5 management mistakes to avoid

According to the article, “These 5 typical management mistakes can slowly kill your organisation, so you need to put a stop to them now” by contributor Yana Yelina on www.e27.co, failing to understand the fact that people are at the core of a company leads to business failure in terms of poor management, employee dissatisfaction and disengagement. As such, Yelina offers five tips to keep executives from making these management mistakes:

• Poor onboarding. Don’t just toss your new hires into the pool for them to flounder about. Take the time to introduce them in an interesting way to other employees and to acquaint them with the company values, goals, infrastructure and so on. Furthermore, attempt to create a strategy unique to your business that will bring your team together, and highlight how your new employees can integrate into it.
• Failure to create and enforce clear rules. Create an employee handbook that lists all of your workplace policies and present it to employees upon their signing the contract. This way, they have the information clearly laid out for them and you have a policy guide to follow as well.
• Setting overly high expectations. Remember that workers are people, not machines; they will make mistakes, and each person has a different weakness that can trigger these mistakes. As a leader, don’t be afraid of failures. Rather, encourage your employees to admit when they have made a mistake and to look at it as a learning opportunity so that it doesn’t happen again.
• Giving inadequate feedback. Immediate feedback is important for the sake of retaining your employees. Each one is working for a goal, whether it’s promotion, self-fulfillment or to help the company, and by tracking their progress, giving them advice and motivating them, you will keep them satisfied. In addition, don’t be afraid to ask for feedback on yourself as well, because you can grow too.
• Keeping poor employee records. Make sure to keep all employee records (personnel, medical, payroll, etc.) orderly and to update them in a timely manner. Make sure to never share this information with other employees. Having your records in order will make it easier to find necessary information, especially if it is needed for taxation or migration purposes.

Read the full article here.

Tips for networking at industry events

According to the article, “DIY Management: 5 tips for networking at business events” on www.bcbusiness.ca, networking at industry events is one of the best tried-and-true methods to get to know others. But networking can be difficult for some people, so the article offers these five tips:

• Analyze the room. On the outskirts of the room, look for someone who’s not engaged in conversation and then go and talk to that person. However, be careful of appearing too aggressive. To join a group, hover outside of one for about 30 seconds, and then make eye contact with someone in that group so that person can open the circle and allow you in.
• Introductions. When introducing yourself to someone, look him or her in the eye and give a firm handshake. If it’s someone you haven’t met before and they say, “Nice to meet you,” be sure to exchange names and business cards. If it’s someone you have met before, answer, “Nice to see you.” It helps to have a networking buddy with you so that if you have forgotten someone’s name, that person can then step forward, introduce him- or herself and say, “Nice to meet you. I’m sorry, I didn’t catch your name,” thus saving you some embarrassment.
• Research beforehand. Find out who’s attending ahead of time and, if there’s someone you want to meet, see if you can find out a factoid about them before the event so that you can break the ice with it. As you converse, keep to open-ended questions so it feels more like a conversation and less like an interrogation. Remember that quality trumps quantity here and that having a couple great conversations with just a few contacts can be more meaningful than superficial conversation with several people.
• Utilize the buffet line. Talking to those on either side of you in a buffet line is very beneficial, and you can always catch up with them later. Keep your plate in your left hand so that your right hand is always free for shaking and you don’t have to do an awkward fumble and switch, which can create a less professional first impression.
• Be memorable. Always have business cards so that people can remember you, and keep them somewhere easy to reach so that you’re not fumbling for them. Also, your clothing should be fashionable but not obnoxious.

Read the full article here.