by Stacey Lennon, Digital Marketing Executive with Intelligo Sofrware who provide Corporate HR Software and Payroll Software
Any business regardless of size or industry will have a keen eye on employee performance. After all can any business be successful without good results and high performance from their employees? Especially as they are the heart and lifeline of a company. If your employee’s performance is an issue for you, then now is a good time to consider how to improve it
To talk about employee performance though would be moot without talking about employee engagement. High levels of engagement in a business is linked to better performance for the business as a whole. That can even extends to increased profits, employee retention and increased employee well-being. The purpose behind engagement is to understand your employees better, assess how they react to situations or their approach towards certain tasks.Only then can you find what the high and low points of their work and your organization are. Giving you the opportunity to work towards solutions for the negative or hone the positive aspects. Only then will you be able to increase productivity and improve general morale. This is done through good HR and adding a bit of good old fashioned fun!
Here some approaches you may consider;
Transparency of Company Goals and Expectations
A large number of your employees will want to be part of your businesses future, especially if that future is set to look bright. To understand how important their work is towards that sunny outlook they will want to know what goals their work achieves and the expectations you have of them. For targets or projects to have a fuller meaning employees need to know they are tied to the larger ambitions of the company. By sharing information with employees you increase their sense of ownership in their responsibilities and the company as a whole.
Engaging employees this way is a generally good practice in HR. Share the information you have, don’t keep it locked up and secret. Let them know what is happening with this business and how their role has contributed to this – promoting a tremendous sense of worth and pride in their roles. Likewise, don’t be afraid to deliver bad news, keeping the information truthful and transparent.
Feedback and Appreciations
If people know they’re doing a job well, they’ll keep doing it well or may do it even better! Giving employees the recognition they deserve can go a long way towards creating a positive feeling for them and those around them. Similarly constructive feedback offers the employee a chance to grow, develop and improve performance. Feedback should be a quick fire action and not held in stasis until the dreaded annual review. Provide feedback as soon as it is available and suitable to provide to have the greatest affect. So don’t be afraid to pop the cork some times and celebrate the people, not the business!
Likewise feedback is a two way approach, it should be given and taken. Encourage employees to provide feedback on their roles and the company. This can give invaluable insights into what an employee deems as important. Highlight key areas for concern or even give ideas for the business you may not have thought of. Many heads and all that. This can be done via employee surveys, company meetings, suggestion boxes etc.
Good HR here kicks in with the information you receive and provide. Prove to staff how their feedback is being used, don’t ignore or criticise it. Making them feel valued and appreciated. Likewise if feedback has been given to an employee, good or bad, follow ups and further feedback on improvements show that HR cares about employees, their development and their thoughts or opinions. Feeling secure in a role and leadership leads to greater productivity.
Incentives & HR Offerings
The downside of the word ‘incentives’ is that it creates that idea that it’s going to cost immeasurable amounts of money. Simply put incentives are matched to accountability and results – so if you want the results out don’t be afraid to pay in. Not all incentives though need to be monetary so think outside the box!
Different employees are motivated by different things. For some it may be money, for others it could be learning opportunities or even a free pizza lunch. You’ll never know until you ask. This is where good HR can shine, as this is the opportunity to offer more to your employees for incentives than financial. By listening to what they want or need for personal or professional encouragement and development.
Incentive plans were created to urge employees to push themselves to achieve better. So aligning incentives with employee’s performance will see a stellar increase in performance and companywide progression. After all success begets success.
At the end of the day, your employees are your business. If you find yourself worried about their performance it’s time to look towards your HR team. Get in and get involved. Performance then can only get better!
