Saeed's Blogs: Being a Manager

Saeed's Blogs: Being a Manager: Being a manager might seem as easy as just delegating tasks, keeping an eye on employees and having a lavish office. Managers get paid mo...

Being a Manager

Being a manager might seem as easy as just delegating tasks, keeping an eye on employees and having a lavish office. Managers get paid more than the others and seem to have more authority. Hence these differences make the position prestigious. But it certainly is more than that. The hardest part is establishing influence and winning trust at the same time. Following points play a vital role in the life of a Manager and hence one should keep these in mind while he/she climbing the ladder to success.

1.      The Downside of Being a Manager:

A fancy personal office and a lot of authority may seem attractive at first, but eventually there is a price one has to pay for all of this. Keep in mind that, you have been selected for this position because you have the right frame of mind and your boss has confidence in your abilities. Hence, you will face the following crises but nevertheless, it is part of the game:

a.      Wearing the Badge of Honor: Most of the times you might be carrying out the orders made above you even if you don’t really agree. Sometimes orders are imposed without the advice or consultation of a manager. The situation seems distressing as a manager might see the intricacies not considered by the senior officials. But you have to live with it as it is a part of the bargain.

b.      The Burden of Accountability: Being a manager, you are not only in charge of your own deeds but the deeds of your team as well. You can’t always keep an eye on everything they do. But if something goes wrong, you simply don’t have the luxury of withdrawing your responsibility because at this rank you are responsible for all those working under you.

c.       Lonely at the Top: The ladder to the top often makes people lonely. A boss is not supposed to be closer to his team as are the other employees. In order to make tough decisions objectively, it is important to be aloof. It is often observed than once a person is promoted from within a group, he/she quickly becomes frigid and distant.

2.      Legal Liabilities:

Most employees are exempted from legal liabilities. But a manager is not one of the lucky ones. Managerial tasks frequently include signing imperative documents and making decisions. They need to keep the workplace safe and free from harassment of any type. If one fails in any of the responsibilities, he/she might face legal action.

3.       Your Job is Very Attractive:

Being a manager definitely sounds like a dream job from outside. People are always hunting for such positions. You can’t afford to make mistakes because that might prove to be a golden chance for the potential opportunists. Many people from your own work group may have the feeling that they can prove to be a better choice for the post and they are more competent. The best agenda in such circumstances would be to be extremely careful and take each step deliberately. Your each move should be unhurried and with dignity.

4.      Greater Workload:

Being a manager is synonymous to being a workaholic. An employee simply needs to do his/her own work but a manager has more to do; he/she has to supervise people, prepare reports and mandates for the company. An employee might be asked to attend a meeting or a seminar. But a manager has more to do; he/she needs to arrange all these happenings. The manager could be called at odd hours to see to an incomplete task. Whether a manager works for 8 hours or 16 hours, the pay of the day remains the same.

5.      Becoming a Public Figure:

A boss is much like a celebrity and he/she is definitely talked about. He/She would be the subject of someone’s dinner conversation and the hot topic for gossip at lunch break. His/hers acts are under hawk eyes. The endeavors of a manager serve as a guidance to what behavior is acceptable and not. It is vital to be very formal in every action and rational in words. A role model is often not forgiven for the mistakes.

6.      Firing an Employee:

Firing an employee is a tricky business. This is one of the distressing decisions a manager might have to make. Depriving someone of their income sounds nasty. It is essential that the reasons are factual and rational so that your conscience does not feel guilty. Breaking the bad news to the unlucky employee would require the right words. The reaction you get for sacking someone is the most complicated to predict. A manager can get the company in legal hot water if the employee is not fired properly.

7.      Keys to Becoming a Great Manager:

The discussion above proves that management is definitely not a piece of cake. But it is rightly said “Where there’s will, there’s a way”.

8.       Building Trust with the Employees:

Building trust in workplace is vital for smooth functioning. Trust is a two-way street. Management is more about inspiring people and making them live your dream. Employees should be of the view that they are deemed competent and capable of the designated tasks.

