What Proper Supervision Means - The T.I.E. Solution

After the usual orientation conducted by the HRD people and the usual introductions to the department manager, he is automatically dumped to the department supervisor for on-the-job training. The supervisor is lucky if the company has its own training manual from which he can teach the new employee the rudiments of his job, but unfortunately, that is not always the case.

So, what steps does the supervisor take to break in the new employee? He only needs his T.I.E.

T- Train

Teaching is different from training in the sense that in teaching, the employee is passive and his concentration is on hearing what is being said by the supervisor, his active participation limited to jotting down "reminders" in his notebook as to what is being said. Training on the other hand requires the active participation of the new employee as he has to do whatever the supervisor is demonstrating to him in what is usually called a return demonstration. In training, the supervisor mentions certain standards by which the new employee's work will be checked to make sure that standards are being met. So standards are communicated and demonstrated for the new employee to follow and emulate.

I- Inspect

Supervisors are required to check the output of their subordinates at a certain interval. Usually, checking is done at the beginning and at the end of the shift. However, with regards to a new employee, it is best to check with him in between these times to verify his progress on the job. While it is irritating to find supervisors practically looking over the shoulder of the new employee almost all day long, the supervisor must communicate to the new employee that it is only natural for the supervisor to look over his shoulder from time to time and to remind him that if he needs any additional information or help understanding his work, then the supervisor is just a stone's throw away from him.

E- Evaluate

At the beginning of "break-in" training, the supervisor communicated certain work or output standards required of the new employee. Evaluation is a tool that will help the supervisor quantify the output or results of the new employee's work and measure it against set standards. Evaluation requires that the supervisor communicates to the new employee whether his work can be considered meeting the company's standard or not so that both can take immediate measures to correct any deficiency.

A Reminder to the Supervisor

We all know that a tie is neither worn too tight or too loose and the same goes in dealing with new employees. The supervisor doesn't want to be seen to be too strict that he seems to be unapproachable nor too friendly with his subordinates to the point of losing their respect as their leader. When we look at a tie, it is basically a strip of cloth with two ends. One end represents top management and the other end represents subordinate employees. The supervisor is neither a manager or a subordinate employee, thus, he should see himself as the knot in between tying both management and subordinate employees together. A good supervisor is one who can tie management interests with subordinate employees interest together.