The skills required to becoming a competent supervisor

What is a supervisor?

A supervisor is a person that manages other employees; the supervisor has many different levels of responsibility. They answer to their respective managers but also manage the development and activities of their staff members, they also understand the daily challenges of the employees which make them relatable. The candidate has gone through extensive supervisor training to ensure that they are appropriate for the job.

Main roles of a supervisor

  • Supervisors are expected to maintain discipline within their staff to ensure that productivity and job activity are high. They also prevent employees from prohibited activities whilst others try to abide by the law.
  • A supervisor is the level between the departmental manager and the employee; they are the immediate authority for the employee. They will have daily contact and help develop the employee. An employee can be considered as potential supervisors in the future as part of moving up a level.
  • When there is a conflict in the work environment the supervisor is told and is there to address the situation. Once the conflict is resolved they will write up the mediation to keep records of it. The supervisor is there to understand both sides of the conflict and make sure that they can make fair decisions.

Skills required to becoming a competent supervisor

  • To be an effective supervisor you need to have key managerial skills such as being classified as technical, conceptual, diagnostic and political. As many businesses are becoming more complex over the years there is a large importance on the diagnostic and political qualities.
  • The supervisor needs to ooze creativity and be able to come up with new responses for different situations. They need to bring new ideas to the table and recognise a good new idea when it has come from an employee.
  • Other supervisory skills are to have the mental agility to grasp problems quickly and to think of different things at the same time. The supervisor will also need to assess a situation in a timely manner which is very important in this busy modern world.
  • Self-knowledge is a great skill to have, the supervisor will complete his work in the view of their job, role and what they perceive to be their strengths and weaknesses. It is imperative that these attributes are developed with the role and that the supervisor takes a step back to always revaluate themselves.
  • Supervisor courses should be taken on a yearly basis to ensure that the supervisor is up to date on any developments on the role and to ensure that they can be the best possible person for the position.
  • Human skills give the supervisor an ability to understand, communicate and motivate large groups of people. If you are a good communicator you will be able to resolve conflicts within the team and discipline when required. The supervisor’s job involves constant human interaction so it is only right to say that human skills are essential.

Need the right supervisory skills? Find out more about our supervisor courses.

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