Bringing a manager up from the inside of an MSME – Part 2

It has been emphasized in the first part of the article that it is not the easiest and potentially the most successful solution on deploying necessary managers for a growing micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSME) by transferring from out in the market. History of MSMEs has shown us that the most practical (this does not mean that it is easy) way to incorporate a new manager to an MSME is to bring her/him up from inside of the business. It has already been mentioned two subjects to know and take care in the first part of the article and they were “defining the necessary skills” and “defining the candidates”. In this second part of the article some other important aspects on the subject are given below.

  1. Preloading of New Responsibilities
    Employees, in real world and particularly in MSMEs, gain most of their skills through job assignments. And even there is a specific term for it in the management science. it is called “on the job training”. Giving new responsibilities to help expand the employee’s skills or abilities can help to develop the employee’s capabilities and improve their management skills. These assignments should not only cover the technical skills to be improved but also some managerial skills such as, planning, team management, crisis management, accountability, etc. Employees with high potential should be given additional responsibilities and monitored to see how well they are doing. They should be given “feedback” by their senior managers or by the owner for a small business, as a result of these activities.
  1. Providing Feedback
    The company should provide regular feedback to all employees to gain insight into how their professional development is progressing. Feedback can help motivate employees who want to learn and grow with the company. Monitoring performance can also help identify training needs as well as employees who are ready to be groomed for management positions. The feedback process is one of the most precious inputs for a manager candidate since the proposed position is somewhere that she/he is not familiar with. That’s why by giving some feedback, MSME owner or manager can help the candidate to get her/him know the new borders of responsibilities, skills and issues to be raised in the new assignment.
  1. To Train and to Support for Progress
    The Company should provide training and development opportunities for employees preparing for management positions and for those already in management positions. Formal trainings both inside the company or rendered from outsourced services are vital for potential manager candidates to get ready for the prospect managerial positions. Ongoing trainings should be provided to employees already in management positions to promote growth and development and to effectively implement company policies and procedures simply because an MSME is a dynamic creature which, is growing in every direction and every time.

To summarize the conclusions drawn from the headings given above:

  • MSME owners and managers should make special efforts and allocate a budget for the recruitment of qualified staff,
  • Investments should be made to improve the managerial skills of existing staff as well as their technical knowledge and skills,
  • A positive habitat should be created within the company to enable potential management candidates to develop themselves,
  • Before managerial appointments are made within the MSMEs, studies and work appointments should be planned to improve the experience and evaluate the potential of the staff through a kind of “internship” programs such as project responsibility and team leadership.

And feedback is one the most important ingredients of the process to be kept in mind.

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