The best way to develop responsibility in people is to give them responsibility.
                                                                             -Ken Blanchard 

Today, we will visit the next two items to consider: (1) how best to prepare your business and the new office manager for success and (2) how important it is to track and measure that success.

Eliminate the Negatives, Accentuate the Positives

Negative consequences can occur from hiring “one of your own.” Other employees may feel you are showing favoritism. Moving an employee to management can result in rejection by other employees.

On the other hand, if you did “not promote from within,” some employees may believe they have no future for advancement in your organization or, at best, that their chances of promotion may be limited. Previously loyal employees may feel rejected, angry, and frustrated with their potential for promotion into key positions. This is especially true if the new office manager is not familiar with the processes in the new job. Existing employees, especially those passed over for the job, will resent having to train their new boss or having their own productivity slowed down while the new manager becomes oriented and acclimated to the new position.

On the positive side, the new office manager theoretically has all or most of the necessary qualifications. She will take managerial responsibilities, often previously neglected by you because of your time restraints or inabilities, and move your business in a new and positive direction. 

If this manager has been hired from outside your existing staff, she will bring a fresh perspective to your business. Equally important, if hired externally, this new person’s views will be free of any of the aspects of your company's culture that may have inhibited past growth including concerns such as (1) seeing and thinking about issues in the same old way; (2) being restricted by "the way we've always done things around here"; (3) being hampered by employees who react in a "groupthink" or “niche” manner; and, (4) fearing to disagree with the owner’s possible shortcomings.

Making the Transition Positive

What can you do to proactively smooth the new office manager's entry into your business? Here are a few suggestions that may help:

1. Explain the “culture” of your organization to your new manager, including the stories, myths, heroes and villains. Be sure she understands your rules, policies, procedures, and attitudes. BE CAREFUL -- try not to shape or mold this person into what you consider as a “perfect manager” – if you try to do this, you chance creating a robot or “yes” person, not an individual who can bring new life to your business. Remember the old saying: “If you always agree with your boss, one of you is not necessary!”

2. Explain the potential pitfalls that your business has experienced. Point out what did not work in the past. If you hired the right person, her creative juices will try to figure out how to turn unsuccessful endeavors into successful ones.

3. Discuss your existing employees’ strengths and weaknesses, but be cautious not to prejudice your new manager against anyone because, in so doing, you may be encouraging her to avoid building and improving potential resources. Most effective managers will analyze less-than-ideal existing situations and seize the opportunity to make improvements.

4. Ensure that the new manager's role is extremely clear to not only the new manager, but especially to those employees who will be responsible to the manager. Explain the credentials and successes this person brings to your company to help people understand why you hired this person. Make sure your employees understand that the new manager has your complete confidence and support.

Measuring Success

Overloading the new manager with too many responsibilities can be too challenging. Ideally, you can slowly add more responsibilities and authority based on tracking results and outcomes. Serve as a mentor to your new manager to help ensure an easy and positive transition into your company.

If you agree that the definition of good management is “getting things done through others,” the ultimate measure of this new manager’s worth is RESULTS. In other words, the staff’s output is directly proportional to a manager’s input. Therefore, the greater the ratio of output to input, the more effective the manager is. Remember, your office manager’s success is your success.

Be certain that you have a tracking system in place to monitor the new manager’s success stories and those under her guidance. For a complimentary consultation on how Tracker Enterprises can track results and how its unique operational management and forecasting tools can help your business prepare for a successful financial future, call us at (719) 592-0878 or send an e-mail to This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it . Feel free to forward this Tracker Tips e-newsletter to friends, family, or business acquaintances. We welcome anyone to our mailing list, so invite colleagues to send their e-mail addresses to: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .
 
Thanks to the valuable ideas of Kenneth Blanchard at Blanchard Training and Development, Inc., Hal Burrows at The William Oncken Corporation, and David G. Javitch at Javitch Associates.