Problems can arise when a member of staff is promoted to a management role. Mary Evans suggests ways to achieve a smooth transition
'Six months ago I was promoted to deputy manager. It was my first managerial role and I was very happy. However, some staff are making my life hell through things such as not telling me information, not talking to me, or not finishing work I ask them to do. My manager thinks I am imagining it and says my colleagues have only good things to say about me. One person on the team wanted this job and she is being particularly difficult. How should I handle the situation?'
In the face of the recruitment crisis, nurseries, particularly the chains, are trying to 'grow' staff teams by providing career ladders and making internal promotions in an effort to attract and retain staff.
However, this sad tale reflects a routine problem that occurs in many professions: people who are effective workers at one level are often promoted to managerial positions for which they are ill-equipped.
According to Diane Sinclair, employee relations adviser at the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, 'It is extremely common that people who are good at their jobs are promoted without having management experience or support from their senior management.'
The initial reaction from nursery managers and personnel experts to this problem is that the nursery management should identify and meet the new deputy's training needs. Second, the deputy must assert themselves; third, the situation must not be allowed to fester; and fourth, the situation needs to be handled sensitively.
Rosalind Taylor, director of the Devon nursery chain Puffins of Exeter, says, 'Our nursery officers are promoted through the team. We have people in managerial roles now who came to us straight from school. We have trained and promoted them. We tend to move people to a different nursery when we promote them.
'A single site nursery cannot do that but it should make sure the person taking the promotion has management training in managing people, business skills, assertiveness, dealing with conflict and team building. When someone moves into a managerial role they need to use a new set of skills and the manager should make sure the deputy has these skills.
'This deputy has clearly been promoted in the same nursery and is finding it difficult to establish her authority. Obviously, it may be quite difficult for her if some of her colleagues feel they could do the job just as well.'
But Cherie Wilson, director of the Cardiff-based Acorns Nurseries, stresses, 'You have to earn respect. You cannot just demand it.' She describes the deputy manager's job as one of the most difficult positions to fill as the deputy does not have the full authority of the manager, but is no longer just one of the team.
Sue Metselaar, personnel manager of Asquith Court Nurseries, the UK's largest nursery chain, says, 'Occasionally, people get resentful and feel a bit aggrieved if they feel they have been passed over for promotion. This is something that the deputy needs to resolve sensitively with that person straight away and she must not let the situation fester. These situations do not magically go away of their own accord.'
Miss Sinclair adds, 'The deputy must strive to deal with this jealousy problem sensitively. It is one of the pitfalls of management. She will have to do something such as organising a face-to-face meeting with the person. She will need to prepare for the interview carefully so that she knows what outcome she is seeking. Remember the person is probably feeling hurt and undervalued and she should emphasise the important contribution that that person makes to the smooth running of the nursery and how highly she values her.'
Mrs Metselaar says the deputy manager has to know she has the support of her line manager and with that support she has to get the other party on-board and enlist her support and help.
Both Mrs Wilson and Mrs Taylor suggest that there should be a staff meeting at which the new deputy's job description, duties and responsibilities are clearly spelled out so the team members know to whom they should report. They also recommend running team-building exercises.
Mrs Taylor adds, 'Nurseries have to be careful in these sorts of situations because you cannot afford to lose staff. We have all got recruitment problems. Staff are our most important and valuable asset and you just cannot go out and find replacements easily. You have to be sensitive and not heavy-handed.' NW
Further Information
- The National Day Nurseries Association runs courses on all aspects of nursery management in conjunction with Early Years Partnerships - contact your local partnership for information.
- The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development is the professional body for those involved in the management and development of people. It runs courses and operates an extensive bookshop. Details can be found on its website: www.cipd.co.uk
Action points
- Set up an effective staff appraisal scheme. It should alert management as to which staff members are keen to be promoted and whether they need more training or wider experience to attain it. Informal appraisal interviews can pinpoint people's strengths and weaknesses and enable managers to help them capitalise on the former and tackle the latter.
- Develop a career path and matching promotion procedures - and follow them. For example, at each step on your career ladder whether it be team leader, deputy manager or manager, determine the key qualities and skills you seek such as loyalty, consistency, trust, reliability, good communication skills, leadership, the ability to motivate, financial acumen and good customer care. Decide which of those attributes are inherent and which are trainable.
- Devise a core group of questions for promotion interviews to tease out which of these qualities and skills the candidates have and what training they need.
- At the interviews also discuss with the candidates how they see themselves making the transition from being part of the group to taking responsibility for it.
- Give positive feedback to internal candidates who were unsuccessful and try to work with them to see what extra training and/or experience they need.
- As part of the promotions procedure, devise a management induction programme which could include training in management skills, briefings on management and advice on handling personnel problems, time shadowing a senior colleague, the provision of a management mentor, provision of a reading list or the loan of relevant books.
- If this is a new appointment use a staff meeting to explain to the team the responsibilities of the new boss and lines of communication.
- If the deputy is taking over some of the manager's workload, it must be spelled out clearly so that staff know what matters they must refer to their new line manager.
- Organise a team-building exercise to reinforce the format of the new team and to emphasise the new lines of communication.