Common Management Mistakes

Achieving excellence in management requires being fully aware of faulty practices and a possessing a desire to alter how you manage your employees. Understanding basic behavior-based principles is key. The following are widespread management mistakes that can easily be corrected to help achieve organizational success.

1. Employee of the Month

While this longtime management practice is used to motivate all employees, it is only able to recognize one employee at a time, leaving others’ performances uncelebrated. Instead, understand the goals of implementing a performance reward program, and establish criteria that recognizes all employees who deliver outstanding performances.

2. Stretch Goals

Stretch goals may seem necessary to improve performance, but are typically set too high. These goals are rarely reached and cause employee discouragement, efforts towards reaching the goal begin to slide and eventually are extinguished completely. Try setting mini goals instead and reward smaller achievements. These positive reinforcements keep employees motivated along the way as they reach the final large goal.

3. Ranking

Publicly displaying how an employee ranks based on objective measures is a common practice in a sales environment. The idea behind it is to motivate, but it inhibits sharing and teamwork and creates unhealthy competition. Evaluate individuals and teams in terms of what they need to accomplish. People will not only achieve high rates but also assist others in achieving as well.

4. The Sandwich

The sandwich practice is when managers sandwich a criticism between two positive statements. Using this method creates a “waiting for the other shoe to drop” atmosphere and any positive reinforcement is met with suspicion. In spite of the fact is it commonly taught at many management training sessions, it does nothing to protect the ego of the performer. Instead, be direct when behavior needs correcting and then positively reinforce all instances of corrected behavior.

5. Promoting Jerks

It is commonly thought that a person who is well liked is not effective at producing results. This is understandable, as most managers think hard-nosed negative practices produce the best results. The reality is that there is a direct correlation between practices such as those and operational costs including high turnover, grievances, absenteeism, training and recruitment. The first screen in promoting someone should be whether people would want to be around this person. Look for managers and leaders who produce results by understanding behavior from a scientific perspective. These leaders are always well-liked.

6. No-Apology Downsizing

Most downsizing is done in a matter of fact way, while assigning the remaining employees even more work to do. Those left after layoffs look very carefully at the way companies treat the terminated employees, and more often spend their time looking for a new job instead of being productive. An alternative to this scenario is to get all the employees involved in a solution to avoid lay-offs. If lay-offs need to happen, be more generous than you need to be to those who are downsized and it’ll help calm the anxieties of the remaining employees. Make sure you also plan positive reinforcement for the accomplishments of those left that have taken on the extra work.

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Veterans Excel in Alternative Energy

Among the many industries in which Orion has seen veterans consistently excel is Alternative Energy. The business of alternative energy is about powering our lives with various renewable such as Wind, Solar and Geothermal energy, which can conserve our non-renewable resources, as well as translate into valuable employment opportunities for many veterans. The alternative energy industry is growing rapidly with careers available in every department from research and development, to plant operations, to environmental ecology and even corporate support functions.

It is in this industry that Orion has placed veterans representing all branches of the United States Armed Forces. One of these placements, Robert McEachron, a former Chief Petty Officer in the Navy, is a great example of how military training translates into success in this industry. “I oversee the entire wind farm site to include 34 employees,” says McEachron of his OMS Site Supervisor position with Clipper Wind Power, “My military background in maintenance played an integral part in landing the interview with Clipper Wind…there [are] a quite a few similarities between the two fields.”

Barbara Amato, Director, Global People & Culture, for Vestas Wind Systems, has found that veterans fit well into her organization. “The men and women we have hired through Orion have a strong value system, dedication to work excellence, and focus on safety that continues to be an excellent fit for the Vestas culture. We hired over 40 technicians through Orion, and these technicians have averaged a better retention rate than those hired by Vestas’ own in-house recruiters,” states Amato.

And it’s not just the hiring managers that are pleased with this union. William Blake, an Academy Graduate and former Captain in the Army, considers his new position with EnergySolutions as a Project Field Engineer to be “a great job.” He goes on to say that he “couldn't really ask for anything more.” Joe Byers, a retired Lieutenant Commander in the Navy, echoes the sentiment when discussing his new position with ConEdison Solutions. “I'm very excited about my new career as an Energy Consultant Project Manager,” says Byers, “Great job Orion!”

Managing Virtual Workers

A lot of companies have employees that work remotely, and there are many benefits to this arrangement, both for the employee and employer. It’s easy to accommodate schedules, set up meetings on short notice, reduce travel expenses, be more ecologically friendly, and decrease unproductive travel time. It also allows for a more diverse team that brings broader experience and knowledge. But, the most important thing for managers of virtual employees to remember is that the success of any team depends on the people, and there are key things to remember while managing them.

In the virtual employee world, technology matters. So it is important to understand the latest innovations in an effort to incorporate them into your work life. Think about setting up a community home space featuring pictures, profiles of team members, discussion boards, a team calendar, or chat room. This will help team members connect with each other outside of meetings and create a closer bond.

It’s important to listen to every team member on phone calls. Since the benefit of face-to-face interaction isn’t there, focus on how each person is speaking. Is the person excited? Bored? Is there a quality in the speaker’s voice that would make a private conversation necessary? It is important to also listen to silence. Silence can mean consent, or it can mean you’re not hearing a team member’s opinion. If you sense a team member is lacking engagement by not responding, not participating, or missing deadlines, a private call to find out what might be going on is necessary.

The term “Virtual” doesn’t mean never meeting up in person. It might not be possible to meet as often as you like, but it’s important to step up the frequency of communication. Check in more often, and make sure everyone knows and understand what is going on.

Managing virtual teams can come with challenges, but with the right approach, the benefits far outweigh any obstacles.

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First Lady Urges Businesses to Hire Veterans

During the closing session of the Clinton Global Initiative Annual Meeting on September 23, First Lady Michelle Obama urged businesses and non-profits to hire veterans. The Clinton Global Initiative was established in 2005 by President Bill Clinton with the goal of devising and implementing solutions to various issues facing the world. In the spirit of the Global Initiative, Obama reminded the gathering of leaders that while veterans’ skills are “highly valuable, highly transferable, [and] highly marketable,” more than 150,000 former service members are currently trying to find work.

When discussing the disconnect she sees between veterans and potential civilian employers, Obama said that many employers don’t truly understand the scope of skills a veteran has. In fact, she quoted one survey that found that 61% of employers didn’t fully understand how military skills translated into civilian terms. Additionally, more than three-quarters of veterans say they find translating their military resume into a civilian one to be difficult.

Ultimately, though, the First Lady states that employers should not just hire veterans simply because they are veterans and honorably served our country, but also because having veterans among their workforce makes the company as a whole stronger. “After all, hiring America’s vets and military spouses is not just about helping them,” said Obama, “- it’s about how they can help you. So I’m not asking you to do this out of the goodness of your heart—do it because it’s good for your bottom line and the success of your organization.”

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