Team managers and HR: how can team managers improve the employee experience?

by Quentin Demeestère

Every business needs managers. These people are essential to the proper functioning of the structure. Moreover, the role of the managers is no longer limited to pushing their team to achieve a single specific mission in the company. They have also become key players in participating in the development and execution of HR strategies. Here’s how.

What are the daily tasks of managers?

On a daily basis, managers play a social role that requires strong human qualities, in particular to facilitate the work of their teams, share regular feedback but also integrate new talents and allow everyone to find their place in the team. Relational ease is not the only quality that managers need, they must also be able to have a strong impact in other areas. In particular, they must be able to take care of several missions related to human resources.

Find the right talent to build your team

One of the managers’ missions is to detect, develop and improve the skills of each person in their teams. Their task is therefore to identify interesting profiles that would likely have a positive impact on the company. This notably involves training and coaching, thanks to which managers can grow, support and guide talents present in their teams.

Participate in recruitment

Knowing how to lead a job interview is one of the skills that a manager must have. Indeed, being more in the “field” than an HR recruiter, they may be asked to carry out a second interview with a candidate, in order to assess their technical or role-related skills and their ability to integrate the team.

Promote the integration of new talents in your team

One of the roles of the manager is to ensure a good integration of new employees in the existing team. Managers are responsible for the cohesion and the proper functioning of the team, and naturally, for the development of each one, individually and collectively.

Strengthen relationships with and within your team

The quality of work also depends on the team culture: efficiency can only be possible when there is a clear setup and team members are ready to collaborate and support each other. For this, the manager must offer the necessary training and directions so that the entire team remains operational.

Manage administrative tasks

Managers also need to take care of some administrative tasks, in particular regarding payroll management. Their first-hand knowledge of their team’s work and their proximity to each employee are indicators that matter in compensation conversations and other associated administrative data.

Ensure the well-being of your team

The manager’s mission is to ensure that their team works, and that each employee is satisfied with their working conditions and that they remain motivated. Well-being at work is a key ingredient of a company’s success. This is why they must know how to be empathetic, and attentive to everyone.

What role should the "HR manager" play in the loyalty and engagement of their teams?

Beyond their role as facilitator of the daily work of the team, the manager is also an "HR manager", that is to say they must warrant a good recruitment and integration of new talents, and sometimes, they must also ensure a good offboarding. Here is the role of the HR manager during the onboarding and offboarding stages to which we often do not pay enough attention:

When recruiting

Recruitment is an important part of the talent retention process. As explained above, each new employee must correspond to the values ​​and working methods of the company. Managers must ensure personal resources and the consistency of the profile with the requirements of the position to be filled.

During onboarding

The goal of onboarding is to make sure new employees quickly ramp up and become effective in their work, but also that their social integration within the team is successful. As such, the direct manager is the one who has all the keys in hand to achieve this. Their responsibilities start even before the arrival of new talent in the company!

Reassure the new employee even before his first day

In order to favor a good integration of the future employee within their new functions, the HR manager can set up several steps, even before this one is present in the company:

  • Organize telephone conversations and hear from the future employee
  • Fully inform them about what awaits them in the company
  • Offer them meetings that are less stiff than the job interview, such as an informal lunch for example, in order to approach the different aspects of their future position in a more relaxed way.
  • The manager must refer to an onboarding checklist.

Welcoming the new employee, a crucial step

The first steps of a new employee in a company are a decisive moment. The manager must therefore ensure that the employee does not miss anything, that their workstation and different accounts are operational and that all the people present in the company are informed of their arrival.

Integrate the employee well into their team and ensure regular follow-up

The meeting with the rest of the team is, obviously, essential: appointing a mentor within the team can be a good way to help them get their bearings and start their job in a serene way. It is also necessary to regularly hear from the new employee.

Allow them to develop skills and make them grow

Enabling employees to progress in their career does not necessarily require major resources. This can go through training opportunities, but also through simple advice provided on a daily basis.

When offboarding

Management is one of the main causes of a hasty departure, and therefore of a failed recruitment. To avoid this situation, the manager can:

Set up regular exchanges with their team

It is essential for every manager to put in place the right managerial rituals to manage their team well and build a working relationship of trust with everyone. This is the reason for 1:1 meetings, team meetings and other rituals. However, other moments give the manager the opportunity to collect feedback and guarantee a real collaborator journey between onboarding and possible offboarding.

Leveraging team management software is also a way to ensure that these rituals or interviews run smoothly.