In a survey conducted in 2018 by a leading British University, Organisational Skills emerged as the 3^rd most important skill sought by employers in the UK?

Organisations skills are amongst the most transferable and valuable in any marketplace. They allow professionals to plan and prioritise their objectives and meet their goals.

Improve communication within organisations — Organisational Skills

The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development say that training courses on planning and organising are in high demand, meaning that these skills are now a clear requirement at the sharp edge of any business.

There are 3 main areas of organisational skills that employers seek;

Physical Organisation
Planning
Teamwork

PHYSICAL ORGANISATION:

This is as much about having a clear desk and mind, as it is about having a clear, well-structured vision. Well organised professionals are instantly recognisable by their appearance, the way they communicate, how they present their written communication or prepare for a meeting, interview or event.

Project Managers are currently more in demand than ever, but you don’t need to be one to know that being well-organised leads to an increase in productivity.

PLANNING:

According to The Guardian Jobs website, ‘How do you manage your time and plan for your day?’ was one of the most-asked questions by interviewers in 2018.

Planning can be as simple as deciding which part of the car to wash first or as complicated and detailed as charting your corporate strategy for the next 4 years.

Unless you have an effective plan in place, a goal might as well be a wish. Every project has a clear timeline. It also requires the anticipation of available resources and regular communication and updates for stakeholders.

Strong organisational skills are needed to build an effective, workable action plan that can be managed and executed on time and on budget. For this, questions need to be asked, such as;

“Does your business have the right personnel in place to think, plan and organise effectively”?

“Do they draw on Business Intelligence, use business data and trends to guide their decision-making, or do they follow their instinct?

“Are they skilled and efficient at problem solving, program management, project management and strategy planning”?

TEAMWORK:

In a well-oiled team, all members work to their strengths and are assigned tasks and stretched accordingly. Smart delegation can save both time and money. A project in the wrong hands can have far-reaching, cost-related consequences.

Well organised people understand, guide and maintain the structure of the wider teams they are a part of.

In order help your people reach their potential, all businesses must deliver on their promises of making professional development accessible across the board. This enables your teams to play their part in keeping the business profitable.

It takes an honest person to admit that they overcontrol at work. Maybe you know someone who has received this feedback? Maybe someone has confided in you that their team are not working at their best? They may have even suggested that their overcontrolling style of micro-management could be contributing to this?

One thing is for sure, not many staff find it motivating or helpful. Luckily, an answer to overcontrolling can be to develop a coaching style of management. This involves learning how to ask questions rather than issuing an instruction, or even more abrasive, continually checking on an individual’s progress. A coaching style of management is a better alternative to explore.

How can a coaching style be helpful?

Let’s look at how to delegate a task. It’s tempting to just tell your team-mate what you want done, when by, and to describe the resources that will be available.

However, put yourself in their shoes. Rather than be told exactly how to do something, how much more motivated would you be to discover for yourself a more efficient, more creative or more satisfying way of completing the task?

Here’s the rub. What makes you happy, probably does the opposite for your team member. What helps you to feel in control, probably makes them feel demotivated and small. Your grand plan to develop your staff to do more may be falling apart with each passing second.

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Questions you can use to coach when delegating tasks:

1) Discuss the purpose of what is needed – and encourage their point of view.

What do you think needs to be achieved here?
What are the most important aspects of this goal in your opinion?

2) Use open questions to help your team member take ownership (these are questions that encourage the person to contemplate and explore, rather than answer yes or no).

How could we be more creative?
What do you think the customer values the most from us, how can we achieve this?

3) Ask your team member to describe the processes to move forward. This keeps the responsibility and the momentum with them.

What are the timescales and milestones?
How shall we touch base in case of possible changes?

Just one question can tilt a conversation in a different way and give you far better results. And just as importantly, give the team member a more meaningful and rewarding experience. Try putting these techniques into action, and you’ll see the results very quickly.

For more tips on questioning and communicating with your team, check out our infographic:

Five Essential Communication Skills for Managers

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