Determining to what degree a team needs to be supervised leads to better management and employee satisfaction.

To further your skills in supervising others, consider joining the Supervision Training Course delivered by pdtraining in Melbourne and other cities in Australia.

It is commonly believed that too much or too little supervision is bad. However, if you consider that there are differences in tasks, fluctuations in deadlines, priority and significance of certain tasks to a project, then too much or too little supervision does not sound bad.

When Too Much Supervision is Good

If a job requires more supervision at certain points, then it cannot be damaging. Too much supervision at all times can be suffocating for employees, as they do not feel the freedom to do things their own way. At the same time, too much supervision when there is a deadline for a task is approaching is crucial for the success of a project, and is welcomed by employees. As a supervisor, you need to see when there is a need for more supervision.

Too Little Supervision

There can be various reasons for needing less supervision. They are:

1. The task is not very important
2. The task is free from a deadline
3. The employee is skilled and disciplined enough to manage himself/herself

If there is too little supervision at all times where none of the above reasons apply, it can make the employees take their work for granted, and may lead to the development of bad working habits. A supervisor needs to switch between moderate supervision, too little supervision, and too much supervision according to the situation. Too little supervision can be a good way to judge the management capabilities of an employee.

Judging Responses of Employees

To find out whether a particular form of supervision is working for you and your employees, you need to see the response of the employees to the present type of delegation you are using. Some of the reasons that indicate that the present level of delegation is not working are:

• Missed deadlines
• Drop in performance
• Conflicts with colleagues
• Decline in quality
• Lack of job satisfaction
• De-motivation, lethargy and boredom
• Growing disinterest in performing well

If you discover one or more such traits in your team, then you need to consider making changes in your present type of supervision. You may try to increase or decrease the level of supervision and see if the change brings expected results.

When making changes in the level of delegation, you will see apparent changes in employee behaviour very quickly. If the right changes have been made, you will notice enthusiasm, eagerness to perform, and better concentration from employees. These changes are noticeable after a day or two of making changes in the level of delegation. This will help you to judge whether you made the correct change or not.

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All public Supervision Training courses include am/pm tea, lunch, printed courseware and a certificate of completion. Customised courses are available upon request so please contact pdtraining on 1300 121 400 to learn more.