Supervisors are the key to having a well-oiled team perform efficiently and effectively. Knowing what traits to look for when hiring a new supervisor can make your job easier and reduce your anxiety. However, even with supervisors who come with tons of experience and knowledge, training them to be great leaders is important to ensure that your employees are inspired and productive.
Doing so requires a stellar onboarding training program, as well as ongoing training for supervisors, this ensures they receive the support needed to effectively manage their employees. Partnering with HR experts could alleviate your concerns about getting this right by providing guidance and counsel regarding best practices.
The Elements of a Great Supervisor
From upper management to supervisors to individual team members, leadership is vital to your company's growth and success. Prominent leaders can help a company thrive by inspiring employees. Their role is vital to managing your most crucial asset: your employees. Whether your company thrives or fails is entirely dependent on how happy and productive your employees are, and supervisors are the ones who inspire the team and ensure you’re hitting your goals.
A good supervisor has many soft skills, like empathy and integrity. Supervisors who treat employees like individuals and not machines will gain the respect of their team. A supervisor who supports their team and looks out for them will gain agreement from them. They should know their employees, their strengths and weaknesses, be a skilled listener, and be able to provide structure to help employees be their best.
Training Rockstar Supervisors
Training employees, including supervisors, does not come naturally to many companies. They often figure that they have hired someone who is experienced, so there's no need to train them. Unfortunately, that could lead to unequal management and styles that are drastically different. Providing training teaches those in leadership roles about the goals of your company to help them achieve them better. By ensuring supervisors are on the same page, you’ll have a more cohesive and productive team.
A large portion of training involves showing supervisors how they can make a difference in their roles. A great supervisor will provide positive examples to their team and that all starts with the right training. That’s not to say that every supervisor needs to act exactly the same. It's important to let your supervisors be individuals and treat their team the same way. By letting them manage their team effectively and with their own personal touch, they will feel more connected with their team, which can lead to better outcomes for the company.
Offer Outside Leadership and Tech Training
Training doesn’t stop after the onboarding process concludes. Employees who have been with your company for many years should still receive ongoing training. As your company grows, the supervisor’s responsibilities will change, and providing constant leadership training is imperative to continue effectively leading your employees.
For supervisors, sending them to outside seminars to experience leadership development makes them feel supported in their role, teaches unique and effective leadership skills, and makes them more effective supervisors. Good leadership training can offer additional insight to your supervisors, giving them ways to better connect with their team.
Tech training is also vital to your supervisors, whether it’s conducted internally or externally. When you implement new systems, especially systems that your supervisors might use regularly to keep up employee personnel files, getting training from that vendor or providing internal training is important to ensure that the supervisors are using the platform correctly and in the most effective way. It can be tedious work, but it will pay off in the long run.
Teach them to Effectively Train their Employees
Supervisors are not just there to tell employees what to do. A great supervisor is also an inspiring leader that helps your employees grow in their roles and in their lives. For many supervisors, however, being a coach doesn't come naturally, so you need to train them.
Communication training is also vital. A message can be lost when not delivered in the right way. It's also important that your supervisors understand how to deliver these messages to employees to best guide them.
Training your supervisors on how to keep detailed records is also important. When employees come to their supervisor looking for help or guidance, the supervisor should document the issue and how they helped the employee resolve the concern. These records not only show how your supervisors interact with their team, but can also provide future training opportunities.
Encourage Self-Reflection
Effective leadership is a fluid, ongoing learning and development process for both supervisors and employees. Training your supervisors to continually reflect, learn, and improve will set them and their team up for success.
Your company's initial training should show supervisors what the end goal is, but that should not be the end of their training. Your supervisors should receive ongoing training and development to help them work toward your company's shared goals. This ongoing training should include self-reflection exercises, so supervisors are trained to review their responses in different situations and learn from them.
By reflecting on issues, they have encountered and handled, they can learn to better navigate complex scenarios. It can also help keep your business out of hot water with employment law compliance issues, as handling tough situations incorrectly can lead to employment law issues.
Effective Training Helps Your Entire Organization
Effective and ongoing training is one of HR's most important responsibilities, but one that is often overlooked. Partnering with a PEO can give your company the comprehensive training and HR support you need to give your supervisors the guidance they need to better manage their teams. When your supervisors become leaders in your organization, your employees are better supported, and your company can thrive.
Developing a training program and effectively maintaining it presents numerous challenges for many small businesses. Getting expert HR support can help your supervisors get the training they need to succeed. The best way to get that specialized support in a cost-effective way is to partner with a PEO for your human resources needs.
