You’ve established your business plan. You’ve designated your core values.
And you have goals for your business that you’re striving to achieve both short-term and long-term. Now all you need to do is get all of your employees on the same page and formulate a plan to monitor and reward employee performance. Easy, right? Think again. Just because you believe you hired quality people to work in your business doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t manage their performances. The moment this happens is the time when your business goes from complacent to ambitious.
Don’t be complacent – make sure you have performance management systems in place and that you’re motivating and rewarding your employees accordingly. Here are some strategies to think about in terms of performance management (think of it as success management) and some ways that you can reward your employees for their work and increase morale in your office:
Technologies
The years of annual performance reviews are things of the past because technology has improved to the point where data is known immediately and year-end reports aren’t as heavily relied upon. Now, services such as corporate performance management and other systems exist to help managers measure employee performance. One of such is “the cloud,” which refers to cloud computing. Using the cloud, employees in many companies are using social media type cloud-based software which allows the creation of profiles where expectations are clearly stated. With systems like this, managers and owners get feedback in real-time, rather than at year’s end.
Three “D’s”
According to HR.com, there are three requirements for great performance management: good direction, good data and good discussions. By clearly defining what you have established in terms of employee expectations, keeping good records and data and going over said data with the employee often to discuss things that are going well and things that need improvement, is key to any performance management system.
Employee Motivation
When employees are struggling, it’s likely because they’ve gotten into a rut and it has snowballed to the point where they can’t get out of it. Eventually this leads to a lack of motivation because there’s a lack of success. To compliment performance management systems, many companies are now implementing employee support boards. Similar to cloud-based services, these boards are often social network type programs that allow employees to ask questions and discuss things that are and aren’t working, as well as what to do about them. This often helps employees stay out of those “ruts” by solving problems before they become too big of a problem. Plus, you receive feedback from many more than just your boss, but from everyone in your company.
Another way to increase motivation is by implementing a flexible work schedule. Allow employees to work from home, to set their own hours and to take desired time off. Due to cloud-based software and technology, employees can still be tracked from a performance standpoint just as easy outside of the office as they can inside the office.
Allow Feedback
One of the biggest mistakes employers can make is not letting their workers have a say during performance reviews. This shows employees that they’re not a valued member of a business when they’re not encouraged to give their feedback and not encouraged to share thoughts or ideas. So encourage your employees to give feedback on things that are and aren’t working, things that might be able to better the business and things they see shaping business in the future. You’re a team and a business team needs all of its people pitching in.
