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New supervisory skills
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New supervisory skills
As a new supervisor it is important for one to understand the functions of supervisors in
the workplace. A supervisor is one who manages a team or person to ensure that they perform
optimally and make sure the employees are satisfied in their roles. As a new supervisor at Bad
Teddy Bear Manufacturing, there are duties and roles that I am required to fulfill as required by
the management. As a supervisor there are challenges that I may face and also rewards, where I
can help individuals achieve personal career goals. In the manufacturing firm there are already
preexisting challenges that I need to look at as the new supervisor and also ensure there is
efficiency and optimal production by the workers.
One of the most important responsibility of a supervisor is managing teams. In Bad
Teddy Bear Manufacturing, I have team of 30 who work under me. It is my duty to create and
oversee their workflow and performance. It is also a supervisor’s role to make decision, control
tasks and interpreting the policy of the management to the workers. By using the leadership skills
such as mentorship, written and verbal communication and interpersonal skills among others,
will help me with the managing responsibilities. The leadership skills, helps to ensure that the
workflow is smooth and the goals and the objectives of the company are met by all employees.
At Bad Teddy Bear Manufacturing, there are issues with meeting the quotas set. Quotas
help to access the health of the sales team, helps to become profitable and also motivates
employees since they are challenging and yet attainable. One way to help my team meet quotas,
is through careful planning, timely communication and periodical adjustment. I would also coach
my team to improve skills and performance, and also provide continuous feedback so that the
team can change its behavior when needed and also discuss the challenges and concerns. By
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doing this, the team will have more morale and in the long-term help to retain and attract top
talent which will decrease turnovers.
Low department morale is another issue at Bad Teddy Bear Manufacturing. Employee
morale reflects on how happy they are and also the direction of the health of the company
culture, communication and the effectiveness of the management. High morale is achieved when
employees feel well taken care of by the company. Management by Walk About (MBWA) can
also help the morale by being more accessible and getting in touch with employees (Belyh,
2020). To boost team morale all year long, first it’s through frequent one-on-one communication
with the team. Secondly, give the team the tool to ask for feedback in the moments they need it
so that they can master new skills and correct bad traits (Zulkey, 2019). When the team start
witnessing their own progress, it motivates them even more. Appreciation of the employees by
recognizing the strengths and contributions of the teams can also boost their morale. All the
above will motivate employees to work harder.
Leadership inability is another issue that was facing Bad Teddy. Good leadership requires
a supervisor who can understand and is able to motivate employees. Theory X and Theory
explain managers beliefs on what motivates their teams and how it affects the managing style
(Coccia, 2018). Theory X as explained by McGregor, supervisors believes that team members
dislike their work and are unmotivated. Therefore, managers use authoritarian style of
management. Theory Y on the other hand, managers believe their team take pride in their work
and see it as a challenge, and are motivated to work even harder. The manager will likely use
participative management. So as to have good leadership ability at Bad Teddy, I would take time
to understand my team and use the right management style so ensure optimum production. If
unmotivated use micro management and if they are motived use the participative management.
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There are also complains at Bad Teddy Bear on reporting to work late. To deal with this,
as the supervisor I would take the following steps to deal with the late employee. First, I would
maintain the tract records of employee lateness which I will use as evidence as I speak to the
employee about the issue. Schedule a meeting to collate the information I have regarding
working times and the instances of lateness. Listen to the employee being conscious of their
privacy and also give them a chance to take my concern. If there are improvements, I would
reinforce them by recognizing their steps. If there are no changes after trying to help the
employee, then I would ask for more advice from the human resource department on how to go
about the situation since it affects other employees who have to cover for them.
Frequent call in sick, is another issue raised by one of the co-leaders. Many calls in sick
by an employee can have a negative impact on the business. It can be costly to the business and
can also create conflicts amongst the team when people are actually sick and need time off to
recover. To solve this problem, I would first take the initiative to have a back-to-work interview
with the employee who has been absent from work due to sickness. This will help to know
whether the reasons are legitimate and it also shows care for the employees. Talking in
confidentiality gives a good chance to discuss all aspects of their workload, finding solutions if
there is a problem, and also gives a chance to talk about any necessary support. If the employee
is taking too many calls in sick which are not legitimate, I would lay off the employee or report
to the human resource department for further assistance.
