Supervisory

You have a supervisor vacancy that you need to fill.  What are you looking for in the ideal candidate?  As a supervisor in any industry, they would manage a team of staff and organise their workload.  Their duties would depend on the type of company you operate and the industry you are in, but would typically include:

• planning workloads and rosters
  
• delegating tasks to team members
  
• handling problems or complaints
  
• monitoring and reporting on the team’s performance
  
• coaching and training staff
  
• carrying out appraisals
  
• completing relevant paperwork
• keeping up to date with anti discrimination and health and safety laws.

In some jobs, they might also carry out the same work as their team members, whilst in others they might only be responsible for managing their team. They may also have wider management duties such as personnel or building management.

What qualifications and experience are you looking for?  You probably have the answers to these questions, but what personal characteristics are needed to be a successful supervisor in your business?

Have you looked at the current pool of talent that you have working for you now?

There are many different supervisory roles, for example leading a sales team, managing a team in an office or call centre, or leading a section in a factory, restaurant or shop.  In general, supervisors or team leaders need to have leadership skills and demonstrate a desire to take on more responsibility than the average team member.  But there are many more characteristics of a successful supervisor.

In most industries you do not need particular qualifications to become a supervisor. Usually supervisors are required to have a good level of general education, but their people management skills are usually more important than their academic qualifications.  Attributes such as leadership, organisational ability, time management, conscientiousness, extroversion, independence, stability, and of course openness are the characteristics required by most workplace supervisors.  As employers we have to recognise and harness this talent if we want our businesses to succeed.

So what are the characteristics of a successful supervisor in your business?  And once you have determined what these characteristics are, how are you going to measure them against potential candidates?

Profiles International works with businesses every day to identify the unique requirements of their workplace and help them identify the right supervisors for their organisation.

Contact us to discuss your specific requirements or request more information about the following supervisory related solutions:

• ProfileXT
  
• Snapshot
  
• Step One Survey II
  
• CheckPoint 360
  
• Team Analysis