12 Management Best Practices to Use

Did you know that only 60% of employees say they have a world-class manager?

An effective manager plays a significant role in creating a positive and highly productive workplace. Your behavior and management can streamline your team into a super productive unit doing their best work, and improve morale among your direct reports. This is backed by data too, with research showing that structured management practices “have greater productivity, profitability, and innovation” – in a report by Nicholas Bloom, Erik Brynjolfsson, Megha Patnaik, Itay Saporta-Eksten, and John Van Reenen.

There are some standard management best practices that successful managers use. If you haven’t already implemented them, our article will tell you how, and explain the benefits for small businesses and large enterprises alike.

We’ll cover 12 examples of best management practices (BMPs) and FAQs for administrators and team leaders to improve their management style, from how to communicate better, to how to delegate, and educate your team. So let’s get started.

1. Hire the right people (someone you’d be happy to see in the hallway)

Our first set of best practices for managing your business environment is one that starts early – hiring the right people.

Big picture: Wrong hires have a big impact on company culture, productivity, and costs. Studies of performance reviews revealed that wrong hires usually perform worse than others, and managing an underperforming employee takes 70% more time than managing a high performing one.

Additionally, if your staff doesn’t share your company’s values, you’ll find it challenging to get everyone rowing in the same direction. The hit on team dynamics and partnerships will make it difficult for your employees to put out good work at a reasonable rate. At the end of the day the goal is maximizing profitability.

While a candidate does need to have the right essential skills for a role, great managers know you can’t “train” someone to have the right attitude and personality that fits your company. Business management is people management – make it easier for yourself from the start.

Optimize your human resource management from the earliest stage by making sure hiring “right” is one of your strategic goals.

There are many incentives to onboarding employees that are a strong cultural fit. Such employees bring more value to your business. Part of these employee’s strengths is that they are generally more satisfied with their positions and exhibit that satisfaction through their work results. Employee engagement comes easier when a new team member gels with the people and the work environment naturally. Just make sure to not show favoritism towards the employees that seem to be better fits, or you’ll just impair your business’s overall teamwork.

Here are some steps you can take to change management and improve your chances of hiring the right person.

Consider a wide range of candidates

Part of operation management is having a vast pool of potential employees to find the optimal fit. As long as you have assessment criteria in place, your management team will know who to shortlist and invite for an interview.

Don’t limit your search to one job board either as you will lower the chance for finding the right candidate. You never know – professional social media like LinkedIn and AngelList could be the key to connecting with future members of your team and reaching your company’s full potential.

Draw up an assessment criteria

Predetermined rules give you greater consistency in the recruitment process. Business leaders use criteria to analyze candidates, select them for interviews, but also to compare and score interviewees’ answers. You can even take further initiative – a Walden University case study revealed that practical demonstrations were key in determining if candidates 1. had the knowledge to complete tasks and 2. fit into the organization.

It’s also worth considering saving this criteria or using it for later performance monitoring down the line. Sometimes employees can grow more lax as they transition into feeling comfortable in the work place. Remind them (and yourself) what you both signed up for.

Prioritize cultural fit

A good management approach when recruiting is to prioritize the cultural fit and not just the role fit. This means that during the recruitment process, you must look beyond the candidate’s qualifications & metrics while determining eligibility.

You’ll need to determine whether they share your company’s views and values, and  then  consider the candidate’s skills and the role fit.

Picture seeing them down the hallway— would you be happy to see them? Would they be happy to be there, or will they have a future of no shows and requiring appointment reminders to come in to work?

2. Be consistent in your actions

Consistency means that employees know exactly what to expect of you as predictable managers bring stability to the workplace. Without a consistent leader, employees are likely to feel confused and stressed, which will affect their productivity. Additionally, bigger companies have to deliver consistent results for their stakeholders and investors each revenue cycle.

An excellent example of a consistent leader is Jack Welch, the former CEO of General Electric, who is often named as one of the best leaders in history.

Jack Welch’s practice  of ranking employees and eliminating the worst performers (otherwise known as the “rank-and-yank” method) worked well for him at General Electric.

Although some may have considered his leadership harsh, he was always consistent at his actions and his expectations were clear.

