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SUPERVISORS – IDENTITY CRISIS! 

By Chris J Thomas

Recent studies have shown that industrial supervisors are working at less than 60 % of their potential. Basic management skills training is guaranteed to change all this and at such little cost

   

  Who is a supervisor?  

All effective managers should be able to respond to the question WHO AM I? in a clear manner that is acceptable to himself, his superiors, his peers and the people who work for him. 

Many supervisors are promoted from within the organization, with many coming from the workforce, and this in itself causes both cultural and practical problems. Managers often find themselves in direct control of their friends, ex co-workers and others who share the same habits, customs and social activities. In addition, it is very likely that new supervisors will have little in common with their new management colleagues. 

In spite of all this the supervisor must continually look in both directions and act as the link between top down and bottom up interests. This can be even more problematic at the supervisor-worker interface, which has been a traditional conflict area.

There is solid evidence from recent studies that the non-understanding of individual roles and responsibilities is a significant cause of industrial stress. A key objective in this article is to develop a list of tasks and responsibilities that meet management needs but also make sense to individual managers. 

What is a supervisor? 

What are meant by the terms manager and supervisor? Simply stated they are people that: 

• Get things done using resources other than, or in addition to, themselves
  
   
• Responsible for more than they can do alone 

One of the main problems for first time supervisors is that they find it hard to accept that they can no longer do it themselves. 

Most workers who are promoted into first line supervisor jobs are selected because of their high technical and hands-on skills. In many cases, the promoted worker was the best worker in the crew. 

However, to succeed as a manager you must avoid doing the work yourself except for in emergency or for training demonstration circumstances.  

Task analysis 

In this part we are going to look at a very general analysis of the way a supervisor uses his time in comparison with an industry survey done in the USA . This will be an interesting view on what may be necessary to be done to optimize your role as a supervisor. 

Please note that the figures stated in the following chart are a guide and not a standard to achieve. Each industry and country will make different demands on the supervisor. Why not compare your own performance? 

 

NORMAL OPTIMAL

PLANNING

Setting group objectives and priorities 10% 20%
Identifying your group's workload 5 hours per week 10 hours per week
Scheduling the workload

ORGANIZATION 

Allocating resources 27% 15%
Ordering materials 13.5 hours a week 7.5 hours a week
Ordering outside services
Requesting plant and equipment

SUPERVISION  

Being on the job with the workers 24% 45%
Maintaining & improving productivity 12 hours a week 22.5 hours a week
Assessing individual and group performance
Maintaining discipline line
Induction and training of crew

CONTROL

Establish reporting procedures 2% 10%
Evaluating performance 1 hour a week 5 hours a week
Provide planning feedback 

ADMINISTRATION 

Filling in forms or writing reports  37% 10%
Providing information for administrators, etc. 18 hours a week 5 hours a week

Trying to make computers work
General office work

TOTALS: 100% 100%

 

 

 

 

It is clear that Mr. Average Supervisor has some work to do. 

If you add up all the hours on the last chart you will get 50 hours. This is around 10 hours more than normal working hours – in other words it is OVERTIME. A major objective for us must be to eliminate regular overtime. Of course, a supervisor's job is never going to be 8 to 4 or 9 to 5 and irregular hours and call outs will always occur but regular overtime only achieves short-term gains. 

The above exercise is based on information relevant to first line supervisors but the principles apply to other levels of management. 

The big area for improvement is in supervision. However, there are many well known managers that are convinced that their success is due to being closely involved with their people. 

Supervising means supervising 

The chart above highlights the major problem, which low levels of actual supervision. The most important part of a supervisor's role is the activity of directly supervising his subordinates. 

The following are good examples of supervising time: 

• Walking the job. This is often called MBW (Management by Walkabout)
   
• On the job training
   
• Discussing work with subordinates  
   
• Counseling subordinates 

The time spent with your subordinates is the key to your success as a supervisor. If you have not enough time to be with your people then you should ask your boss to change your title because you are not a supervisor. If you spend too little time in this key activity then you are not working at your full potential irrespective of how experienced or qualified that you may be.  

Sorting out the problem 

In consequence, it is important to talk to your boss about your role. In particular it would be well worth while completing the above chart jointly with your boss. It could take an hour or so but this could prove to be the best spent time in your working life. Basically supervisors need training in how to manage and spend their time.

Chris Thomas is the author of the Managers Toolbox training material located at www.managers-toolbox.com and runs the very successful Basic Management Course for new leaders and supervisors. You can contact Chris@managers-toolbox.com

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©copyright 2001- 2004 Chris Thomas

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