What it takes to improve employee performance

As an employer, you should always strive to improve the performance of your employees. What aspects of your employee’s performance are you evaluating? What strengths and weaknesses are you focusing on?

Let’s take a look at the steps that you’ll want to follow when you are looking to improve employee performance. The better your employees perform, the more productive your team will be. As a leader, implementing the best practices to improve employee performance is one of your top priorities.

When you talk about employee performance, it’s important to include well-being, positive encouragement and growth in the conversation.

Interactive training

Training your employees is one of the best practices to improve employee performance. You don’t need to source training days that are hundreds of kilometres away from the office, there are plenty of online options or guest presenters that will bring their modules to you. Interactive training is also great for onboarding new employees, particularly if you are focusing on team-based training.

Regular learning

You should always encourage your employees to keep learning, I mean, do we ever really stop? Inspire your employees to try new tasks that involve different skillsets and put their hand up to work on new projects. Aim for an environment where your employees take the time to share skillsets and are willing to teach one another new software or apps. By doing so, you are fostering a workplace culture that presents your employees with the opportunity to grow and take on new challenges. This will pave the way for the team to exceed your expectations.

Promote a positive work environment

A positive work environment is rewarding for your employees especially when co-workers treat each other with respect. Likewise, you should always respect your employees and encourage them to grow and appreciate their work. Strive for an environment that your employees look forward to working in day in and day out.

A negative work environment promotes poor productivity and takes a toll on mental health. This will lead to people leaving your company which not only affects you but can turn off potential new hires.

Celebrate achievements

Employees want to be recognised, appreciated and come to work knowing that they are valued. One of the best factors that improves employee performance is taking the time to celebrate both individual and team achievements. Give your employee the recognition they deserve for their accomplishments to make them feel valued rather than just another cog in the company machine. This cultivates a more positive work environment and encourages employees to remain loyal to your company.

Don’t micromanage

If there is one thing that is guaranteed to annoy your employees, it is micromanagement. Managing every little detail and telling them what to do is not beneficial for either party, and quite frankly it’s time that you just don’t have. If you truly want to improve employee performance, resist the urge to micromanage. If your employee makes a mistake, correct them at an appropriate time and suggest ways to improve during regular feedback sessions. Discuss what they are doing well and where they can improve.

Feedback

Although this may come as a surprise to many managers, employees want feedback on a regular basis. Feedback is one of the best ways to improve your employee’s performance because they don’t know what they don’t know! Feedback also forms ideas and encourages creativity. When providing feedback, be honest, constructive and respectful. If you are asking for it from employees, be sure to listen intently and take notes if you need to.

Realistic deadlines

When projects need to be completed, deadlines must be put in place. If the project is demanding, the deadline needs to take this into consideration and be set well ahead. Short deadlines and demanding tasks don’t mix. They only cause a team to overwork themselves to the point of exhaustion. When this happens, productivity will suffer and employees won’t feel like they are performing at their best. So, if you want to set deadlines correctly, consider the difficulty of the task and make sure the timing to complete the task is realistic.

Be goal oriented

When you set goals for your business, make a point to follow them through. It doesn’t matter how far they are into the future, celebrate the small wins along the journey and ensure your team feel prepared for the road ahead.

Final thoughts

It’s important to foster a positive working environment, celebrate the achievement of your employees, and help them grow when the opportunities present themselves. The more you focus on your employees, the more they will perform at their best.