Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities Needed by Supervisors - Essay Example

? Authentic Assessment al Affiliation Contents Contents 2 Authentic Assessment 3 Supervisory development plan 3 Developmental goals 3 Performance gaps 4 Self assessments 6 Input from others 7 Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities needed by supervisors 7 Learning materials and strategies 8 Developmental plan implementation 8 Authentic Assessment Supervisory development plan The supervisor plays a key role in ensuring success of organizations. Supervisor acts as the main link between the organizational goals and the people who are responsible for accomplishing the set goals. The supervisor has a wide range of duties and responsibilities which must be executed to realize the organizational success. The concepts of organizing, planning, leading, staffing, and controlling should be taken seriously by the supervisor. Supervisors act as intermediaries by communicating upper management’s objectives so as to realize the set goals. Supervisors facilitate the processes so as to keep the business operating. Based on the functions of the supervisors as well as their major roles, it is good for them to remain a key in steering forward the organization. The decisions made by supervisors on day to day activities affect attitudes and morale of employees as well as profits (Mosley et al, 2010). In the case of this supervisory development plan, the approaches of improving organizational performance through employee development will be reviewed. Developmental goals The goals of the supervisory development plan will be as follows. a. Improvement of communication between employees b. Better training for employees c. Develop a reward system for employees d. Efficient conflict management As a supervisor I have to ensure that my employees are well versed with skills and knowledge required for undertaking their roles. One of the main goals is to establish good communication with the employees. Good communication is essential in running efficient department. Without good communication, daily tasks will not be executed smoothly. Communication enhances efficiency in employee performance by minimizing workplace conflicts. It is essential for the supervisor to be a good listener and teach the employees how to be good listeners of one another. Good communication facilitates problem-solving and teamwork, which is essential for attainment of organizational objectives. Another key goal is ensuring better training of employees. This is essential for ensuring efficiency and increasing productivity. Well trained employees will be efficient in executing his or her duties. With proper employee training, issues of time wastage and flaws in business operations will be addressed. From another perspective, the supervisory plan seeks to come up with a better reward system for employees. Employees need to be motivated by offering them regular rewards based on their performance. Rewarding employees serves as motivation, uplifts their esteem and acts as appreciation for their hard work. It is also a primary goal for the development plan to ensure effectiveness in conflict resolution. It is my focus that all departments are run well and as smoothly as possible without conflicts. This will be attained by ensuring good communication, proper training, motivation, and building trust with employees. Since best development plans are not always perfect, critiquing will be welcome to ensure constant review of the goals and adjust them accordingly for the benefit of all (Houldsworth & Jirasinghe, 2006). Performance gaps In order to improve employee performance, proper communication and training will be adopted. Employees will be taught on the fundamentals of good communication with one another as well as with their managers. There is a great performance gap in good employee performance. This entails the creation of a shared vision with all employees. There is need to communicate effectively with employees on the objectives of the organization and how to executive their roles. By creating a shared vision, the employees will be inspired on what is expected from them. Communication on the issue of teamwork is also a priority in ensuring effective employee communication. The employees need to be briefed on the value of teamwork and good working relationship. Openness and bipartisan engagement with employees will be addressed to ensure a favorable and equal working environment for all employees. Communicating the common vision with employees will enhance responsibility and autonomy among employees. This will impact positively on interpersonal communication and relationships in working towards the common vision. At present, the state of communication in the organization is wanting and needs improvement by strengthening workplace relations (Mosley et al., 2010). Another key challenge to performance is employee motivation. In order to enhance performance, adequate employee motivation is required. This can be realized through implementation of attractive reward systems. In order to boost employee loyalty and performance, recognition and reward programs need to be adopted. Some of the human resources initiatives, which can be initiated, to enhance performance include provision of service awards, spot recognition, nomination process, training, and promotions. These are key human resource programs that should be treated with priority (McNamara, 2012). From another perspective, the organization is lagging behind in performance due to inadequate employees’ skills and knowledge in executing their tasks. Leadership development among employees is a priority in improving performance. There is need to train employees on development of communication skills, interpersonal skills, teamwork, and managing change. Focus on these issues will greatly impact on performance by ensuring high levels of workplace efficiency