Managing people is a tough job and there are a million ways to mess up. Here are some of the top tips that can help fine tune your people managing skills.

1. Communicate openly and often 

One of the most important ways to manage an effective employee base is by making regular positive communication a reality. According to the reports from Gallup’s State of the American Manager Report, those employees that regularly meet with their management for a one-on-one meeting are far more likely to feel engaged and happy in their work environment.

So what would the proper cadence be for setting up a meeting with your employees? The perfect communication is clear, candid and frequent. For many managers, a meeting no less than once a week keeps their team on board. Intel CEO Andy Grove supports frequent communications and applauds those managers that can gauge the needs for frequency on the specific employee. A one-on-one meeting is a great opportunity to discuss projects and goals while receiving direct reports from your team.

By the same measure, not knowing what your employees need in their regular communications and meeting can be a recipe for disaster.  While it is vitally important to have these meetings you want to steer clear of stuffing your schedule with meetings as this can lead to micromanaging. This is the wrong kind of attention and seriously impacts your relations in a negative way.

2. Manage performance expectations 

Another very important tip for those who will managing others is about setting expectations. By being clear and constructive with your communications, your employees will have a greater motivation to improve. Tracktime24.com allows you to effectively manage staff and workflow so everyone is clear what is expected. Two-way feedback also contributes to keeping your employees aligned to the greater goals of your organization.

How do performance reviews work? There are a variety of ways to accomplish this. You could use an employee ranking system, objectives or collaborative goal setting, 360° feedback from supervisors and so much more.

A performance managing tool will allow you to more precisely manage the strengths of your team and set your course for uninterrupted success.

3. Support career development 

Career development is a vital thing for all involved. Employees will love to seem time and resources invested in their growth and development for a company. Make sure to stay attuned to what your direct reports provides and set goals to make sure the career development is on course. Hold meetings every 3 to 6 months on the topic of career paths and how your team is making its way to larger goals.

There is actually a great number of development options that you as an employer can apply to your career development. For example, job shadowing and scheduled training sessions are two good options. Businesses leaders and managers can bring their people around to a bigger picture by helping their employees to expand their careers. Be sure to ask your employees at every move what their suggestions are for increasing efficiency and what they would like to do to expand into other markets.

4. Provide balanced feedback 

It is not easy to provide balanced and effective feedback, but if you can’t pull your wits about you to utter the occasional “good job” you could be failing miserably as a manager. It is important to provide regular constructive feedback, but it is equally important to recognize when your employee’s are exceeding expectations.

There is nothing wrong with mentioning your positive feedback in email messages, but it is always more effective to dish out praise publicly. Of course, if you have some redirection to apply, this should be reserved to emails and empathetic as possible to arrive at a positive resolution.

5. Celebrate employee success

Finally, never underestimate the power of praise when it comes to improving morale and focusing employee engagement. Recognizing a team member that goes above and beyond with their time and focus is the only way to promote these values in the organization. There are a variety of ways this can be done, but matching the commendations and awards to the individual is the best approach.