Good or bad, a consistent approach brings a multitude of benefits to your workplace. If you find a strategy that works for you, consider making a template so you can remain consistent through multiple applications of the same strategy.

3. Communicate (clearly, accurately and thoroughly)

Bad management often stems from poor communication and messaging errors. If you experience problems with your team, it may well be that your communication skills need some honing.

To become a better communicator, begin with the basics. Excellent communication is clear, accurate, and thorough, and doesn’t leave people with a question mark over their head.

And it’s especially important when you’re delegating tasks. When telling someone what to do, make sure you cover all the necessary details:

• Who is responsible for the task
• What they have to do
• When they have to do it by
• How should they do it (if needed)

Whether we are talking about written or oral communication, the same rules apply. Try to deliver the punchline first, then complement your main point with supporting information.

Since listening makes a big part of good communication practices, welcome additional questions from your team, and be ready to answer them with patience and empathy.

4. Listen actively and ask questions

As Sir Richard Branson says,  “Listen more than you talk. Nobody ever learned anything by hearing themselves speak.”  

Listening to your staff, trying to understand their perspectives and concerns shows them they’re appreciated and is a good practice to do.

Employees who feel listened to are happier and have lower stress levels. On top of that, those who believe their managers use active-empathetic listening (AEL)  feel more in control at work  and have higher general well-being.

One of the easiest ways to become a better listener is to show that you care. Demonstrating that you care about your employees enhances your professional relationships and shows staff you see them as valuable assets in the workplace.

You should encourage staff to voice opinions and ask questions—this also shows you’re listening and engaging with them. When you do ask questions, however, avoid interrupting them as they speak. Doing this encourages staff to open up to you.

That said, even the most supportive business owners may have trouble getting their employees to open up due to the power imbalance. In those cases, prioritize increasing your team’s comfort with using your Human Resources department to voice any concerns.

5. Lead by example 

If a manager is demanding something she is not doing herself, then the employees will be less motivated to do it.

Show, don’t tell. If you want to influence your team, the best thing you can do is to be an example to follow. Remember that employees look up to you to determine what is acceptable and desirable behavior in the workplace.

Ask yourself — What behaviors do you exhibit that others already mirror? Which ones could you start exhibiting that will influence your team and make the workplace better for everyone?

For instance, can you:

• Show greater flexibility?
• Demonstrate a stronger work ethic?
• Communicate more clearly?

Leading by example may sound like a cliché, but it’s a vital part of proper management, so think about the areas where you can be a powerful role model for others.

6. Delegate and get out of the way

Some managers fear delegation because of the underlying concern that they could complete the task better. However, with a limited amount of time, delegation becomes an essential part of project management.

Delegating not only saves you time, but it also helps develop your team. When you delegate tasks, your employees get to build their skills along with their confidence.

When you delegate a part of work to your team, you also enable them to develop their way of doing things. Whichever approach they take, don’t interfere. Instead, take a step back, ask for updates, and check whether they require your input.

To avoid micromanagement, provide your staff with the tools they need to do an outstanding job. A good training program is a foundation for successful delegating.

Create documentation and processes (if they aren’t already in place) so that your employees have a roadmap for success.

Also, don’t forget that delegation doesn’t have to be just to people – you can delegate to software and apps as well.

Consider the high-stress (and high stakes) work done by healthcare providers. Many of these medical offices rely on a proper practice management system to help automate many aspects of patient care: scheduling follow-ups, providing telemedicine via a patient portal, handling medical billing, and more. In a way, their use of medical practice management software is delegating tasks to cloud-based software to improve their workflow and handling of patient information.

And it works. They pick user-friendly practice management solutions that work with their EHR/EMR (types of electronic health records) and maximize the work they can do for their patients (whether a small practice or a big one), all while staying HIPAA compliant. Don’t hesitate to embrace new technologies, they could drastically improve your operations all around.

Looking for some guidance on when  to delegate? Try using the 70% rule.

If someone can do a task  70% as well as you can, delegate it. Train that person for an additional 10% and be happy with 80% as a result, because nobody will do things exactly as you.

Managers need to understand & accept that, or else they might pay the price in overall effectiveness.

7. Provide constructive feedback regularly

Mistakes will happen—it’s a part of managing a team.