9.      Creating Winning Opportunities for People:

Everyone has their own strengths and weaknesses. A good manager has the ability of looking into people’s capabilities and assigning them tasks accordingly to produce better results. Every person in a company wants to play a productive role. It comes down to the manager to produce winning opportunities.

10. Communication Skills and the Art of Persuasion:

The power of public speaking and taking a stand for ideas distinguishes a manager from his/her subordinates. Often, it is required to get the remarkable ideas flow into the team and make the people understand the expected outcome. The right words and apt tone can make a significant difference. Similarly, it is important to be persuasive. Making people work forcefully is far less effective than persuading them for the objectives one has in the mind. Listening to others is equally important as discussion can let the stagnant ideas flow.

11. Making People Happy:

A good manager inspires people and induces confidence. People want to follow their steps and live their dreams with them while a bad leader instills fear which does not produce fine results. A discussion with an employee should always make him feel elevated. All employees should be valued whether it be an office boy or a business analyst. People who are made to feel special take pride in their work.

12. Appreciating Good Work:

Managers often feel their duty and right to yell at employees for something that went wrong. But appreciating people is most widely forgotten or overlooked. Everyone likes to be appreciated. Everyone naively expects rewards for good work. But a manager seems to be forgetting it consistently! It is very ironical but true. Employees love an admiring manager and like to work for them.

13. Be a Role Model:

Your people follow you. Be careful where you put your steps because they are destined to be followed by the employees. Don’t take any task for granted. Be enthusiastic and excited about the work and the enthusiasm will eventually become viral.

14. Being Hopeful in Bad Times:

Life keeps on oscillating between good and bad times. The company might face crisis and it is a manager’s duty to keep up the spirits. He/She should ensure the team that the hitch will end soon and everything will be alright. The manager needs to be fearless and serene but deliberate and ready for anything. Once a team is through the crisis, relationships and understanding reaches a new level.

15. Making a Good Team:

A good manager’s tasks include making a strong team of people. A good employee serves as a cell and a good team serves as a building block of an organization. Finding competent people is hard and calculating their potential during an interview is even harder. A manager needs to be good at evaluating the psyche of people so that he can choose the best.

All a manager requires is the basic understanding of human nature, the art of dealing with people beautifully and the ability of leading people rightly. Being the best has a lot of perks but it does not come without a price. The price is often hard work and smart work

REASONS TO OUTSOURCE THE PAYROLL

OUTSOURCE THE PAYROLL; affects the generous benefits, where Organization works at the large scale, with different segments / branches of the Organization activities, and having less professional staff, the following reasons multiply the resources of the Organization, to outsource the Payroll:

1.     Save resources: You don't have to buy software or hardware.  We can do all your bookkeeping at our offices.  Spend your capital growing your business, not on your back office operations.

2.     Make better decision: You will know the exact financial state of your business at all times, so you can make decisions based on hard evidence, not a "gut" feel.

3.     Improved cash flow: Because our focus is always on your records, we will provide you with all the necessary information to better manage your cash flow.  We follow up on overdue accounts and assist your customers to pay on time.  And we do it without annoying your customer.

4.     More reliable and professional: Some employees show up just to punch a clock.  When we work for you our business reputation is on the line.  Our service will provide you with accurate, complete and timely information.  We pride ourselves on never having missed a deadline.

5.     Save money: Calculate the cost of payroll taxes, worker's compensation, vacation, and health benefits; then add the cost of training, turnover and supervision.  An outsourced bookkeeper can be significantly less money.

6.     Teaching basics and beyond: With more than twenty years experience, we've taught many employees and business owners the proper way to work with their accounting software and maintain their records.  Our service is a certified QuickBooks Pro-Advisor and we are experienced in many other packages too.

7.     Worry: There's a lot to be said for the peace of mind that outsourcing payroll services can bring to a business owner or manager. No headaches, no hassles: You're left to focus on running a profitable business.

8.     Accuracy: Payroll mistakes can be painful, angering employees and — more ominously — the government. A good payroll-services provider is far less likely to make a serious error than your in-house staff. Furthermore, if a big mistake is made, you can seek financial restitution from the provider — something you can't do with your own employees.

