Published on July 2nd, 2019 | by Sunit Nandi

Novice Necessities – A Tech-Savvy Guide For First-Time Managers

Making the jump into a management position can be one you make with a little trepidation. If you haven’t managed people before it can be tough to know where to begin. Making a good first impression is an obvious element to focus on, but it’s often the little things that make or break your first foray into management. Thankfully, there are some helpful tips that can be used to get the best possible start. Not surprisingly, in today’s day and age, most of them take advantage of technology. If you are a first-time manager, here are a few quick tips to make the best start possible.

Save time for everyone

One of the trickiest jobs of any manager is rostering staff. Not only is it tough to manage multiple employee’s preferences, expectations and leave – but get it wrong and you will hear the end of it. Instead of trying to track shifts or preferences using a spreadsheet (or worse, paper), use a work schedule app from Deputy. Scheduling apps are the tech-savvy manager’s best friend. They track employee hours, leave, and make it easy to track changes or adjustments in real time. Aside from the standard functionality, you will also get the added benefit of stats and reports directly to your device. When planning a roster you can see estimated costs depending on your staff mix. You can also track monthly or quarterly spend to help identify opportunities to save. Instead of keeping a paper tracking system, allow technology to do the heavy lifting for you so you can get back to learning the ropes in management.

Finding the right people

As a first-time manager, it can be daunting when you have to hire a new team member. It seems like a simple process, but when it comes to making the right decision on a number of factors. The complexities begin. Instead of trying to do everything manually, let technology make it easier. Recruitment programs or applications can give you the freedom to write an ad, post and track candidates from any device. An additional option is to use an online service to conduct psychometric or personality testing. This type of testing can be a simple way to help align potential candidates values to those of the business. There is always going to be the human component of the process to consider, but technology can assist a first-time manager with making a decision that is more informed.

Engaged employees

Employee engagement is probably the hardest thing to achieve as a manager. It’s no secret that an engaged and motivated workforce will deliver a lot better results under less ideal conditions than the opposite scenario. Maintaining engagement whilst trying to keep up with all of the other new demands for a first-time manager can be hard. Technology can help in this situation. Desktop or app workflow software like conversation boards or work trackers can help immensely. There is a myriad of options on the market to help create innovative solutions to workflow management, as well as a channel to praise and commend a job well done. These types of programs can help facilitate a more open, sharing work team, which in turn help deliver better results. As a first-time manager, helping to create a culture of open and honest workflow management will go a long way to reducing any friction.

Becoming a manager for the first time can be a little scary. If you haven’t ever had to manage personalities or expectations before it can feel like a baptism of fire. Technology, however, has a huge role to play in making this transition a lot smoother. From scheduling apps to workflow management programs, there is an option out there to help even the most novice of managers.

Tags: first time, guide, managers, necessities, novice, tech-savvy

About the Author

Sunit Nandi I'm the leader of Techno FAQ. Also an engineering college student with immense interest in science and technology. Other interests include literature, coin collecting, gardening and photography. Always wish to live life like there's no tomorrow.