Lift The Bar

Managing staff is a lot like working with clients. With clients you work to set and manage expectations, listen to understand not just to reply and aim to help them create an environment in which they motivate themselves. The same applies to a staff team.

Here are 3 areas that need to be addressed when you become a boss.

1. You both need structure, realistic expectations and boundaries

You need to be clear on what the job entails and what it doesn’t. This should be clear in your mind and on paper well before you offer someone a role but when it comes to actually doing the job they will need more detailed guidance on how you do things. Avoid making assumptions of skills, knowledge or understanding. Double check that the employee’s understanding of the requirements match yours in every conversation you have until you are both more aware of your communication styles and know that taking shortcuts won’t result in frustrations on both sides.

Expectations are easy to set and influence throughout the recruitment and onboarding process but often trainers approach hiring their first staff member like finding a new friend or with an aim to find a duplicate of themselves. The expectations get set incorrectly as a result of a casual approach to the hiring process and throw away comments about future opportunities that are said as a result of wanting to be liked and come across as a nice person to work for, but heard as a promise (see Cathy MacDonald’s courses for more about listening from your own bubble). Don’t say anything you don’t mean, if there are future opportunities make sure that the circumstances / things that need to happen first are also communicated.

Boundaries are also important, if you don’t mind the individual simultaneously working on their own business that’s great but make sure you are clear on expectations relating to tasks and behaviour during the time you are paying for. What is it you expect to be done during a “shift”? Are there times when there isn’t any coaching going on? What do you expect to be done during that time etc.? There are very few people who will see what needs to be done and get on and do it without any guidance, there are even fewer who will magically know how you like things to be done! This doesn’t mean they are lazy, it may just be that they are unsure of their remit and don’t want to do something wrong. Over time things will change but initially you need a clear structure so that you both know what should be done, what should be left alone, where there is a set approach to be followed, and where the employee is free to use their initiative. Your aim should be to empower them to work independently within the areas of their remit.

2. Create an onboarding process

The purpose of the client onboarding process is to get them up to speed as quickly as possible on how your service works and how they can get the most effective use out of it. It reduces feelings of incompetence and increases feelings of belonging. With an employee this process is even more critical as you want them to be adding value of some kind as soon as possible and they won’t be able to do that if they don’t know how things work.

Things to include in your onboarding process

Logistics: Where is everything kept and how does everything work? Any passwords, log ins, keys etc. What client systems are there and how do they work? What are the employee admin processes around pay, holiday, illness etc?

Task list: What exactly are they expected to do in the time you are paying them for. Bear in mind there will be a learning curve so things will take longer when they first start doing them, allow for that.

Processes: How do you do things and why? This information will increase the chances of things being done the way you want them done and help give the employee a framework for those times when they must decide on something on their own.

Communication Methods: Open communication is key, and it is important that you ensure your employee knows that they can, and should, come to you with any questions, concerns or ideas that they have. It is also important that they know when and how to communicate with you. Remember that there will be different types of communication for different situations. E.g. gym is burning down? That needs a phone call day or night regardless of if it’s your day off or any other circumstances. Had a brilliant idea for a new finisher? That can wait until the next time you’re in the building or be sent by email. Obviously, these are two extreme examples but give some guidance based on your preferences. Also include the communication methods for things such as illness, holiday and any other staff admin.

Any regular meetings should also be included here. Whether you are a fan of meetings or not you will need to have regular times when you chat about performance, development, how they are, any changes in the business and share information on clients or other areas you both have input to.

3. Agree goals and a development plan and provide feedback

As a manager it is your job to ensure your team know how they are doing. We all want to know we are doing a good job and if that is the case it should be acknowledged. Likewise, it should never come as a surprise to an employee to hear they have been underperforming in some way; any potential issues should be addressed on a timely basis to avoid resentment and frustration building to a point of no return.

Whilst feedback can, and should, be provided on an ongoing basis it is important to have set times for a discussion with the employee about them and their goals, performance, ideas, and development needs. No matter how many business-related meetings or staff group training sessions you have, these rarely provide an opportunity to prioritise the individual’s needs. I’d recommend you hold these on a quarterly basis but decide on a frequency that works for you, the individual and the business. (Side note: it is worth having a regular review meeting for yourself too, even if you are your own boss, put some time aside to think about your performance, your goals, your personal development needs etc).

These meetings should be treated as a priority and, as with any meeting you run, it is your job to ensure they are meaningful. Your staff should always be aware of what their goals are, how they are being measured and when they will be reviewed.

Goals should be a mixture of business needs and personal development requirements. Initially personal development may be driven by the demands of the role, after that it will depend on their personal aspirations as much as the business needs and your preferences. Consider development opportunities within the business (could they advance into a team leader / head coach role, take on responsibility for programming or client onboarding or lead generation etc? What skills do they need to develop to do so?) as well as skill development within their existing role.

Performance management should be about positive performance not just something you implement when there is an issue. Consider how you can support the individual in their growth and empower them to move things forward without you. You may not have any development opportunities within your business in terms of different roles or increased salary but you can still make it a fulfilling place to work and assist in developing skills that will help once they move on from you – this will generally result in a much better employee than attempting to keep them pigeonholed in the role you want them in.

Note: whilst I believe that LTB is an amazing resource that can be used very effectively within a staff development process it is rare that simply paying for the service and leaving them to it does anything, any more than buying them a book will tick the development box. You need to give them a reason to use the resources and show the

value in doing so. Taking an interest in what they are doing and giving them the opportunity to feed back on what they have learned and how it could be used within your business can make all the difference.

Final notes:

· Taking on a staff member will not magically duplicate you, they will come with their own skillsets, ideas, experiences and expectations and that’s a good thing.

· They will cause you more work in the short term but the more time you invest at this stage the better the chances of it paying dividends in the longer term.

· It’s never too late to address any of the areas mentioned and if you have any staff issues they will invariably only be resolved by communication.

· Your staff have all the same basic psychological needs and core concerns as clients. All the human behavioural stuff you have studied in terms of client support will apply equally to your employees albeit that your role in their lives is different so there will be some differences in application.

· No staff member will walk into a new job and be instantly perfect, there will always be a period of learning and adjustment on both sides. Having patience, avoiding assumptions and keeping 2-way communication channels open will lead to a successful working relationship that will pay dividends for both of you.

Managing people for the first time can be a steep learning curve but if you approach it with an open mind, a willingness to learn and an ability to admit when you were wrong then it can be a very rewarding role to play in someone’s life.

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