9.     Accountability: If paychecks are delayed or paperwork is mishandled, it's the payroll-services provider's responsibility to fix things. If the provider can't (or won't) remedy the situation to your satisfaction, you can sue. You can also switch to another service provider in a snap — even if you have to eat a portion of an existing service contract. Try firing, hiring and training an in-house payroll staff in anything less than several weeks.

10.  Cost: Big businesses can afford to maintain big payroll departments. For small businesses, however, an in-house payroll service is a money burner. If your business has fewer than 20 employees, there's a very good chance that you can save money by outsourcing your payroll operations. Do the math. Figure out how many hours your employees are devoting to payroll-related activities, calculate how much you're spending and compare the amount to the plans offered by several payroll-services providers. Also, be sure to factor in the money your business spends on tasks like printing and distributing checks, creating tax documents, and the like. You'll probably be surprised by the result.

11.  Productivity: Payroll management is a time-consuming activity. With this burden removed, your employees can focus on doing more productive things, and you may even be able to trim your staff's size.

12.  Reliability: In-house payroll activities function as reliably as the people doing the work. With a payroll service, output speed and quality won't vary in accordance with vacations and illnesses. You also won't have to spend time helping new hires understand your business's payroll system.

13.  Speed: Since payroll-services providers are specialists with vast technical resources at their disposal, they can process even the most complex payrolls at lightning-fast speed. Unlike most employers, they can also accommodate a temporary influx of seasonal workers without acquiring new systems that will remain dormant the rest of the year.

14.  Insight: A good payroll-services provider will know all the ins and outs of payroll-related tax laws and regulatory mandates on the federal, state and local levels. Your employees could try to achieve the same level of understanding, but it would take a considerable investment in time and effort.

15.  Flexibility: Boring, repetitive payroll work can act like an anchor on your business. Your staff, when freed of rote payroll responsibilities, will be free to focus on other, more creative work.

16.  Security: Do you have the time and energy to closely supervise your business's payroll for time and rate abuses and other shady activities? Most payroll services firms have technologies that can spot and alert clients to various types of payroll fraud, such as payment manipulation and "phantom workers."

17.  Save time:  Would you like to spend more time on the core interests of your company?  Or maybe you'd like more leisure time.  We excel at working independently and at the same time we're always available to answer your questions or provide a status report.

18.  Stress free tax time: Well maintained financial records help you to get all the deductions you deserve.  Up to date accounting will also reduce the cost you pay to your CPA or other tax preparer.

19.  Get financing: To apply for a loan, your records must be accurate, complete and easy to understand.  We've worked with many banks and can help you to prepare all the necessary paperwork to get the money you need.

20.  Free initial consultation: We can help you on a short-term basis with set-ups, clean-ups, trainings or reconciliation projects.  If your needs are ongoing, we can help with that too.  It's your business, your choice.  Call us today.  

THE MBA

(Reference :

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10150661139949621&set=a.10150315001949621.359428.612039620&type=1&theater)

Recently, I received a particularly amusing email. It was an essay for the entrance exam in the Indian Civil services on “The Cow”. The essay was penned by someone not particularly well-versed in the English language, and much of the hilarity of the essay was because of that one particular factor, for those of you who have not chanced upon that email, here is a sneak preview:

“He is the cow. “The cow is a successful animal. Also he is a four footed, and because he is female, he give milks (but will do so when he is got child). He is useful to man. But he has four legs together. Two are forward and two are afterwards. His whole body can be utilized for use., More so the milk. Milk comes from 4 taps attached to his basement (Horses don’t have such attachments).

Apart from the amusement value, I was fascinated by the essay for its novel use of language, with hopefully laser grammatical errors, in describing another creature very successful in our society—the MBA.

He is the MBA. He is a successful creature. He rides a “Lohay ka Dabba “(a car) with four wheels. His car plays loud music in ----err---very strange English language. He lives in a bangle. He is also wearing costly clothes, with many ties of many colors. He has good quality pants and his shirts are good quality. He has many notes. His purse is full of notes and all that stuff. The MBA is successful because he is using his money to spend in the good stuff which makes his car seat, full of jumpy and softle stuff. He also has a mobile phone. The MBA makes phone calls from his mobile phone; the mobile phone doesn’t have a thread of current, and plays English film sounds. So the MBA is made up of car, bangla, clothes, ties, pants and shirts, notes, purse and mobile phone. The MBA was a perfect person once too.

