Those searching for how to improve employees’ performance often wonder if they are giving the right commands, or dolling orders in the best way. Often, though, the most effective way to improve the performance of your employees isn’t to give commands at all, but rather to ask the right questions and listen to draw the right action plan.
Ron Ashkenas, a former business consultant and a contributor at Forbes says that “asking questions effectively is a major underlying part of a manager’s job — which suggests that it might be worth giving this skill a little more focus.”
To help you meet the goal of giving this skill a little more focus, here are the top five questions you should be asking as a leader in order to improve your employees’
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Far too often, managers don’t look before they leap. While decisiveness and quick action are important, it’s also important to take the time to figure out how you can be most useful. Asking your employee how you can help them and truly listening to their answers will allow you to do your job better, which will in turn motivate your employees even more.
Have you had any “Wins” this week?
People love to focus on their accomplishments, and asking your employees this question gives them the green-light to brag a little about what they’ve been able to do so far that week. At the end of the conversation, you can almost guarantee they will leave it feeling good about themselves, which will provide a boost to their performance.
Asking this question periodically also allows you to keep a finger on the pulse of what your employees are doing day-to-day to improve the company, allowing you to find the ones who are going above and beyond and reward them accordingly.
What part of your job are you most passionate about?
Nothing is a better motivator than passion. Even paychecks and vacations won’t keep an employee motivated about their job for very long if they are not at least somewhat passionate about what it is they do. Since most jobs have several functions and roles, it’s very likely that your employees are more passionate about some
For any business to be successful it needs motivated employees. They are the single most important factor in the long-term success of an organisation.
I want them to feel as if they are part of the team. I must listen to them and be open minded to their viewpoints. I need to be able to respect those viewpoint as well. Second, I feel I need to be fair as a leader. I cannot be bias to one employee over another. I understand that I will have employees that will do more for me and they are the type of employees that will get the recognition they deserve however I cannot favor them in a way that it makes others resentful. As a leader I also think it is my duty to serve and help those within our work community. Meaning that I need to have my employees back and I should have their best interest in mind over what is best for just myself. If I do not have happy employees then they will not be doing good work and that all comes back on me and reflects how I am as a leader. You can either, take the bull by the horns and lead or you can ride on the back of the bull and be bucked off! The last thing I feel I need to be as a manager is to be honest. If I am not an honest person I will never have the respect of those I work with. No matter the situation good or bad I need to be upfront and just let them know the truth. (Heathfield,
4. What are some of the things that you could do as a business owner to make sure that your employees are the best that they can be?
Identify developmental needs of each employee will help provide opportunities for training and encourage good performance it also strengthens job-rated skills, and will help employees to keep up with changes in the workplace. When managers start focusing on developing their employees performance employees are able to adapt to different kinds of situations. This will help ensure the survival, well-being, and goal achievement of both the employee and the organization.
There are as many different methods of motivating employees today as there are companies operating in the global business environment. Still, some strategies are prevalent across all organizations striving to improve employee motivation. The best employee motivation efforts will focus on what the employees deem to be important. It may be that employees within the same department of the same organization will have different motivators. Many organizations today find that flexibility in job design and reward systems has resulted in employees ' increased longevity with the company, improved productivity, and better morale.
Set up a regular schedule for one-on-one discussions, where you give employees feedback on how they are doing, with suggestions for development. Employees like to know where they stand, and providing feedback shortly after a task is performed is most effective.
Meeting with staff, providing the opportunity to discuss concerns, ascertain motivation and build relationships between management and workers. Collect and analyse performance figures and observe trends, (for example absence levels, retention, production or customer service). Use staff satisfaction surveys to determine the mood of employees. Promptly analyse responses to identify areas requiring action.
- Find what motivates your each of your staff to keep working so hard for you, and provide it.
Being a good manager always starts with having a plan…which keeps disaster from happening. A company cannot succeed without one. That is when the need of a manager comes in. They’re the ones normally that come in with the why’s and how’s of how they would like the department
As a result of looking at the employees’ strengths, she was able to give them tasks that would help for an effective and efficient outcome. She also explained that it is important to give non-managerial employees a chance if they make a mistake. It is crucial for an employee to not only know what they did wrong, but how they can change to fix the problem and learn from it. An employee needs to be able to identify why something went wrong and be able to change their behavior. It is very important for employees to be able to correct mistakes and learn on the fly.
Another challenge is that managers do not know how to develop and motivate employees in order a better employee productivity which the managers needs to have the effective performance discussion. “The key skill in resolving these matters is the actual initiation of the employee performance. Most managers know what they want to talk about in the meeting, but they rarely spend time on how
5. Ask employees to raise concerns and make suggestions; include discussion of training needs in employee performance management.
Good performance review techniques and methods come in a variety of forms ranging from the use of management coaches to the establishment and distribution of written evaluations. Evaluations should include all direct reports from those employees who work within the department; from beginning to end, the process of using a questionnaire benefits gloriously to a manager and their employees. Discovering what employees genuinely think of a manager’s work and leadership abilities proves crucial as it becomes an essential step in maintaining strengths and improving weaknesses. The use of a hired management coach can help during the performance reviews immensely; as their job is to aide in the facilitation of meetings, coaches can assist in assuring that the review
As well as asking about what the employee has done, you also want to focus on the future. Ask about their plans and give tips if they seem lost.
Employees are happier when they feel that they are rewarded fairly for the work they do. Always acknowledge employee responsibilities, and the effort they put on, and the tasks that they have done well.