Author: Greg O’Donnell
To be able to meet company goals, your team must have the creativity, energy and motivation needed to complete their jobs. The process of improving your team’s performance should not be overwhelming or stressful. It is not a difficult task to get your staff working effectively toward the company’s goal. There are proven methods to improve the performance of your team.
1. Open Communication
Improving communication with employees is key to enhancing the team’s performance. It is recommended that you have an open door policy. Make sure that your employees know that they can talk to their bosses when they have any complaints or concerns. Ensure that the issues raised by the employees are addressed as quickly as possible. When this is done, an atmosphere will be created wherein the staff members feel valued. In addition to this, the team will be in a position take action before the small problems becomes big. The employees will start coming up with ideas and suggestions on how they can improve their work environment.
2. Improve the Atmosphere
The leaders of a within a company have a great impact on the morale of the team. They should set an example, not only by what they say but also by what they allow. All the employees must be treated with respect and dignity, without any discrimination. Take note of the members of the staff who are creating a negative atmosphere for the whole group. Most employers are not aware of the impact of this until it becomes an extreme performance problem. Employees’ conflict and morale issues are unproductive and can really undermine their performance. You can also improve the atmosphere at the workplace by encouraging a little more personal interaction of employees, for instance by making them have lunch with their bosses.
3. Inspire your employees using rewards
Employees that do well should receive awards such as titles, recognition, money or other benefits. This will encourage other employees improve their effort, thereby improving their performance. There is power in praising an employee who does well. Everyone likes to be appreciated. If you recognize, praise or reward the employees, you will definitely get the most out of them. This does not mean bigger cash bonuses or pay checks. Research shows that personal recognition is more motivating than money. Both informal and formal recognition along with rewards will reinforce behavior. It is important that you match the reward specifically to the person and the achievement.
4. Recruit employees with a positive attitude
When interviewing, you should aim at picking employees who have a positive attitude as well as the skills needed. People with a negative attitude only contribute to draining the morale of other employees and creating conflicts between them.
5. Hold your employees accountable
This will make them more responsible. Holding the staff accountable can be the trickiest part of the job, however, it is absolutely necessary. Most managers encourage poor performance because they do not hold their workers accountable. This is the only way of monitoring the individual performance. You should be consistent and fair with your expectations of all employees, but at the same time, you may be required to vary the approach of corrective action to match the person.
