Top 7 Strategies To Improve Performance Of Employees

Business goals can be very hard to achieve when employees are not performing at their best. This is because subpar performance by your employees can have a negative effect on productivity, profitability and if not addressed; employee retention.

The effects of low employee performance are well known, what remains somewhat of a mystery is how to deal with it. Although difficult, improving employee performance is not impossible. With a little effort and the support of the top management, companies can effectively ensure that their employees are performing at their peak for the achievement of company objectives.

To help you improve employee performance in your business, we have put together 7 strategies that, when implemented, could have a great effect on how your employees do their job.

1. Communicate. The most basic of communication errors can lead to employee dissatisfaction and subsequently low performance. Information that is considered vital by employees such as company goals, performance expectations, and changes in the company’s business focus and workforce should be communicated throughout the organisation so that employees can make the necessary adjustments.
   
   Listening to your employees will also help you know which areas to improve so as to make your employees happy and more productive. Effective communication also helps avoid resistance to change – which greatly affects performance – by giving your employees the opportunity to participate in the company’s decision-making process.
   
   
2. Provide training. Employees will perform better when they are provided with the proper skills to carry out their job efficiently. Provide training and refresher courses to keep your employees sharp. Training will help motivate employees by showing them that they are valued assets of the company, and reduce inefficiencies and errors; all of which will help improve performance.
   
   
3. Praise and reward good work. Don’t assume your workers know their input is valued. When an employee excels at something, make a fuss. Announce the achievement publicly and give praise to the outstanding employee. In addition, you can also give rewards to encourage other employees to also put in the effort. It doesn’t have to be anything extravagant, a simple thing such as giving the employee a day off could go a long way.
   
   
4. Provide the proper equipment. It’s very frustrating trying to get a job done without the proper tools and equipment. Make sure your workforce has all the necessary tools to get the job done safely and efficiently. Also make sure that your employees are trained how to use all new equipment. Otherwise, the investment won’t have a great effect on performance.
   
   
5. Empower your employees. Allow your employees to set their own goals and come up with strategies to achieve them. Give them the power to make decisions instead of having them come to you for the tiniest of matters. By doing this, your employees will be more motivated to achieve their goals (since they set them themselves) and have an increased sense of responsibility; both of which will help improve performance.
   
   
6. Promote from within. Give your employees the opportunity to advance their careers by promoting from within the organisation. If a high-rank position opens up in the company, check first inside to see if you have qualified people that you can promote. This shows your staff that there are opportunities for career advancement in your company and if they work hard enough, they can get that coveted managerial spot.
   
   
7. Keep tabs on employee performance. To improve performance (and anything else for that matter) you need to consistently measure it and keep records. This will help you detect changes early so that corrective action measures can be implemented in time and to check whether the changes you are making are producing the desired effect. Break down large processes into smaller steps that can be measured for more accurate diagnosis of problems.

Joe Hannsen writes for several businesses in New Zealand including CDL Insight New Zealand.