Your reaction to those mishaps, however, can either make your team more effective or start a conflict. Delivering feedback properly is a critical management practice to master.

Most people enjoy becoming better at their job, and they can achieve this with  regular feedback you give them  .

However, you need to steer clear of critiques. Instead, give your staff useful, actionable feedback that they can apply to their role and grow their skills.

The secret is striking the right balance. Kyle Porter from Salesloft says that for one “critique” (or feedback on what to improve), you should use five praises to balance things out.

Here are some best practices for giving feedback to your employees:

Give feedback in person

Giving constructive feedback in a crowded office is never a good idea. It can damage your employee’s confidence and self-esteem while making them defensive. Instead, find empty space or  hold a one-to-one meeting in your office.

Before you move on to any negative comments, begin with acknowledging the positives. If there are areas for improvement, talk with your staff about how you can achieve this together.

And when you come to share constructive feedback, be positive and informal. Your tone of voice is everything. It will help to take the fear out of a meeting and make your team member feel more relaxed.

Don’t overwhelm them – use clear goals

Although it’s important to stress areas that need improvement, there is a thing as too much information.

 Instead of telling your employee about  everything they need to work on, prioritize the most important area of concern for the moment and focus on that.

Once you address the most pressing issue, you can move on to the next thing.

Giving feedback can feel uncomfortable for both sides but it’s crucial for employee’s growth and thus—retention.

Paul Petrone, Linkedin’s Head of Academic and Government Marketing, shares that employees are more likely to quit if they aren’t growing in their role.

Regular feedback for your employees will help your day-to-day operations run more smoothly and give your team a sense of accomplishment as they develop and meet clear goals.

Consider introducing your team to benchmarking – comparing your methodologies to those of the best businesses in your industry. Doing so will provide a steady source of inspiration and motivation for dedicated workers.

Similarly, Key Performance Indicators – defined by your business objectives – were noted to improve industrial production. This is thanks to being able to compare KPIs with similar businesses to identify poor performance and locate improvement potential in your company.

8. Spread Your Positivity 

Moods are contagious, and you have a  bigger impact on everybody’s mood  than you may realize.

When you come to work in a bad mood, it affects the productivity, morale, and quality of work of your employees. So, don’t forget, as a leader, you’re responsible for setting the atmosphere throughout your company.

Now, this doesn’t mean you have to hide negative things from your team, but if you act  cranky and defeated  , the chances are that attitude will spread to your team as well. So put any drama or panic to the side and act professionally.

To further spread positivity, you can:

• Smile at team members  and colleagues more
• Celebrate the little wins with your team

Just as importantly, remember not to neglect mental health care for yourself either. Ensure that you get enough sleep, some exercise, eat a balanced diet, and take time out when you need to; otherwise, it will be hard to maintain a positive attitude.

If you feel you’re close to burning out, request a personal day so you can return refreshed and positive, ready to motivate your team again. It’s up to you as a good manager to manage your ups and downs.

9. Develop your people

When you focus on your staff’s development, you’re helping them to become better at their jobs. Helping them learn more can parallelly improve their soft skills as well as specific job-related skills.

If you want to encourage your team to grow and progress, you need to give them the resources they need to further their development. This means providing staff with:

• Training
• Mentoring
• Motivation

You can do that by getting staff more involved at work, such as mentoring a junior employee or  presenting to senior staff. If you’re used to hosting regular meetings, try setting a goal of each one directly benefiting as many employees as possible. Foster a learning environment.

Additionally, you can develop your team’s skills by putting them into another role. This could be helping you to interview a prospective employee, working on a new project, or shadowing another colleague.

For new experiences outside of their day-to-day roles, see if your company has a professional development budget for sending employees to a training class.

Also, if there is an opportunity to bring an employee on a business trip or to a conference, go for it. Doing so will give your people the chance to see your company’s work in the broader context of your industry or market.

They’ll come back to work with renewed enthusiasm and a greater sense of purpose.

10. Be flexible

Learn to relax your need for control and show your staff some flexibility.

When you are flexible with how your people accomplish tasks (within your company’s procedures), they have the opportunity to  innovate and find more efficient ways of doing things. 

Overly rigid management can lead to alienating your employees and lowering company morale. Remember that there’s more than one way to approach a task, so show some flexibility in getting things done.