The MBA is very much educated. He speaks English like the speaking of English by the English and the American. He talks by the English of all the worldly objects and stuff and the peoples and the businesses. He is talking in English with the English too. So he is very deeply educated, the MBA.

The MBA is always dynamic. He is running from one position to another in the loha-car, always in hurry and blaming abuses on the rickshaw and the tonga-wallas. And many times English bad-words, too, who are slowly traveling on their rural speeds. But these are English abuses, so they are good to give. Because they teach poor, rural peoples little English na---no? So he is dynamic and always education from the dynamics of his car.

The MBA is networking and it has many friends, families and relatives. He has so many and makes so many friends and families because he can always give them his extra notes and take them for MC Dondal’s for Ice creams and English bun kababs. The friends of MBA are also MBAs because the MBA likes to talk English with peoples. But peoples are not knowing very good Englishes. So MBA talks to MBAs and makes MBA friends only. The wife of MBA are white and with English speaking tounges. The MBA and the wife talk to their sons and boys in English and only English. They want their children to be MBAs too.

All peoples everywhere are always willing all days to give their daughters hands to even every black color MBAs. Black color doctors and engineers find it very uneasy to find hands of various daughters who are white and beautiful.

This is almost the end of all the MBA.

Managerial Mistakes to Be Avoided At All Costs

Managers need to be very vigilant when they have a team of employees working under them as they have to personally motivate each employee to give his best performance and make sure that all of the employees are happy with their jobs. If you are at a managerial position, it is expected that you can manage a team successfully and without any issues arising between the team members.

Given below are some of the most common mistakes made by managers which result in low output of the entire team:

1-     Neglecting People In Favor Of Policies:

There is no doubt that policies are meant to be followed strictly but showing some flexibility with employees is also important. If a very hard working employee has a personal problem which is making it impossible for him to attend the office during the mentioned timings, rather than letting him or her go, it is better to allow him or her some leniency in time so that you can retain the valuable employee by bending the rules to some extent.

2-     Lack of Communication:

One of the most important aspects of the job of a manager is to make sure that he or she is communicating with the employees regularly and effectively. The manager needs to convey the specific instructions for a given task and the time available to finish the job. A manager has to assess each team member on the basis of his performance and this needs proper communication within the team and with the manager.

3-     Ignoring the Team Members:

Ignoring the concerns and the suggestions provided by a team member is not a good way to get the team motivated. The team members often come up with very good ideas and ignoring them can lead to missing a good opportunity for any given project. A good manager listens to his or her team members and takes their suggestions into consideration.

4-     Failure to Take Responsibility:

A good manager is one who focuses on not only getting the credit for the successes but is also comfortable in taking responsibility for the failures rather than blaming it on the team members. You need to be able to accept your mistakes and take full responsibility for the consequences if you are hoping to become a good manager.

5-     Favoritism among the Team Members:

Although we are all aware of the fact that favoritism and nepotism in a team can lead to poor output and lack of motivation for the rest of the employees but the fact remains that some managers do indulge in this practice. Picking your favorite member of the team and allowing him or her special privileges not only affects the performance of the team members but also gives you a negative reputation.

6-     Setting Unrealistic Tasks:

Some managers are so obsessed with getting the work done as soon as possible that they do not take the time to explain the tasks assigned to the team members properly and push the team for instant results. This leads to a lot of mistakes and often the team members feel stressed out and fail to achieve the best results possible.

7-     Implementing Too Many Changes:

While some changes are good, implementing too many changes too often can lead to unrest among the team members as most people are comfortable working in a set pattern. Whenever you are planning on implementing a change, make sure that all team members are comfortable with the change and can easily adapt to the change.

