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New Supervisor Job Tips
By: Jay Bauder
When you first take over as a new supervisor, or even before,
you want to get a good understanding of how things work in your
unit--the specifics of the unit processes and how they fit into
the larger organization. You also want to understand how people
work together.
Several strategies will take you a long way to understanding
your unit and its operations:
Meet with your predecessor Review documents Meet with your
supervisor Meet with your employees Meet with customers and
suppliers
As soon as you can after being appointed a supervisor, meet with
your predecessor to find out about the work of the unit. Your
predecessor will have a vast amount of information that will be
useful to you in taking over as the supervisor. Make use of it.
Use the following list of items to cover in your meeting with
the previous supervisor:
Organization Chart and Other Documents - review reporting
relationships and workflow Organization Mission and Goals -
review strengths/weaknesses and achievements Unit Personnel -
review strengths and weaknesses of employees Urgent Needs -
review issues that need immediate attention
Prior to coming on board as a supervisor or in the first few
days as a supervisor, collect and review as many of the
following documents as you can:
Organization chart Procedure manuals Policy guidelines and
issuances Time and quality standards Goals and objectives
Production reports and statistics Studies on unit operations and
performance
There's a good chance that you will be overwhelmed by the amount
of material that's available. This may mean spending some time
after regular work hours or at home plowing through the
information. Carefully select the pieces you feel you need to
review. Set the rest aside for some future date, if you feel
that you still need to review them.
Once a supervisor, you will be responsible for seeing that your
unit's processes work effectively in producing the products and
services. This requires a thorough understanding of the
processes of the unit. How can you make intelligent decisions or
even talk intelligently with your employees if you don't know
how the processes work? Take the time early on to ground
yourself in the unit's processes.
Follow these steps in helping you understand your unit's
processes:
Identify your unit's processes Study documents that detail unit
processes List the steps for each process Review the processes
with your employees
Meet with your supervisor as soon as you become a supervisor, if
not before, to find out what urgent needs may need your
attention as soon as you take over the unit.
Get to know your employees. Become comfortable with them--find
out their needs, interests, and responsibilities.
Once you've had a chance to become familiar with the processes
of the unit, you may be thinking about some changes that have
occurred to you. Perhaps in your interviews with employees, or
even your supervisor, you have become aware of some changes in
the processes that would increase the quality and productivity
of the unit.
It would be very tempting to come in and start making changes
right away. After all, most new supervisors want to make their
mark and get noticed for the great things they do, and the
sooner the better. Unfortunately, there are some serious hidden
pitfalls with this type of thinking.
By some effort early on in your new supervisory
responsibilities, you can make the transition easier on
yourself--and on your employees and supervisor.
About the author:
Jay is the web owner of http://www.jobs-in.com Jobs | Job Search Resources,
a website that provides information and resources on searching
for jobs nationwide. You can visit his website at: Job Search
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