homework.

TIP #2: BE CONSISTENT

Consistency is essential in how you manage your team. Do your utmost to treat all your employees the same when it comes to expectations, privileges, and exceptions. Inclusion and fair treatment is critical to a positive work culture, and by creating a fair and open work environment your business will achieve so much more.

TIP #3: FOCUS ON THE POSITIVE

A good motto to remember when it comes to providing feedback to employees is that you get more of what you reward. By acknowledging and rewarding good performance, employees will be motivated to do more of the same. Avoid letting your feedback dwell on criticism or corrections. Nobody can thrive in an environment when they are constantly surrounded by negativity. Focus on the positive and show your team what you’d like to see more of from them in the future.

TIP #4: SET A GOOD EXAMPLE

Employees look to their manager as their model of success within their organization. If you want to see good attendance, performance, and professional conduct from your employees, make sure you are modeling that behavior yourself. This is especially true if you want to see good work-life balance in your office. When was the last time you took a vacation? Are you guilty of answering emails late into the evening? It’s important to model the behavior you know your team would benefit from, because you can be sure they are looking to you as an example of what is expected of them.

TIP #5: TAKE EVALUATIONS SERIOUSLY

Feedback is one of the most powerful forces for good in a work environment. Performance evaluations should be seen as an important management communication tool. They provide you with a clear opportunity to highlight the changes you would like to see take place, and also to listen to any feedback an employee is able to provide to you. If you overlook or breeze through your employee evaluations, you can be sure it’s a missed opportunity to help your team perform better, but also a missed opportunity for you to learn how you can do your job better as well.

ARE YOU LOOKING FOR TOP EMPLOYEES?

Learn more about how you can enable your team by bringing the recruiting experts from USPRO into the conversation. Contact us today!