Fluttering Butterflies at the Office

Human beings are emotional animals at the core; a strong affection or attraction can develop anywhere – the street, the neighborhood, universities (ah yes, we have been there haven’t we?). Well, when romance springs up in an office setup it can lead to one of two things; it can either bloom into a beautiful tube rose, tall and magnificent – or, it can be your worst nightmare (it can lead to a termination, a law suit for harassment, downfall of one’s career and so on). There is nothing wrong with having an attraction or that special spark for someone; but one should be mindful of the line between a delicate passionate romance and an offending harassment.

Research shows we are likely to spend a third or even more of our lives at places where we work; it is then not surprising for the buds of romance to bloom at the office. Companies have tried to put a ban on dating among employees; but they soon realized “if it has to happen, it will happen”. Also, if two employees are romantically attracted, and if these two employees happen to be among the best ones a company has, they might lose their sense of loyalty for the company. Today, responsible companies have removed the restriction with a statement “what you do with your life is your business; we only care about how productive you are between office hours”. Still, how to make sure a manager isn’t taken off guard and how to make sure you as the management get the best out of this inevitable situation?

Define Boundaries

The first thing you as a manager need to do is make sure your company has a “harassment policy” – if there is not one in place, generate one and have it enforced as soon as possible. Acknowledging and appreciating the human element in your organization you obviously cannot create borders for emotions or feelings; but, you can make the harassment policy very clear to your human resource and let them know about the company’s take on the issue should one be brought up. If there is an employee who is not interested or receptive to the advances of another, they should know they can always come up to you and let you know with a confidence that their identity and the case will be dealt with high confidentiality.

Decide if it is Appropriate?

Many educational institutes as well as offices the world over have defined what is appropriate and what is not. Yes, this does sound a little harsh but then again, the company and its interests come first. The policy should spell out clearly what is and what isn’t appropriate. For instance, a manager being romantically involved with a subordinate can be tagged as in-appropriate. Make sure, the policy is as clear as possible, covering all aspects.

Benefits

The benefits of allowing romance among employees within acceptable limits can do wonders for the morale of your human resource. To start with, you will have a bunch of happy workers who love to work together. A happy worker is a productive worker right? The other benefit is that you will have fewer absentees since workers emotionally connected will look forward to spending time with each other, and since they can be together for prolonged hours at the office they will do their best not to absent themselves from the office. Another advantage is that emotional partners know they have someone they can trust and confide in to talk about their activities and issues at work – this way, they will try to resolve the issue among themselves before coming to you – eventually, the management will have more time to think about more serious issues like market competition and growth.

The Downsides

Situations like these can be controlled in a way that most downsides are preventable; yet, there are some which are simply not, no matter how effective and well laid policy you have in place. If two employees decide to get married, you might lose one of perhaps both. On the other side, you will at times have a few couples who will start to think they are a little more smarter than you – thinking that way, they will try to find loop holes within the policy. This particular disadvantage can be your strength should you decide to see it that way. Even if couples do find loopholes they are actually doing you a favor by finding them for you to fill. Another issue that may arise is the case of “heartbreaks” which is devastating to say the least – you cannot prevent this from happening, but if it does you can ease the suffering, you will need to make sure there is someone in the company (preferably at a senior position) who is friendly, popular among your employees and someone everyone likes to talk to. If an employee does give the appearance of a shipwreck, s/he can go to this individual and talk it out. You will be surprised how much a simple conversation can help.

What need to be done?

Prevention is better than cure and this is something you cannot prevent; but you can limit an undesirable event. Make sure you have a “fraternization policy”, well formulated and firmly enforced. Once you have enforced it, be realistic with your expectations. Chances are for the first few terms, your policy will reveal loopholes – once that happens, be active in filling those up. Make sure you have an “Employment Handbook” which details each and every policy the management has put in place. Distribute a copy of this handbook to every member of the company and take their acknowledgement for it. If you would like to improve the atmosphere of your company more, try to formalize an Employee Assistance Program/Department responsible for helping employees with their stress and issues, including those of emotions.

A well composed, widely publicized and strictly enforced fraternization policy will still not prevent office romances from blooming; however, it will make it a lot easier and less litigious for everyone involved particularly you, the management.

Remember, a good manager gets things done; a better manager mentors his/her subordinates to accomplish tasks time and time again, being mindful of their feelings and emotions.

So Mr/Ms Manager, choose to be a Mentor!