and cooperation among employees. Leadership training ought to be given top priority since organizations are seeking to enhance recruitment and retention of well performing employees and managers. Other issues which need focus in training include customer service, management skills, problem solving, and retention of employees, creativity, and innovation. By giving priority to these elements of human resources management, the current gap in performance will be bridged. At present, the employees are not empowered with the right skills, knowledge, and experience to effectively execute their roles. This performance gap can be bridged by setting time, human, and financial resources to train, nurture, and retain employees (Houldsworth & Jirasinghe, 2006). Self assessments Good supervisory skills are essential for ensuring running of organizations with diverse employees. From a personal perspective, am well versed with different issues needed in supervision and leading of employees. To begin with, I am a good listener who is able to pay attention to individuals and groups of employees as well as other executives. I am also available to identify and address the challenges facing the employees. This is alongside my admirable leadership qualities of transparency, delegation, responsibility, and priority setting. The excellent communication skills, good organizational skills, fairness, accountability, knowledge, adaptability, efficiency, diplomacy, social skills, and self-discipline position me as an efficient supervisor. These skills are essential in facilitating my day to day activities in the workplace through leading employees, planning and organizing their duties, solving conflicts, training, and rewarding performance. Without these skills, my supervisory abilities would be compromised and inefficient (Mosley et al., 2010). Input from others Despite the wide range of skills and knowledge I posses concerning supervision, I still need some improvement to perfect in my roles. Input from colleagues on my areas of weakness will be essential in realizing success. To begin with, I will collaborate with other supervisors and managers to improve my delegation skills. Delegation is a hard task and needs adequate skills to master and execute. This will call for collaboration with other managers and supervisors to ensure ease and efficiency in execution of different roles. I am looking forward to improve my skills on delegation, mainly by focusing on authority, responsibility, and accountability. I also need support from other supervisors and managers on improving my diplomacy skills. Diplomacy is an essential skill, which every supervisor needs to enhance conflict resolution and workplace relations (Mosley et al., 2010). Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities needed by supervisors In order to be effective in executing their roles and ensuring adequate employee development, supervisors need diverse skills and knowledge on the fields of leadership, workplace relations, and communication. Some of the fundamental skills include delegation, transparency, realism, communication, organizational skills, fairness, accountability, adaptability, diplomacy, social skills, and self-discipline. These skills and knowledge are important in ensuring efficiency in the workplace. Without adequate leadership and communication skills, the supervisor will not be in a position to ensure cohesion among employees. Good leadership and communication skills are also essential in boosting employee motivation and improving performance (Mosley et al., 2010). Learning materials and strategies The supervisory developmental plan is essential for bridging the performance gaps among employees. In order to realize the set goals for employee development, adequate materials and strategies must be adopted for each goal. To begin with, improvement of communication between employees will require use of seminars to empower employees with necessary communication skills. Simulations and role plays will also be set to engage employees on how to communicate effectively. The goal of training employees will comprise comprehensive role plays, delegation of duties, and adoption of seminars to empower employees with the right workplace and leadership skills. This is similar to the goal of ensuring efficient conflict management whereby seminars, lectures, and role plays will be used to educate the employees on how to relate with one another. Concerning the issue of reward system, collaboration with the human resource department and finance department will be done to set adequate reward programs. Training on reward systems entails use of seminars on the significance and approaches of rewarding and motivating employees (Houldsworth & Jirasinghe, 2006). Developmental plan implementation The implementation of the supervisory developmental plan is a key phase, which requires adequate planning. Careful planning is required to ensure successful implementation of the developmental plan. First, there is need to create awareness and a need of urgency among the employees on the development plan. This includes the significance of the trainings, forums, and other employee development initiatives to be executed. Proper communication should be administered to all employees by ensuring they maintain cohesion and teamwork. Employee engagement in the implementation process is essential to ensure full support and cooperation from employees. In addition, adequate review of the progress of the developmental plan should be taken so as to administer necessary improvements (Houldsworth & Jirasinghe, 2006) References Houldsworth, E., & Jirasinghe, D. (2006). Managing and Measuring Employee Performance. London: Routledge. McNamara, C. (2012). Supervisoral Development. Retrieved from: http://managementhelp.org/leadership/development/#anchor911908 Mosley, D. et al. (2010). Supervisory Management. New York: Wiley & Sons Press. Read More