An employee also approached with complains that he has not been promoted to a co-lead
or supervisor despite working in the company for a period of fourteen years. He has a lot of
experience compared to other employees. However, according to his teammates and co-lead, he
is too slow and can’t learn new technology. Stereotyping and meta-stereotyping create artificial
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generational divides in work places (King et al., 2019). Talking about stereotyping in the work
place, combining it with practices in perspective-talking like role reversal and emphasizing on
the advantages of working with people with age-diversity, can help when they creep into the
workplace. In the case of the employee, I would promote him to a co-lead since he is
experienced (his strength) and it does not involve a lot of heavy lifting (his weakness). I would
also consider whether he has leadership qualities before promotion. If not, I would teach him the
necessary skills. In terms of technology, I would assign one of the young workers to train him.
His experience and expertise would help in production in the company.
Another issue at Bad Teddy Bear Manufacturing, in my team, there is a brand-new
employee, a single mom who is a hard worker and sharp. However, she has issues such as
childcare issues which requires her to leave early and she also has car issues. Childcare issues of
single parent are not new, it happens in most companies and also to most of the single parents.
These workers support their families on single income and also pay for childcare on their own.
Better support and flexibility can make it easier for the single parent (Schulte & Pabst, 2021). I
can do this through, talking to her about the issue so as to increase flexibility and adjust
schedules and also ask the company to offer her childcare support such as corporate care which
is used at childcare facilities. Giving childcare support will lighten the financial burden for the
family. With the burden relieve it will help her fix her car. Another way of helping her fix her car
immediately is through giving her an advance. By doing this, it will show care towards all
employee and help the single parents to succeed at home and the office.
So as to be productive as a new supervisor at Bad Teddy Bear Manufacturing, I would set
SMART goals and objectives. The formulation of SMART goals would help me determine the
attainable goals that will have big impacts in the company. The acronym stands for; Specific
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Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Time bound (Boitnott, 2019). The goals would be specific
in that the goals would be well detailed in a good business plan. The goals set would also be
measurable so that I can know when exactly I reach a specific goal. Attainable goals also help in
that, it can be assigned to someone on my team who will be responsible for meeting it. When
making these goals I would ensure that they can be realistically be achieved given the time and
financial resources available. The goal would also be time bound such that the goal comes with a
deadline that has a specific time frame. By following these SMART goals, it would be easy for
me and my team to achieve those goals. The goals would be immediate goals, short term and
long-term goals.
Business strategy of SWOT analysis tool is a strategy that would help me achieve the
goals and also help in competition with other competitors. The SWOT is short for Strengths,
Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (Teoli et al., 2020). Strengths of the organization are the
company’s advantages of the company. I would identify all of the strengths so that I may have a
comparative advantage in production. Identifying the weaknesses of the company would also
help by working to improve on them. Discovering good opportunities in the company, new
trends that the company can try and identifying changes in the government policies that can help
the company, can help it be more productive. Also, knowing the threats that the company faces,
for example evolving technology and new services. When the threats are identified it would be
easier to work on them so as to improve on production.
By solving challenges at Bad Teddy Bear Manufacturing, it would create a good business
for everyone. In return, it will have positive impact on productive through high profits. With my
leadership skills and ability to work with a team, will help achieve the company’s goals and
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objectives. For example, use of Management by Walk about (MBWA), use of SMART goals, and
SWAT analysis. All the above will help in increasing productivity.
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References
Belyh, A. (2020, July 28). Management by walking around (MBWA) – The essential guide.
Cleverism. https://www.cleverism.com/management-by-walking-around-mbwa/
Boitnott, J. (2019, November 25). What are SMART goals and how can you set and achieve
them? Entrepreneur. https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/342898
Coccia, M. (2018). Motivation and theory of self-determination: Some management implications
in organizations. Journal of Economics Bibliography, 5(4), 223-230.
King, E., Finkelstein, L., Thomas, C., & Corrington, A. (2019, August 1). Just how different are
millennials, Gen Xers, and baby boomers at work? Harvard Business
Review. https://hbr.org/2019/08/generational-differences-at-work-are-small-
thinking-theyre-big-affects-our-behavior
Schulte, B., & Pabst, S. (2021, July 8). How companies can support single parents.
SHRM. https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/hr-topics/employee-
relations/pages/how-companies-can-support-single-parents.aspx
Teoli, D., Sanvictores, T., & An, J. (2020, September 7). SWOT analysis - StatPearls - NCBI
bookshelf. National Center for Biotechnology
Information. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK537302/
Zulkey, C. (2019, May 9). 6 proven methods for boosting employee morale.
Slack. https://slack.com/blog/collaboration/methods-boosting-employee-morale
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