Our Divisional Manager Ben Provides his Management Tips

We’ve all encountered a bad manager at some stage of our career. Maybe it was the micromanager breathing down your neck, the absent manager who could never be found, or the workaholic who expected you to be available at all hours of the day and night just like them. Ben reflects on his management experience and what makes a good leader.

–How did you get into management? I fell into management through being a successful 360 recruitment consultant and requiring support from the team around me. I enjoyed working with others and seeing others benefit from my experience and help.

–How many people are in your team? I currently have a team of 11.

–How long have you managed a team? I’ve managed a team for 5 years now.

–What are the pros of managing a team and the challenges? The pros of managing a team are seeing people grow and develop. I love seeing a green/raw talent with no experience grow into an experienced and autonomous Recruitment Consultant. The challenges are the variety of characters and personalities you will have to deal with. It is important to be bespoke; one thing can work great for one person and have the complete opposite effect for another. Recruitment is tough and you need to be resilient, so you can almost guarantee that at some point, one of your team will be having a tough time and it is important to help these people get through the tough times.

–What team outings have you run/or plan to and how regularly? We do company outings regularly but it is a good idea to get the team together for social events and keep work at work!

–How did you learn to support a team? I learnt to manage on the job and through leaning on experienced Managers and Directors. I have had a variety of Manager’s in my time and I try and take the good and leave behind the bad that I have personally experienced.

–How do you incentivise and motivate your team? I introduces Daily, weekly / monthly incentives. It might be a Costa, it might be a kitty, it could be a group lunch. The company offers a lot but it is good to know what motivates each individual and tailor incentives to cater to everyone.

–Why are you excited about Future Leaders? The Future Leaders program is a great opportunity. Having an extra level of support would help me massively, just having an experienced head to trust and lean on would be a great outlet, but also allow me time to focus on developing the individuals who need it most. It would also be great to see this individual add another layer of experience to their skill set.

–What advice would you give to someone looking to join the ‘Future Leaders’? Buckle up and enjoy the ride! Much like the recruitment lifecycle itself, there will be ups and downs and it is about getting through the tougher times and really enjoying the good times. Being able to share the good times and bonding on a different level is great and getting satisfaction out of helping others rather than fending for Number 1, can be really rewarding.

–What is your leadership style and why? Coaching – all I know is engineering / manufacturing recruitment and being able to offer advice and guidance from personal experience really helps me with my team. I like offering different methods and like to leave it up to individuals to make the final decision but like offering options on the best route to follow. I also always have the Teams interests at heart, I want them to do well for them and their own reasons not for any personal gain.

At ODC we are lucky to have a diverse team of managers who use different styles to help support their team. If you are interested in joining our team – contact natasha@owendaniels.co.uk