As soon as I walk through the doors of a shopping mall during the holidays, I’m immediately reminded of my time as a retail employee. The smells, the music, the bright Christmas sweaters, all bring back memories of hectic shoppers, long hours and even longer lines.
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To make it through the busiest time of year, many retailers hire seasonal employees to supplement their permanent staff. ​These employees are expected to jump into a position they may know little about and quickly acclimate to their new surroundings without losing a step. As someone who has interacted with seasonal employees on both sides of the counter, it’s not their technical skills that I admire the most but their enthusiasm and a willingness to learn that really makes these employees special.

by Roger Plachy and Sandy Plachy, Principals at Job Results Management Institute

Far too many managers misunderstand what managing is all about. So, how do you teach managers the essence of managing? Well, you could start with their job description written in a results-oriented manner that distinguishes between accomplishing something, and doing something. 

A lot of thought went into creating your company mission and objectives, so isn’t it worth making sure your employees know what they need to accomplish in order to fulfill that vision? It’s not enough to simply tell employees what they have to do; you must also express what results can be achieved by performing those tasks.