Good Supervisory Skills Support a Safe, Healthy and Drug-Free Workplace

A supervisor is responsible for the productivity and performance of an operating unit. Employees are the greatest resource in this mission toward success.  With this in mind, it is also important to provide a safe and healthy workplace to protect these valuable assets.  Enhancing one’s supervisory skills will help any leader meet his or her goals.

The objective of the supervisor is to demonstrate leadership and job knowledge that motivates employees to meet the goals of the company.  Becoming a supervisor requires education on the specific job functions, responsibilities, and standards, as well as the policies and expectations of the company as a whole. Additionally, the supervisor must develop both leadership and supervisory skills and learn how and when to best apply those skills. When employee behavior and productivity is meeting or exceeding expectations, supervisors encourage and commend the effort. However, when adverse behavior contributes a negative workplace impact, supervisors must intervene. 

Adverse workplace behavior may begin slowly as symptoms of workplace issues or dissatisfaction, family issues, legal or financial troubles, health crisis, or substance misuse, just to name a few. As undesirable behavior escalates, it’s essential for the supervisor to quickly and firmly address the behavior concerns directly with the employee and provide supervisory counseling to resolve the concerns. This may include clearly identifying the behavior concerns and how they affect the workplace, directing the employee for a drug and/or alcohol test if signs or symptoms of impairment are present, discussing possible causes for the behavior and possible solutions, and getting the employee to agree to change or seek help. 

A caring, consistent, and skillful supervisor is paramount in turning around poor work performance, retaining a valuable employee, saving company revenue, and creating a win-win-win situation for the employee, the supervisor, and the employer.

Three of the top supervisory skills identified as critical to leadership success include communication, consistency, and coaching/development.  Here are some ideas on how these relate to a drug free workplace program:

Communication

Good verbal and written communication is essential to becoming a good supervisor.  Communication is a two-way street; the supervisor must be an effective communicator both up and down the chain of command.  It is important to understand the policies established by management and to effectively communicate them to one’s staff.  Through many studies, a drug-free workplace program has been proven to promote positive employee behavior and reduce negative performance.  It has also been successful in improving company operations and favorably affecting the company bottom line.  Getting to know employees provides insight to their attitudes and conduct on the job.  Communicating appropriate behavior expectations, in a concise and timely manner, is a key to meeting the company goals.

Consistency

A consistent approach to supervision is extremely important. The rules and policies must be applied equally and fairly to all employees.  A supervisor will be respected if employees are treated evenly on a consistent basis. While addressing drug and alcohol misuse in the workplace may be challenging, the supervisor should remain cool-headed and focus on the facts of the behavior. Documentation of the observable signs and symptoms of suspected substance misuse in employees and how it affected his or her job performance is imperative.

Coaching and Development

A good supervisor coaches and develops his or her employees. Coaching is a method of teaching that is beyond basic training.  It involves a higher degree of trust to identify and develop the employee’s professional goals.  This coaching process may also help the employee identify skills needed for advancement.  In this relationship, the supervisor can also make an impact by coaching professional ethics and values, including avoiding substance abuse.  If the employee knows the supervisor is taking an active interest in his or her development, he or she likely will maintain a higher sense of loyalty to the company’s values and policies.

While there are many qualities attributed to a good supervisor, these three are essential to achievement. A supervisor’s duty is to convey a sense of personal responsibility and company expectations in a fair and consistent manner to all employees whether it is to conserve supplies or adhere to a drug-free workplace program.  Recognition of all performance behavior, in a manner to motivate employees to attain company goals, is the bottom line for every supervisor.

Are there other important supervisory skills that are needed to support a safe, healthy and drug-free workplace that are not mentioned?  What are they?