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How to manage older employees as a young supervisor
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How to manage older employees as a young supervisor
Discuss workforce management, performance management, retention, communication, motivation, contributing to business results and other topics.
Hi all, I work for a large steel company in a small supply chain management team. I am the supervisor of this team and have been working within the team for 7 years. I am only 24, and am having diffic
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Forums » Topic Forums » General Forum » How to manage older employees as a young supervisor
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How to manage older employees as a young supervisor
posted at 7/16/2012 8:00 AM EDT
on Workforce Management
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Posts: 1
First: 7/16/2012 Last: 7/16/2012 |
Hi all, I work for a large steel company in a small supply chain management team. I am the supervisor of this team and have been working within the team for 7 years. I am only 24, and am having difficulty getting a 56 year old employee that has been with the company for 38 years to perform at the levels required. He has extensive knowledge of transport but is very inflexible. He seems to get more frustrated when I try to help and offer suggestions than if I leave him to deal with large problems. What can I do to motivate this employee to strive for improvement? |
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Re: How to manage older employees as a young supervisor
posted at 7/16/2012 10:57 AM EDT
on Workforce Management
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Posts: 1
First: 7/16/2012 Last: 7/16/2012 |
Engage him in the decision-making process. At 32, I became a manager for a global financial services company. All the supervisors with whom I was working with were older than me, the oldest one being 15 years my senior. At our first team meeting, I discussed the deliverables expected from our department for the year, and that I would like to have input from everyone. I then turned to him and said: "So Chief, what approach do you think that we should take?" We have both since moved on to other organizations, however we still stay in touch and calling each other 'Chief' and 'Boss' instead of our first names. Over the years, I constantly remind myself that I have people working 'with me' instead of 'for me'; and I make sure that my language used reflects that mindset. People pick up this subtle difference very quickly. Hope this helps. In Response to How to manage older employees as a young supervisor: Hi all, I work for a large steel company in a small supply chain management team. I am the supervisor of this team and have been working within the team for 7 years. I am only 24, and am having difficulty getting a 56 year old employee that has been with the company for 38 years to perform at the levels required. He has extensive knowledge of transport but is very inflexible. He seems to get more frustrated when I try to help and offer suggestions than if I leave him to deal with large problems. What can I do to motivate this employee to strive for improvement? Posted by Chrismead87 |
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Re: How to manage older employees as a young supervisor
posted at 7/16/2012 4:21 PM EDT
on Workforce Management
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Posts: 1
First: 7/16/2012 Last: 7/16/2012 |
sknguyen makes a number of solid points. Especially the "with me" over "for me" mantra with working relationships. There's sometimes going to be fricition in most workplaces from the onset of a younger supervisor overseeing a staff of employees who are not just older, but have been working in the field for many years. The best course of action is to worry more with the fact that your staff is sufficiently trained and capable of what duties are asked of them. Whether it's getting them sorted through routine classes or having a system of elearning programs for them to access, the important thing is to have a system established where seasoned employees can expand their knowledge with new technology or demands of their job. Employees shouldn't feel they have to be buddy-buddy with managers and vice versa. Establishing the working relationship from the onset and having a fluid system in place to where both employees and management are comfortable can make it easier for employees to connect with supervisors about any issues down the road. There's always the chance for negative feedback by controlling your staff with, for lack of a better word, "an iron fist". While you shouldn't cave and become a softie with how you survey the workplace, it's better to find a common denominator, letting employees know they don't have to work in fear, but shouldn't expect to be laxadasical in their performance and get away with it either. Regards, Jack Ripen |
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