Your employees are the lifeblood of your businesses, and any success you achieve is directly attributable to the work that they’ve put in to helping your grow and develop.
But your workforce is also responsible for when things don’t go so well; when you’re struggling to perform competitively, or if you’re failing to meet your targets.
It’s not an exact science by any means, but when performance is low there is something you can do about it. Here are some great techniques for getting the very best from your workforce.
Create meaningful work
Speaking in general terms, employees don’t tend to perform very well in their jobs if they don’t feel stretched by what they do.
It doesn’t matter what the work involves. It can be exciting or it could be mundane, but it should have the capacity to give enjoyment, a sense of achievement or a promise of recognition.
Create this and the role becomes its own reward.
Set goals
When we have something to work towards, we’re given direction. We have a purpose and we’re better able to focus on our work.
Putting goals in place helps bolsters our interest in our work. Without them, it can be extremely difficult to judge performance.
Provide feedback
How can an employee feel motivated in their role if they aren’t given any indication of the quality of the work they provide?
Pass on the good information. Tell your workers when their actions have contributed to success, and conversely, don’t be shy to break bad news.
But always be constructive with it. The truth can hurt, so offer help and support. It’ll allow an employee to put their work in greater perspective, they’ll be able to learn from their mistakes and feel confident that they can improve.
Award achievements
Recognition is vitally important for improving employee performance. It adds to an employee’s sense of self-worth and is a real confidence booster.
Great ways to award achievement include taking the team out for lunch, or arranging a work’s awards ceremony. Arrange prizes and give out awards for those members of the team whose performance has been particularly noteworthy.
