10 June 2008
Managers: Train Your Staff
Your Business Blogger(R) once did a tour of duty in government after running a number of jobs in the private sector and as hired gun.
It was there that I was reminded from the Army that staff development was the bosses’ job. Yes, it might have been in the job description of human resources. But training is the managers’ job, in both the military and government and business.
My eye opener was when I asked a young staffer to draft a letter. I received (late) a hand written letter in cursive (unreadable) on a yellow legal pad that was indeed a draft.
Who was at fault?
If you are a manager your answer would be instructive. If the reply is ’staffer’ the manager is exporting blame, the finger pointing exercise of an amateur.
The professional manager is responsible for all his unit does and fails to do.
So. After I blamed the staffer, and blamed HR for all the incompetents hired, this incompetent had to import some responsibility.
It was government, so no one really noticed.
My sins were legion. In this draft letter example there was,
No deadline.
No template.
No expectation.
The staffer didn’t know. “Well, you asked for a draft…” she said.
And she was right.
Even if ignorance of the law is no excuse, the manager is the one who should get fined or fired.
Getting results is the manager’s job. By getting performance from his people.
I needed some help. I realized that the need for more training was systemic for all departments, at all levels. I actually had two problems:
1) Getting the work done, and
2) Finding the time to do it.
I bought some time by hiring an outside consultant to help train. (This was faster and cheaper than using the in-house trainers: bureaucracy.) (Don’t tell anyone.)
The end result?
After training, that same staffer was providing draft letters that,
Were typed
Dated
Proper salutations
Addressed
With envelope
On proper letter head
In the correct front/pt (this was government, remember?)
Fact checked
Spell checked
With the proper action (clear…or hidden, this was government, remember?)
Signature block.
The letter should be complete, save for the bosses’ signature. This is completed staff work, even if the boss asks for a ‘draft.’
There should be no other action required by the manager except to sign the letter, if the manager has trained his people.
The manager will know how well his department is functioning when all that is needed is his signature. And really well managed units don’t even need that.
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