Timing is everything
There’s a reason for the popular phrase, Timing is everything. Saying happy birthday or anniversary, means so much more on the actual day. Paying bills on time certainly matters. When it comes to managing, timing can be a major factor in determining your success and your team’s success. Here are a few key times that truly matter when managing your team to success.
Coaching Time
If you’re not coaching, you’re not managing, and “when” you coach makes a big difference. Coaching isn’t about criticizing and catching employees doing something wrong, it’s about making your employees better at what they do. It’s about turning talents into performance. Watch, listen, and keep score. When you hear an employee talking to a customer on the phone, pay attention to what is being said. You may hear an opportunity to coach and to share some of your experience on how to improve. Watch how your employees greet and interact with customers in the bank lobby. Even the smallest of things that an employee does may present an opportunity to coach. Pay attention to your scores such as the Score Report, phone shops, or other scores. Spend time with your employees reviewing these scores and use them as a coaching tool instead of a criticism tool.
Lobby Time
This is the time spent outside your office and in the branch lobby. It shouldn’t be an odd occurrence when the manager is seen in the lobby talking to customers and employees, it should be the standard. The best time to be in the lobby is when the lobby traffic is at its highest. Avoid scheduling appointments during these times. Lobby time represents a great opportunity to build relationships with your customers and in finding ways to better serve them. It’s also a great time to watch and listen to your employees interact with the customers to see how they recognize potential opportunities to better serve their customers… see the previous point on coaching. Another key to lobby time is being available and hearing when you need to be available. Every manager should have a signal that an employee can use when they need your time and help with a customer. The signal could be a smile, a wave, or something else. Make your lobby time count.
Show Time
As a manager, talk is cheap and actions speak louder than words. Don’t just talk, Show. One of the best ways to manage your team is to lead by example. If your personal scores are not above average, you lose credibility when managing your employees’ scores. Make sure you are always well above your Score Report goal. Make sure your personal phone shop scores are never below 100%.
If you don’t have advocates referring business to you on a regular basis, it becomes difficult to expect your employees to have advocates. As a manager, you set the tone in your branch or department from attitude, communication, sales, and support for the bank’s objectives. Make sure your team sees a great show every single day.
Recognition Time
One of the keys to managing effectively is a pat on the back. Make sure recognition is done at the proper time. First off, you can’t over-praise an employee for doing a great job. With that in mind, there are a few times when recognition is a must.
- In your weekly team meeting – A hero should be recognized in every team meeting. On rare occasions you may recognize the entire team, but the standard is to have one employee you are highlighting.
- In your one-on-one meetings – Any time you see improvement in an employee’s productivity. This is the time to recognize small victories.
- In your lobby time – When you see or hear something that is great, let your employee know it immediately.
Whether recognition is made in-person or through an email or note, the time spent will set the stage for your employees to see what is most important to you and to the bank in how they perform.
Management Time vs Time Management
If you don’t feel you have time to spend on all of these critical areas for success, then there could possibly be an issue with personal time management. Great managers have time to effectively manage. Those that don’t are being managed by other people’s time. Gain control of your time management to free up your Management Time.
