The Art of Managing 5 Common Types of Employees

The ability to delegate is one of the key factors that distinguishes a leader from a rank-and-file employee. In this article, 1Office will help managers identify & master the art of managing 5 common types of employees.

According to a 2013 Gallup survey of 14 million employees from 50,000 companies, delegation led to a 22% increase in profitability and a 21% increase in productivity for businesses.

Clearly, delegation helps leaders reduce their own workload and provides opportunities for employees to demonstrate their capabilities and develop new skills. However, not every manager knows how to delegate to their subordinates effectively.

1. Identifying 5 types of employees

Identifying employees is the first step in the art of leadership. Based on the ASK model—a popular framework for assessing, training, and developing individual capabilities—leaders can evaluate employees based on 3 criteria:

• Attitude.
• Skills.
• Knowledge.

After assessing each individual’s capabilities, you can classify employees into the following groups:

2. How to assign tasks 

Different types of employees require different ways of assigning tasks. Understanding this means you have mastered the art of employee management, “assigning the right task to the right person.” For example, a wise employee management approach is not to assign tasks to R0 employees but to “recommend” them to a more suitable workplace. 

For R1 employees: Assign tasks according to a process

Employees in the R1 group are mostly recent graduates working outside their field of study. They lack the foundational professional knowledge to orient themselves, so when assigning tasks, you should guide them through a sequential, step-by-step process. 

For R2 employees: Assign tasks with a clear explanation of the purpose

Unlike the group above, R2 employees are often those who studied in the correct field but lack work experience.

To maximize their potential, when assigning tasks, you need to explain the purpose of the work in detail and clearly. With their professional knowledge base, R2 employees can then analyze and understand why things need to be done a certain way, thereby developing their work mindset.

For R3 employees: Assign tasks and require commitment

This group mostly consists of employees who are dissatisfied with their superiors and express their disagreement through their work attitude. 

However, despite their attitude, R3 employees are genuinely talented, possessing both skills and knowledge. A key point in managing R3 employees: when assigning tasks, you need to ask for their commitment and give them autonomy in their work.

Don’t hesitate to assign them difficult tasks or unexpected issues, as their results might surprise you.

For R4 employees: Delegate tasks

R4 employees have all the qualities needed for you to trust and delegate work to them.

You can assign them important, high-value tasks, and ensure that when you do, you also provide them with the necessary resources. Let the employees see that their manager is always there to support them.

Conclusion:

President Ho Chi Minh – a master of personnel management – once said:

We must remember: everyone has their strengths and weaknesses. We must utilize their strengths and help them overcome their weaknesses. Using people is like using wood. A skilled carpenter can use all types of wood—big, small, straight, or crooked—for the right purpose.

The success or failure of task delegation depends entirely on the manager’s ability to assess employee capabilities. 

However, manually assessing employee capabilities is a task that heavily relies on the evaluator’s skills, and it is time-consuming and labor-intensive to compile, analyze, and compare employee performance… 

Understanding these challenges, 1Office – the only business digitalization solution in Vietnam – offers the ASK Assessment feature. With ASK Assessment, the task of evaluating employee capabilities becomes more transparent, clear, and convenient than ever before. 

Using ASK Assessment, leaders can: 

• Manage assessment information right from the recruitment stage.
• Set job evaluation criteria for each position.
• Conduct and approve assessments from anywhere. 
• Automatically compile assessment forms.

Let’s enhance the art of employee management with 1Office to maximize the potential of your human resources!

See more articles at:

EMPLOYEES WORKING INEFFICIENTLY? DO BOSSES KNOW THE 3-KNOW PRINCIPLE TO IMPROVE WORK?

THE SMARTER DELEGATION METHOD: DELEGATE SMARTER, OPTIMALLY DEVELOP PERSONNEL CAPABILITIES