Being more flexible also means being more patient. Some of your employees won’t always grasp the finer points of a task at first. However, they’ll get better, so offer them some leeway in the meantime or allow them to find their way of doing things.

Again, you’ll want to properly train employees before giving them more flexibility. They must understand core company processes before they can innovate.

A good management practice is to allow flexibility for employees that are well-trained and confident in their roles. Give them more opportunities to solve problems and find solutions with your guidance.

11. Remain as transparent as possible

You may underestimate just how much your staff value truth and transparency.

 Transparency brings trust, and with that comes greater respect and loyalty from your staff.  

Greater transparency also gives your staff confidence. They have a clear picture of where the company is heading. And if there are problems ahead, keeping staff well informed eases uncertainty, thus reducing stress.

And when you show greater transparency to your staff, there are many more advantages, such as:

• Team building becomes quicker : A transparent approach means staff are happier to voice opinions and give their perspectives.
• Problem-solving becomes easier . When your staff are aware of potential problems, they can work together to create solutions.
• You build deeper relationships: When you solve problems more openly, trust deepens among your team, and the workplace performs better. This means everyone wins.

If transparency is so important, why aren’t more leaders transparent?

A Forbes article says it’s because managers are worried about  not appearing authoritative. 

However, we see that transparency at work brings many benefits, so try to implement it as a good management practice.

12. Use quantitative data to make decisions

Using quantitative data is an effective way to create employee training and development programs. This technique is also known as  DDDM (data-driven decision making.)

Many top-performing companies turn to data to make decisions. Instead of relying on guesswork or gut instinct, they prefer to let the facts guide them. Google is just one of the high-profile companies  that use data in the workplace  .

They relied on data for training managers. Google started by using data from employee surveys to draw up a set of behaviors that separate good managers from bad ones.

That revelation allowed them to reshape management training systems, giving new managers the ability to excel.

However, for data-driven work culture, your workplace needs to have a strategy in place. The first step is to define your goals—both achievable and measurable.

This is when business owners tend to look into software. There are all sorts of ways technology can help you with data – finding billing software, adopting a time tracking software solution (like Buddy Punch), or if you work in healthcare you’ll likely want an automatic tool for patient data (and patient scheduling, prescribing, invoicing, and more.)

Many of these software tools come with varied and customizable key features, which means choosing one for your business depends on your niche and what you intend to do with your data.

For example, we made Buddy Punch to include time tracking, scheduling, and payroll functionalities, which means it a good fit for almost any business that wants to keep up with real-time data to optimize operations. However, it does not include features such as revenue cycle management (RCM), telehealth, or patient charting – which means a healthcare business might want the best practice management software they can find such as DrChrono, Kareo, Nextgen, or Athenahealth for their front office. These tools are designed for large or independent practices, ONC-certified, and are great for managing electronic medical records and keeping up patient engagement.

Trying to choose between tools? Think about what would best help you as a manager, and look back at the goals you’ve set for yourself. Once you’ve outlined your goals, you’ll know which areas you must focus on and what type of data you’d need to gather.

Using quantitative decision making to create new training programs has its advantages, but you also need to know how to manage that data, and most importantly, how to keep it secure.

Good managers can manage anything

When you rely on good management practices, you can professionally develop yourself and, consequently, develop your team.

As John Maxwell said about leadership –  “tend to people, and they will tend to the business.”  

Achieving this means that you must lead by example and act in the same way you expect others to act.

Show your human side. Show your employees that you value their work ethic or the results they deliver. Demonstrate empathy, compassion, and a helping hand when it’s needed.

Follow the 12 rules we shared to take your managerial skills to the next level and to create a team that trusts and respects you. If you feel like part of your managerial issue is difficult managing your employees, the quickest fix we’ve found is to adopt a software solution such as Buddy Punch.

Try Buddy Punch for Free

If you’re starting to see the value in using a digital tool like Buddy Punch to help you manage time tracking, employee scheduling, and payroll, you can sign up for a 14-day free trial here.

If you just want to learn more, feel free to view a pre-recorded demo video of how to use our software, or book a one-on-one demo to learn more about how it could transform your operations. Buddy Punch is both a web-based tool and a mobile app for iPhone and Android devices.