I recently had lunch with a client to discuss how to best determine if newly hired or promoted supervisors/managers were ready to take on their role overseeing employees and how to ensure they get what they need to be successful. It reminded me of a conversation I had with another client only about a month ago. My client is a VP of a business unit for a mid-size company. The VP had recently promoted a number of his employees to supervisory roles and didn’t feel they were going to be successful in their new role. He wanted to know what he might do to increase the success of these individuals and improve the success of future candidates.
Let’s start with those individuals already in place. For individual contributors who have recently been promoted to supervisory roles, take the following steps to be sure they get the support they need to be successful on the job:
- Talk with them one-on-one to determine their needs – where do they feel comfortable, what are the areas they need to strengthen, what challenges are they facing, etc.
- Provide them a mentor to guide them as they transition from individual contributor to a supervisory position. Ideally the mentor will b e a seasoned manager they can learn from.
- Provide them necessary training such as: managing performance, effective communication skills, time management, etc.
For new supervisors, take the following steps to be sure they get the support they need to be successful in a supervisory role – before they step into the role:
- Do an assessment of the individual’s strengths and development areas.
- Provide training to help them build those skills necessary to be effective in a supervisory role.
- Ensure the training includes case studies, role plays, etc. so they can practice what they are learning in a safe environment.
- Provide them a mentor to help them as they acclimate to the role of a supervisor.
As a best practice, ideally don’t have new supervisors manage individuals they used to work alongside. This is often difficult for a new supervisor to manage (frankly it is sometimes difficult for seasoned managers.) They were likely friends with their co-workers and now to have to step out of that role and manage them is not an easy task. However, if it cannot be avoided, provide them a mentor to help them make a transition from co-worker to boss.
Another best practice is to provide a collaboration portal for your new supervisors (and for your current managers too!) This provides them a place to get information and guidance on:
- Handling employee issues
- Company policies and procedures
- A problem solving forum
- A place to ask questions of those with more experience managing employees
Don’t assume that because someone is performing well as an individual contributor that they will also do well as a supervisor. This is not always the case. These roles require very distinct skills. I wrote an earlier blog post related to this topic that you may find of value: Is Every Employee Suited for a Management Role. First, not every individual contributor is interested in managing others – it’s a lot of work and not always very rewarding as many of us know! Second, if they are interested, and you believe they will be a good fit in a management role, provide them the training and support they need to be successful. Don’t just drop them into the role and wish them good luck.
The more support you provide your newly hired or promoted supervisors – before they take on the role and in those first crucial six months on the job – the better they will perform and the more successful they will be over the long run.
Your thoughts? Please share your experiences -the good, the bad and the ugly – with others in the Comments field below. Thanks!
