How To Get The Most From Your Wage Workers: Part 4

What You Should Already Be Doing

It's not even an option! The biggest time drain on otherwise good workers is uncertainty; or in other words, lack of clear goals.

Some managers address this problem with a technique that I call "hovering." It really just means micromanagement. All of us can probably recall working with managers who simply wouldn't leave us alone: they had to come see what we were doing, double check all our work, question every decision we made.

This kind of behavior, hovering nearby, comes from a very healthy instinct to ensure that workers are working. But it can so easily go too far. How do you help your workers know what to do without hovering over them?

The answer is so simple that I think it's just beautiful. Checklists.

Checklists are coming back into vogue (case in point, Atul Gawande's recent book, Checklist Manifesto), and for good reason. Instead of trying to personally instruct every employee every day, make them a list of their tasks. Depending on how complex the employee's tasks are, you may need to go with a flowchart (do task A, unless task B needs to be done, then skip to task D).

And the real key...

Give your employees a list of tasks that is just slightly longer than what they can actually complete in a given amount of time. Most people will naturally want to cross everything off their to-do list.

But avoid the temptation to give them an unrealistically long list in the hopes that they'll miraculously finish it. Bad for morale? Oh yes. And be encouraging. Instead of criticizing employees for not completing their entire checklist, thank them for accomplishing so much. Remember: save discipline for people who deserve it.