Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Powerful Ways to Manage People in Your Printing Organization

You're only as successful as the people who helped get you there. Managing takes a lot of patience. The more successful your relationship with employees, the further your career will go in business. Some managers take a stringent, stern approach, but this type of managerial style is slowly becoming archaic and ineffective. Powerful approaches to being a manager are less about giving orders than it is about reciprocal respect.

Acknowledgment and Humiliation
Old style management techniques fostered respect out of fear and bossy personalities. The new manager gains respect from employees by acknowledging ideas and developing relationships with the staff. When an employee's idea is implemented, overseeing its progress while acknowledging the employee's contributions to the company will further the success of the business and give credit where it's due.

If the idea is not feasible, continue to foster positive feedback, giving the employee motive for creativity. If the idea or process fails, positive reinforcement is a better way to correct mistakes. Humiliation cultivates anger and alienation of employees towards managers.

Friendliness while Managing
Although employees recognize the organizational ladder, friendliness eliminates lines of nervousness and hidden anxiety. Remember details and ask staff how their day is going. Some managers hide behind closed doors in small offices and never interact with their staff. The failed relationships with employees only hurt and reflect poorly on the manager. As employees feel more comfortable with a manager, ideas and cooperation are more prevalent than emotional obstacles. Ideas are created from group lunches and a friendly atmosphere discussing business development.

Open-Door Policy and Approachability
If you want to keep contact with employees and their performance, being approachable eliminates communication barriers. Managers with open-door policies make it easier for employees to notify you of obstacles, goals, and ideas to bring to the company. It opens the lines of communication between the manager and his staff, which is more beneficial for the company. Startup companies especially benefit from open communication since it helps identify growth issues and creative ideas.

Humility and Respect
Part of being a good manager is admitting faults and acknowledging wrongdoing. When employees see their boss is humble, it creates a higher amount of respect. Some managers see the acknowledgment of inaccuracies and mistakes as a sign of weakness. However, people have more respect for a manager who admits when he's made a mistake rather than hiding it.

Make Requests Clear and Concise
Finally, when asking for projects or performance from an employee, managers should make requests clear without ambiguities. Employees with unclear direction lead to mistakes and misunderstandings. Let your employees know exactly what you expect from their work ethic and performance. This eliminates confusion and frustrations in business organizations.

Although being a manager puts you in a position of power, treating employees with respect increases performance and business growth. Increased performance in a business organization makes the manager successful. Employees can make a manager successful, or they can make a job unbearable. Follow these few rules for a more enjoyable job and continued success.
By Lysis

Profectus, Inc, is a national consultancy that helps printing organizations implement best business practices and maximize the value of their information technology investments.

Saturday, June 6, 2009

Maximizing Your Print Management Software ROI With Post Implementation Assessments


When you purchased your current management system, you probably received all the training you needed to get the system fully operational. Right?


Wrong. Never assume the status quo is acceptable with your MIS system.


Studies from Profectus and other research organizations consistently show that businesses never use 40% or more of all application functionality. Often companies are unfamiliar with all the capabilities of their MIS due to ineffective training, "crash courses" to quickly get a system operational, and cutting training investments.


Once the system has been installed and is fully operational, it still has to be managed. You want to ensure that the system continues to operate at peak efficiency.


Business processes may change and need to be integrated into the system. New production equipment or product lines may have to be defined in your cost centers, production standards, and job tickets. Personnel might change positions and require training on other software components. As new employees are hired, they also will need training. The software itself will change over time as new functionality is incorporated into software product releases, requiring additional training to take advantage of these features.


As time passes, all systems tend to retreat from their initial levels of efficiency. Sometimes this is not noticeable until the system's efficiency has been significantly impacted. This deterioration can be avoided by conducting regular checkups of your implementation.


An annual budget for training will ensure that everyone is consistently taking full advantage of the system's capabilities. Take the time and invest the funds necessary to determine exactly what training and education is required by each person, and then provide it for them.


The better your people are trained on the capabilities of the software and the information it provides, the more likely your organization will maximize the system's potential.


A formal analysis of the entire system should be conducted at least annually. Revisit your initial implementation goals, objectives, and expected benefits to see if they are still being met. Talk to the users to determine their level of satisfaction and the need for additional training, modifications in business processes, changes in the system setup and reports. Then make adjustments as warranted.