Managing employees really shouldn't be as hard as it is. For the most part, employees are pretty predictable.

1. They are going to adjust their behavior to fit in with their co-workers.
2. Left to themselves, they will do the things they like to do and avoid doing the things they don't like to do.
3. They will do whatever they can to avoid pain.
4. They will complain about being underpaid.

Having the right approach simplifies things and I'm going to show you one approach that works well.

Be forewarned, the model I'm about to share does not fly well with human resource professionals. They tend to be paranoid about anything that could be interpreted as an employment contract and they feel that any model that is explicit about job responsibilities borders on an employment contract.

I've never gotten my arms around their logic. I come from a simple world and believe employee management should be kept as simple as possible. Intentionally doing something that opens the door to confusion and miscommunication strikes me as stupid.

Here is the 9 step model for creating a self-managing worker.

1. Define Roles & Responsibilities
The goal of step one is to come up with a clear set of TASKS that the employee is to perform. Group these tasks by roles and responsibilities.

For example, a journeyman electrician has several responsibilities among which are installing the work properly; being productive; and training apprentices.