1.  Be fair and consistent.  It is important to note that being fair does not necessarily mean that everyone is treated equally.  This is an important concept to understand but an important one.  For example, every organization has employees from varied backgrounds, family situations, ethnicity, religions, social activities, etc. You must take all of these into consideration when dealing with your employees when it comes to things such as requested leaves of absence, scheduling, requests for vacations or days off, scheduling breaks, or allowing early leave or days off for special circumstances.  One example of this might be that one of your employees is a coach for a Little League baseball team during the spring and summer.  He needs to leave a half hour early twice a week to honor this obligation.  You have to decide whether or not to allow it.  Other employees will think that you are not being fair if you allow him/her to do so.  This is especially true if you do not allow others to have the same types of privileges.  So in order to be fair you should make sure that all of your employees have the opportunity to share in extra privileges.  The most important aspect in granting these types of privileges to employees is not that they all get the same privilege but that they do get some type of privilege when they request them if possible.  If your employees see that you do your best to honor their requests for extra privileges to everyone then they will understand that you are being fair and not playing favorites.  This is a very difficult aspect of managing that takes time to master.  Just be fair and consistent with everyone.  Do not let some of your employees be able to do whatever they want while others get to do nothing.  This is a quick way to lose respect of everyone -- even the ones you give the privileges to.

2.  Always say "Thanks."  Most managers think that their employees are only interested in getting a raise as a way of being recognized for their work.  This is not true.  Just telling them that they have done a good job is as important to them as that raise.  Employees want to be told they are doing a good job and want recognition for a job well done.  One of the easiest ways to do this is to say "Thanks" to each employee at the end of the day.  I have practiced this since the beginning of my management career.  Sometimes my employees would say, "Thanks for what?"  I would respond with "Thanks for being here today."  It seems sort of trivial and corny but it works.  Employees want recognition of any kind and this lets them know that they were valued at the end of the day.  It lets them know that you appreciated them and the effort that they gave.

3.  Listen to your employees.  Listening to your employees is important.  They all have ideas and opinions about how to make things better.  Listen to their ideas.  Do not just dismiss them -- they may be good ideas that will help your organization. They also discuss their families and social lives.  This is a quick and easy way to discover what each employee values and allows you the opportunity to implement incentive programs that will work because they are geared toward their values.  Listening to your employees also offer clues about what they feel about your organization, management team, and overall feeling about working for the organization.  This is important because it again gives you the opportunity to make changes or improvements in the organization, its structure, or processes in order to make things better for everyone. 

The Manager's Tool Kit: Practical Tips for Tackling 100 On-The-Job Problems

Written by Jason Liptow, webmaster, educator, and manager.