Training New Employees on the Ways of the Company - Essay Example

REFLECTIVE ACCOUNT In all my years working as a manager, training new employees on the ways of the company has brought many challenges and success stories. When recruiting the personnel to the organization, I learned how to be flexible and responsive to the immediate requirements of the company. Through working with the new personnel, I have learned how to be patient when training them and the necessary skills to ensure that they become competent and aggressive in their areas of work. However, in my duty of training and re-training personnel, I have experienced some challenges on a day-to-day basis. These challenges made me realize that I have to improve certain skills that would enable me to perform my duties effectively. Some of the personnel of the company can start performing poorly and thus become non-competent. Most of the time, these employees may be having personal problems that are limiting them and making them under performers. It is usually a big problem to make them open up and share their problems. This is especially because some believe that they cannot be open, share with their superiors, and instead pretend to be okay and they thus end up performing poorly. I believe that learning to be friendlier, and a better listener can go a long way in improving the competence of employees going through a rough time. Being passionate and a perfectionist in my job makes it difficult to listen and wait for an employee to open up and share their problems. Improving my listening skills may ensure quality work from the personnel. Personally, through my years of work, I learned not to carry my personal problems to work. I learnt how to put my troubles behind and focus at work at hand. Therefore, I also need to develop the skills needed to motivate workers who may be going through personal problems so that they still perform well in the workplace (Wolvin, 2011). By doing so, I will be able to prevent employees from being fired when they cannot deal with work in the company because of a problem that is disturbing them. Listening skills are essential for a leader as the employees will become more open to the leader and, therefore, the problem that the employee is experiencing can be easily solved which will lead a to better performance by the employees. One action that I can use to progress my listening skills is by using the HURIER framework that can improve every aspect of listening to another person. The framework looks at the diverse features that describes a good listener and thereby I can analyze my skills using it. When I listen to the employees, I must ensure that I comprehend what they are conversing about and why it is important to them. I must also remember and evaluate what the employee is talking about, as this will in turn enable me to respond effectively. When I use good listening skills, especially when an employee confides in me, I will know the values of the employee and the attitude the employee has towards the problem, which he is experiencing. I will be able to tailor my advice to the way the employee is viewing the problem. This will lead to better understanding by the employees and thus a solution for the problem. Active listening is also important, as it will motivate the employee to open up more and share out the problem. The best way of improving active listening is not to avoid distraction by other employees or other duties that one is supposed to be looking at (Bruce, 2012). The employee should get maximum attention and one should not look bored and disinterested by what the employee is saying. I should not argue my point with the employee while he is speaking as this might prevent the employee from opening up. When I respond to what the speaker is saying, I should encourage the speaker to continue sharing the problem. I can motivate employees to be better by setting attainable goals. This will make them work with a goal of improving their efficacy (Whetten, 2007). Employees should get rewards for performing exceptionally in the presence of other staff members. In the book ‘Listening, ‘The Unforgotten Skill’, the author explains that, in the workplace, people, especially the leaders listen to the problems of the personnel. The problem is that they do it so poorly that the advice that they give to the employee does not help them much (Madelyn, 1995). This is because most of the leaders and other employees who are listening to the problem may be bias. Madelyn, the author of the book believes that leaders should develop their concentration when listening to the employees. They should watch the body language of the narrator to know their thoughts and thus know the best advice to give (Madelyn, 1995). The leaders can also ask questions to motivate the speaker to continue speaking. Leaders are encouraged to ask open-ended questions. Such questions give confidence to employees and they are able to share their thoughts about the issue that is disturbing them. This also helps the employees not to defend themselves so that they appear good but allow the leader to know their innermost fears and problems about the issue (Hoppe, 2011). The book also alerts the readers on the dangers of the employees to take one less seriously. Michael, the author of the book believes that leaders should listen actively, and they should listen as a leader. They should not be too friendly or close to the employees that the employees end up losing respect for the leader. For a leader to be able to influence the employees in a company rewards and praises go a long way in motivating the person (Fuller, 2008). The author calls the rewards, praises and other actions done to congratulate the employee as extrinsic factors. These factors directly influence the drive inside the employees. Therefore, to ensure that the employees grow more competent in their work, leaders should motivate them by offering them rewards. Setting realistic goals also help the employees to have an inner motivation. The goals make them work hard even when they experience challenges in the work that they do. I will strive to have good morals and values in my place of work. The employees that work under me will see me as a person who can advise them correctly. They will have an attitude that if they do as advised they might be able to be successful. I will also work hard to be a good example in the workplace by doing my work professionally, and so that they can be motivated to perform well in their different duties to the company. I will use the HURIER framework to analyse my listening skills over time. This is essential; as it will enable me to evaluate my skills and ensure that I am a good listener approachable by any employee who works under me. Through the framework, I will analyse and find out if I am paying attention to what the speaker is talking about and understanding it well. If I can remember all the details that the employee has confided in me, interpret the message well and be able to give a helpful response. I will also allocate time during my leisure time to read books that can help me to improve my listening skills and motivational skills. I believe that, equipped with my great experience in the workplace and the different positions that I have held in different companies, I can be able to improve my listening and motivational skills. These are the key areas that are necessary in ensuring production of quality work from my department. I endeavour to develop my motivational skills and listen better while dealing with all the employees under training to guarantee that their work is satisfactory in all areas. References Wolvin, Andrew. (2011). Listening and Human communication in the 21st century. New Jersey: Wiley-Blackwell. Bruce, Anne. (2012). Managers Guide to Motivating Employees 2/E. New York: McGrow-Hill Professional. Burley-Allen, Madelyn. (1995). Listening: the forgotten skill. New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons. Hoppe Michael. (2011). Active Listening: Improve your ability to listen and Lead. New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons. Dillon, Anne. (2007) Get Connected: Study Skills. Boston: Cengage Learning Fuller, Catherine. (2008). A tool kit for motivational Skills. New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons. Whetten, David. (2007). Developing Motivational Skills. Jersey: Prentice Hall. Read More