Managers
sssteel
21 Posts
I work in the Human Resources department for a steel company in Indiana and I have been given a project that I want to get some feedback on.
My owner has asked me to come with a way to hold our top level managers accountable or a way to track their progess. We have come to a place in our company where we are doing well but we are afraid that people are starting to becoming complacent and we want to have a way to keep our managers always looking for new ways to move the company forward.
I have some ideas such as a monthly report that would require them to turn in their goals for the month, problems they see in their department, ideas to fix the problems, and what they have completed for the prior month.
My question is what do other companies do to make sure that their top level managers are working and not just sleep walking through their day? Any ideas as to what we can do to monitor our upper level management without making them feel beat up on would be greatly appreciated. Thanks everyone!
My owner has asked me to come with a way to hold our top level managers accountable or a way to track their progess. We have come to a place in our company where we are doing well but we are afraid that people are starting to becoming complacent and we want to have a way to keep our managers always looking for new ways to move the company forward.
I have some ideas such as a monthly report that would require them to turn in their goals for the month, problems they see in their department, ideas to fix the problems, and what they have completed for the prior month.
My question is what do other companies do to make sure that their top level managers are working and not just sleep walking through their day? Any ideas as to what we can do to monitor our upper level management without making them feel beat up on would be greatly appreciated. Thanks everyone!
Comments
Our CEO, my boss, makes all of his direct reports complete a weekly report that lists the top 5 projects or issues that our departments are working on over the next week. In addition, there is a space where we can provide him with specific information regarding feedback we specifically need from him. Because we are all busy, and because he travels extensively, this helps him stay in the loop on what his direct reports are doing, but also provides his direct reports with a resource if we are needing his urgent attention with something. For the most part, he does a good job of responding to these reports. It has helped our communication.
The reports also serve as a reminder for both of us of what we specifically accomplished when it comes to review time, too.
Hope the helps!
I think your idea of a review-type mechanism is a good way to start. Identify the key indicators. Some of your positions may have indicators that are specific to the position (based on the nature of the department), but there will be others that are universal to the organization (budgeting, training, personnel turnover, etc.) Incorporate those indicators in the review process, and to keep the process from getting intimidating, keep it as informal as possible, such as the way you describe (monthly report style). The accountability will be a two-part activity. One part will be the manager's self commitment to seeing progress on a monthly basis. The other (which is also required) is some form of reinforcement (positive or negative) for the manager's actual performance vs. the desired performance--which would constitute the feedback part of the process. Without the feedback from a position senior to the managers, there will be no accountability.
Best wishes.
Pork