As a manager, have you ever wondered why you or your employees may be inconsistent regarding work performance?
You may be scratching your head…you have hired people who have the expertise necessary to perform the job; you have given your employees on-going feedback; and you have provided your employees with acceptable working conditions. What more is required?
Consider the following:
Effective managers are aware of their responsibility to challenge and develop their employees to think and act for themselves. As well, good managers are interested in developing their employees’ strengths. Managers who care about their employees and want their employees to succeed will find that their employees are happier and more engaged.
Here are 10 strategies that can help elevate how you are viewed by your employees, impacting their level of consistent work performance:
- Share your personal knowledge and experience. Employees want to hear about your successes as well as your failures. Your employees want to know how you mastered the necessary skills to do your job.
- Encourage employees to learn from one another. Managers who encourage and create mechanisms for employees to exchange knowledge among each other foster a trusting environment. As well, peer mentoring can be an effective way for employees to motivate each other.
- Provide time for one-on-one, two-way discussions. Giving feedback in meaningful, one-on-one, two-way discussions provides the opportunity for you and your employee to share observations regarding the work environment. These informal discussions demonstrate to your employees that they are important.
- Conduct formal performance appraisals. During a formal performance appraisal, don’t just assess your employees’ performance. Take this time to ask your employees about their career goals. While these discussions can occur at any time, the formal appraisal ensures that they do happen.
- Facilitate learning. Employees learn by doing and managers must find the time and techniques to facilitate learning. Not only can employees be encouraged to learn new skills, but they could expand their general business knowledge and embrace the organizational culture.
- Consider self-awareness training. Self-awareness is important for your employees’ personal development. It is my fundamental tenet that your employees’ depth of self-awareness equals your employees’ breadth of success. Science backs this up.
- Respect the need for daily recovery. When employees are able to ‘unplug’ from work, they return to work feeling more refreshed. Finding the daily balance between engagement at work and detachment while at home benefits all.
- Monitor the number of daily negative events. Daily work events and daily turmoil can drive the emotional states of your employees. It is important to keep the number of negative events down, in order to minimize negative emotional states.
- Go with the flow. Like you, employees experience concentration fluctuation and find that some days are better than others. These concentration fluctuations have been shown to increase creativity and performance. Unless it becomes a problem, go with the flow.
- Relinquish some job control. When employees feel that they have control over their job, they will optimize their work environment. Managers must encourage employees to keep stretching and learning; and allowing them to make some decisions. Empowered employees become self-sufficient and confident workers.