When promoting one of your employees to a management position, special care must be taken to assimilate the manager into his or her new role. Below are some areas to pay special attention to when a worker makes the leap from employee to manager.

• Changing Job Duties: Many new managers continue with their day-to-day duties, failing to realize that they must now delegate those responsibilities and take on a supervisory role.
• Changing Focus: As an employee, the focus was more on day-to-day, immediate issues. Managers must exist with two mindsets, though, staying aware of their departments’ daily workings but also of the bigger picture. Everything they accomplish through their departments should promote the company at large, and the long-term corporate goals and concerns.
• Changing Communication: Managers are now leaders rather than comrades, which can be a difficult shift. They must now be able to talk with subordinates being too aggressive or too yielding. Focusing on teamwork is essential. Managers should share the company’s goals with the team, letting them give input, and all working towards reaching the goal.
• Changing Laws: Many managers mistakenly think that it is only HR’s job to keep up with the latest employment laws. As a manager, s/he will be the one expected to constantly follow and enforce the regulations, so it is vital that managers are proficient with the basic Department of Labor, Fair Labor and Standards Act, and Occupational Safety and Health Administration laws.

If your company’s managers are not signed up for Nextep’s HR Tips of the Week, send their email addresses to us at resources@nextep.com! It is important for all authority figures in your company to keep up to date with workplace changes, management, and laws.