Identify And Develop Prospective Supervisors

“Where do I find strong prospects for management positions?” This is a universal question that I am sure you have asked more than once.

Every manager, at some point, will be tasked with finding their next in command, or in some cases, their replacement. And doing so requires a few key factors.

The first step is to develop a job description for the position. The description should be specific and must fit the needs of your organization. This description will determine what type of manager you will have leading your staff. It will also serve as a guide for what you can expect from your staff.

Assessing Candidates

Once you know what you are looking for from a candidate, evaluate and assess the skill levels of your current personal. Make a list of those who have the potential to fill the position.

Be careful not to fall into the trap of promoting someone just because they are a strong worker. Although that is definitely a plus, it does not guarantee that they have supervisory or management skills.

Determine which personnel, once trained, can fill the position. You will also have to determine whether they have the desire to advance into a supervisory role. For example:

• They may be an excellent cleaner, with many years of service, but they may not want the added responsibility.

• They may not have the people skills needed to be a strong manager.

• They may not have the desire learn the additional skills necessary for the job.
It is inevitable that during this evaluation process, you may discover individuals that, although not yet qualified to be a manager, are able to take on added responsibility. These candidates:

• May have the abilities to train new employees.

• Can complete special projects or find solutions to problems.

• Are technologically savvy and are capable of evaluating new products.

This evaluation and assessment of staff should be ongoing. Going through the process will help identify the talents of your staff and will assist in nurturing those talents.

Training Managers

The third step is to develop a training program that will assist in the development of skills in the areas of technical, supervisor management and employee motivation.

The weakness of many organizations is the lack of training provided to individuals promoted to a management level. There is often an inaccurate assumption that with the new title, immediate knowledge of the position is a given. For example:

A staff member has been an excellent cleaner and a strong role model to the other staff. They have a desire to advance and have made the commitment to learn how to be a good supervisor. After we promote the individual, we fail to immediately start the training program and after several weeks we begin to notice the area they oversee is having problems.

We think that maybe we made a mistake — before the individual was promoted, there were never any issues. Maybe the promotion has gone to their head.

Sadly, the promoted individual is let go.

To avoid this scenario, make sure to have a training program in place and ready to go prior to filling the position. Remember, the other employees are observing what happens after a staff member is promoted.