MANAGEMENT SKILLS

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By Dr. Sylvia Aarakit
TOPIC 2 – MANAGING PEOPLE
 Introduction

• People are a vital resource in any organization but core for

service firms.

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• An organization can have state-of-the-art resources, pull the
top talent, but fail to realize its performance potential.

By Dr. Sylvia Aarakit

• However with the right people management skills, abilities,
tools & systems, an under-resourced organization with a
modest talent pool can produce strong work and develop into
a successful company.
• People management is part of SHRM. It is about managing
people in the workplace: making sure they are provided for and
have everything they need to get their jobs done.

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• This could mean looking after their wellbeing, helping them
overcome stumbling blocks, or inspiring them to do their best

By Dr. Sylvia Aarakit

at work to meet their personal and professional development
goals.

• Managers should pay keen attention to people’s skills,

knowledge, interests, emotions, attitude, abilities, talent,
career, personality and relationships!
• Effective managers should strike a balance between the needs of the
organization and its people.

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• They shouldn’t be too nice with employees but rather take their
responsibility by making decisions regarding; who to hire, who to

By Dr. Sylvia Aarakit

promote, who to delegate, how much to pay people, who to
discipline and who to let go when performance isn't meeting
expectations.

• These aspects make up organizational culture—something that can

potentially help the organization to attract and retain the right
talent.
• Your job as a manager is to get people to work as efficiently
and effectively as possible. Unfortunately, there may be no one
to show you what to do and some times there is no written

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manual

By Dr. Sylvia Aarakit

 Class discussion

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• Why is people management

By Dr. Sylvia Aarakit

important ?
• The company is as good as the people around it
• People can make or break a company.

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• Good people management optimizes productivity and culture

By Dr. Sylvia Aarakit

of innovation which enables firms get to the top in the industry
• Nurtures a highly committed and loyal workforce
• Reduces work related stress
• Encourages employees to take on challenges tasks
• Yields strong collaboration and cooperation between team
members

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• Leads to low employee turnover rates

By Dr. Sylvia Aarakit

• Enhances professional development among employees
• Builds a culture of free thinking and idea sharing that helps the
organization innovate.
 Hard Realities!

• Competing needs; attaining goals Vs motivating people To be

competitive, managers need to strike right balance

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• Costs
• Virtual/remote work – digitalization of jobs

By Dr. Sylvia Aarakit

• Conflict of interest
• Varying expectations among workers
• Influence of trade unions
• Ethics
• Rights of privacy
• Differences in personality
• Inclusivity at work place
 The Wheel of People management

1. Hire the
Right People

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Focuses the entire
3. Motivate/Energize
organization on  Be the preferred
Your People
supporting the frontline & manage exit employer & compete for
talent market share

By Dr. Sylvia Aarakit

Fosters a strong Service Excellence
service culture with  Utilize the full
& Productivity  Intensify the
range of rewards selection process
passion for service and  Administer exit
productivity interviews
2. Enable Your People
 Empower Frontline
Drives values that  Build high performance service
inspire, energize and delivery teams

guide service providers  Extensive Training

 How managers enhance
people management
• Clarify employee roles and responsibilities
• Ensure that the company’s expectations are aligned with the

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available resources (including time)
• Communicate effectively, listen to their feedback, and encourage
people to do the same with their fellow team members

By Dr. Sylvia Aarakit

• Help employees solve problems and overcome challenges
• Forestall and manage conflict between team members
• Oversee employees' professional development in the workplace
• Facilitate knowledge-sharing and brainstorming within a team by
making sure people feel free to share their ideas.
• Thus, understand each person holistically, recognize their
potential and optimize on those.

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• Use scientific tools to manage people to maximize results

By Dr. Sylvia Aarakit

 + TIPS ON POPLE MANAGEMENT

• 1. Nurture a Learning Culture

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Embedding continuous learning into organization's day-to-day processes
sets it on the path of constant improvement.

By Dr. Sylvia Aarakit

Implementing learning structures like career development plans , regular
workplace training, and team knowledge-sharing rituals can help acquaint
managers with their people’s goals, strengths, and weaknesses.

Importantly, embrace setbacks and mistakes as part of a positive learning

process. This attitude helps people feel safe and builds trust in approaching
their managers for help correcting a mistake or overcoming a setback.
• 2. Practice Constant Feedback – Effective systems

• Feedback keeps an organization running smoothly, but it needs to go

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both ways
• However, freely giving and listening to feedback doesn’t come

By Dr. Sylvia Aarakit

naturally to everyone, so it needs to be constantly encouraged.
• Consciously build feedback into everyday processes like internal
meetings, i.e., putting five minutes of open feedback onto agenda.
• make sure feedback doesn’t grind people down or artificially buoy
them. Balance btn feedback that is honest and constructive, while
compassionate enough to be encouraging.
• 3. Motivate peole – develop skills and tools

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By Dr. Sylvia Aarakit
• 4. Develop relationship management skills

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By Dr. Sylvia Aarakit
 • 5. Leadership Skills

By Dr. Sylvia Aarakit 04/02/2024

• Consider the Value of Laissez-Faire Leadership

• Laissez-faire leadership is built around trusting people to do what

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they need to do, without their manager getting too involved.

By Dr. Sylvia Aarakit

• Here, people management is not about controlling or micromanaging
people, but about helping them when they need support, and
encouraging them to be self-motivated.

• This may not apply to every situation, but reflecting on its value can
provide important insight into people management.
• 6. Empathy
Develop Emotional management skills – EI makes a manager a good

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people person. It is the ability to put themselves in the shoes of others
and feel what they feel. Relate to all team members on a deeper level
and look at situations from their perspective.

By Dr. Sylvia Aarakit

7. Cultivate Trust
Manager should be able to win the trust of all team members, trust
others and believe that they have the best interest of the company in
their mind. This helps them delegate certain tasks and worry less about
it getting completed on time.
• 8. Conflict resolution
Conflicts are inevitable in an organization. A people manager should
have excellent conflict-resolution abilities to navigate challenging

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interpersonal situations. They should understand different viewpoints,
analyse them, and come up with the best decision to maintain peace
and harmony within teams.

By Dr. Sylvia Aarakit

• 9. Empowering
provide constructive feedback and learning opportunities as well as
supporting employees through challenging projects.
• 10. Flexibility
Be accommodative of personal and professional needs of team

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members. It can be demonstrated in the form of remote working
options or adjustable office schedules.

By Dr. Sylvia Aarakit

Adaptability - ability to keep pace with dynamic circumstances.
They should be able to change their opinions and perspectives
and look at new challenges and new opportunities. It can involve
revising corporate or business strategies.
 Summary
• At face value, people management is the “simple” practice of
managing people and making sure they have what they need to do
their work.
• But people management is more than this: it’s the fuel that drives

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productivity, engagement, and innovation, and it can make or break a
company.

By Dr. Sylvia Aarakit

• Good people management relies on strong communication (especially
feedback), a culture of embracing problem-solving as a learning
experience, and trusting people to do great work.

• Remote people management is difficult, but not impossible. Make an

effort to communicate, be flexible and do everything to support your
employees during challenging times.
 Conclusion

• People management is a vital function that all managers in an

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organization should perform delicately.

• They need to adhere to people’s practices to create the best

By Dr. Sylvia Aarakit

place to work.

• In this era of data, they need to leverage it with modern-day

tools to establish a people management system that ensures
they acquire, manage, and retain the best-fit talent in the
organization.