Your employees are one of the greatest assets in your company; their performance greatly affects your bottom line.

However, simply hiring the best is not enough; how you manage them can affect the overall performance of your business.

Business owners must understand the ripple effect of being an excellent people manager that will enhance the performance of their team and ultimately lead to success.

• What is people management?

People management, a subcategory of HR, deals with hiring, training, and development of employees as it relates to their skills and mental disposition that will optimize business performance.

Why people management?

Most business owners and managers want things done quickly most times. Sadly, they are often disappointed with the speed and delivery of the team, but why so?

A poorly managed team will cause harm to your business, but in contrast, a well-managed team will deliver excellently and optimize your production.

1. Workplace Morale

Employees with poor morale will have a low interaction rate and increased burnout, which will eventually lead to poor productivity.

Implementing people management skills will give your employees a strong sense of work and improve their productivity.

“Creating a solid environment in the workplace will lead to happier and more productive employees, and that shows in the quality of output in their work,” said Ramesh Ramani, CEO and president of ExpertusONE. “Only when a company truly takes care of its people will it become a success.”

2. Productivity and efficiency

People management involves leading your team to increase production and enhance efficiency.

Successful people managers are focused on not just the goals alone but also on the people running towards that goal. Train your team, organize them, and drive towards success.

How to manage people 

1. Understand your team

You can’t effectively manage a team you know nothing about. Managers must have a grasp on each person they are leading. Their skills, personality, goals, and limits.

Understanding your team will enable good decisions in many ways.

2. Training and up-skill

Onboarding is just a process; getting the work done is another. Most business owners stop at onboarding and believe that with the skills a newly employed person possesses, they are good to go.

Good people managers provide training and up-skill exercises as necessary.

3. Communication

As a business owner, you are the one with the vision. You have the big picture; your teammates will most likely not see it as you do. It is therefore necessary to make them see.

Communication is a two-way street; do not assume they know it because they don’t. Create a channel that will allow both you and your teammates to communicate effectively on what is to be achieved.

4. Collaboration

Collaboration is vital in people management. Teams that work together are more productive and perform better.

Collaboration makes the work process seamless.

People management is not a one-off attempt; it is an ongoing process that optimizes the performance of the team for achieving success.