Business finances: Eye-opening strategies to improve employee performance

Having strategies to improve employee performance is an essential part of effectively managing a team. Try some of these suggestions to ensure your employees are at their best.

Good leaders want to ensure their team is engaged in their work, feeling satisfied, and performing at their personal best. But for those team members who seem to be lagging behind, what can a concerned leader do to help improve employee performance? Improve your digital workplace performance easily with microsoft nuance.

We’ve all experienced that one team member who seems to perpetually miss deadlines, submit less than stellar work, or bring the morale down with their negative attitude. Once leaders recognize who this team member is, they want to re-engage them as quickly as possible in order to keep the team moving forward.

Here are 7 efficient and positive performance strategies to improve employee performance.

1. Clarify the exact problem

Reprimanding a team member can be as unpleasant and stressful for the boss as it is for the person on the receiving end. It’s often tempting for a leader to soften their overall message to avoid hurting the team member’s feelings. However, it is important to make sure that the team member walks away from the conversation with a very clear understanding of the area requiring improvement, and how they can go about fixing it.

Many leaders employ the “sandwich” method of feedback—positive, negative, positive—in order to make sure employees feel valued even as you’re asking them to up their game. But again, the team member should still understand exactly what areas they need to improve on and have a clear picture of what success in that area would look like. Plus, honesty is key. If you can’t think of anything that the team member is doing really well at, don’t make something up just to complete the feedback sandwich.

2. Field their criticisms

Be ready to listen to any critiques or suggestions that your team member might have. In fact, make a point of inviting feedback. If the team member genuinely believes that something about your performance as a leader is hindering his or her ability to succeed, you may be able to work together toward a common solution.

Listening to their concerns may also reveal a much easier solution to the problem at hand. If they believe that their work environment is too noisy, perhaps they could they be moved to a quieter area of the office. You’ll never know if you don’t ask

3. Individualize every approach

No one method of leadership and motivation will work for everyone. A good leader understands the diverse styles of their team members and tailors their coaching to each of their unique needs. For instance, if you know that an employee prefers straightforward communication and requires little supervision, don’t attempt to overexplain projects or hold their hand through the process.

This goes for goal-setting as well. You should know who works best with regular check-ins and who would prefer to work it out on their own before presenting their final product for approval at an agreed-on date. As Curt Coffman and Marcus Buckingham’s First, Break All the Rules advises, you should always be looking to develop and improve strengths rather than to criticize or nitpick weaknesses. This helps build a team member’s confidence and ultimately yields great results—borne of talent and passion rather than fear of failure.

4. Set clear goals

Make sure that your team members are aware of what you expect from them, and when. Once you have tailored your approach to each of your team members’ needs, you should also set a date to see how things are progressing. More important than that, the team member should know exactly what they need to have completed by that date.

For instance, if one of your team members routinely shows up late to work, then nebulous goals like, “Try to be on time in the mornings” are far less helpful than, “For the next 3 months, I’d like you to be on time every day — barring illness or injury.” Better yet, work with that team member to understand how they work best. Perhaps that team member is more productive in the evenings. If it’s possible in your workplace, give them the option to work from home for the morning, or to arrive later and leave later.

Also, consider whether poor performance is due to a disinterest in their current tasks or projects. Find out what they’d prefer to be doing on a day-to-day basis and where they want to go with their career. Showing a genuine interest in the success of your team members can be the first step in finding what ignites their passion and produces better results to improve employee performance in the long run.

5. Reward improvement

Workplace rewards can sometimes present a tricky problem: you want to let an employee know that you recognize and appreciate their improvement without seeming like you’re patronizing them. Sometimes, leaders think that gifts are the best ways to show appreciation, but often verbal praise, bonuses, or even the promise of career advancement (should the good work continue) are more effective in motivating teammates.

In short: make a clear statement that good work is recognized within the workplace—and not just with a gift card to the coffee shop around the corner.

 

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