Are your team members aware of what their goals and expectations are? Do they know when you expect goals to be met? How do you know?
Involve individual employees in their own goal-setting process to give them autonomy over their goals. A work environment that actively involves employees in goal-setting can also improve employee engagement and motivation.
If you are dealing with performance issues with a particular team member, make sure to be specific. For example, if you discover a direct report is frequently taking two-hour lunches, don't tell them to take 'shorter lunches.' Tell him or her to keep their lunch break to an hour and consider making them document their lunch breaks or clock in and out of work.
People do their best work when they are engaged and motivated. Invest in your employees’ long-term career in the organisation. Develop a plan for moving up within the company and provide the resources and training that will develop staff into talented leaders in the long run.
Your team members will need new skills and habits as they advance. Help employees secure those skills by allocating budget dollars towards workshops, professional development courses, conferences and certifications so they can reach their full potential.
Imagine someone asks a direct report to do something — even if it's a clear goal with a set deadline — and they don't do it, but receive no consequence.
What happens next?
Over time, the employee will learn it doesn't matter if they slack off or have to be reminded. Performance is likely to suffer.
Team members require crystal clear communication about their responsibilities and need to be held accountable. Be sure to communicate with your employees and don't be afraid to dole out warnings and consequences when they are earned. If certain employees fail to deliver, consider implementing a performance improvement plan. If they don't improve, it may be time to show them the door.
A common problem in many organisations is that leaders spend their time trying to get low-performing team members to improve and recruiting new talent, ignoring high performers because they don't cause problems. This is a dangerous oversight!
Over time, high performers will become disengaged and less motivated if they don't feel like their efforts are appreciated. Furthermore, high performers are in high demand! You could lose them to competitors if you don't recognise their hard work.
There's no shortage of ways to reward an employee and thank them for a job well done. Gifts, bonuses, promotions, extra time off, public praise and extra benefits are all effective ways to reward high performers and keep them motivated.
It's no secret that happy employees are more engaged, productive and motivated team members. Be sure employees get to let loose occasionally and have some fun. Sponsor a monthly potluck, host 'get to know you' activities outside of the office or plan a trivia event at work to let team members develop a rapport and relationship with one another.
Encourage an organisational culture where employees feel safe to speak up and voice their opinions, regardless of their rank or position in the company. When people feel their ideas and opinions are valued, they are more likely to participate and be engaged with the mission of the organisation.
Do a market analysis to see how your organisation stacks up to your competitors. Do you offer competitive benefits and perks? Are your salaries higher or lower than other businesses in your industry? What kind of office environment do you have?
The best way to find out if your benefits and perks are affecting employee performance and motivation is to ask your teams. Have employees complete an anonymous survey to determine what is most important to them.
In today's society, flexible schedules matter more than ever for busy business professionals. Contrary to popular belief, giving team members the ability to work from home won't make them less productive.
Research shows that employees who work remotely are 13 percent more productive than their office-working counterparts, and they spend the time would they spend commuting focusing on work.
For example, if one of your team members doesn't feel well enough to come to the office (and doesn't care to spread their germs) but they can still get work done, let them work from home rather than take a sick day and accomplish nothing. If someone has a home delivery or repair they need to be home for, let them work remotely so they can stay productive and not use all of their paid time off.
A big part of employee performance is measuring performance. While many companies still rely on annual performance reviews and performance management systems to assess performance, new technologies are available that help measure performance more accurately on an ongoing basis.
Samewave is social performance management software that harnesses the power of Promise-Based Management to help teams create and track progress towards goals and collaborate more effectively. Employees make promises to one another in a transparent place so everyone knows who is responsible for what and when it should be accomplished.
If you are ready to improve employee performance, boost engagement and motivation and drive optimal business results, try Samewave. Best of all, our software is free, so download it today to begin improving each employee’s performance.
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