Monthly Archives: August 2017

happy employees are more productive

Proof that Happy Employees are more Productive

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I came across this video by the author of The Leading Brain book, Friederike Fabritius. She explains the chemical reactions in the brain that take place when people are happy in their work and performing well. She also talks about change and habits and how to mentally make a change in habits.

 

Here is the link to the video

 

 

employee performance review

Conducting a mid year or quarterly employee performance review

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An employee performance review is an important aspect of managing employee performance. Most companies have a policy to do an annual review at the minimum. Many small businesses don’t have a formal process but good leaders will take the time to sit down and discuss performance with employees.

There are some good reasons why you should conduct regular employee performance reviews more often than just once a year.

  1. Employees need to know how they are doing on the job. An employee performance. review will act as a scorecard
  2. An opportunity to set new performance improvement objectives.
  3. Identify and solve problem affecting performance.
  4. Get a sense of how the employee feels about their job.
  5. Identify ways you could better support the employee.
  6. Develop training and development opportunities.
  7. Give employees feedback and positive reinforcement.
  8. Build trust and collaboration.
  9. Evaluate yourself as a leader and manager through their feedback.
  10. Improve employee retention.

 

Conducting the employee performance review

employee performance reviewSome companies have a structured approach for managers to use to conduct the employee performance review. Even if your company does not have a structure in place, it can be quite simple.

  1. Use a job description to review responsibilities and tasks. If you don’t have job descriptions this would be a good opportunity to put them in writing. Check out my articles and videos on job descriptions.
  2. Schedule the date to meet each employee. Send out a calendar invitation with a brief explanation of the purpose of the meeting.
  3. Start the meeting with the employee by putting them at ease. Explain the purpose of the review is to discuss and agree on performance, set improvement objectives and identify ways to better support the employee.
  4. Review the key responsibilities and tasks and ask the employee to evaluate how they think they are doing on a scale of 1 to 10, 10 being excellent. Do the same so you can compare notes.
  5. Compare the employee’s perception with your own. Discuss any discrepancies in perception and come to an agreement on the score.
  6. Set performance improvement objectives for high-priority responsibilities and tasks.
  7. Ask the employee to give feedback on your leadership and management. Ask what they need from you to do their job better
  8. Summarize the commitments from the employee and yourself for performance improvement objectives.
  9. Set a date for any coaching that would be required to achieve the performance improvement objectives.
  10. Set a date for the next review session and add to your respective calendars.

Following these steps will ensure a successful employee performance review meeting and help you realize the benefits that were listed above.

employee performance reviewOften the biggest obstacle is time. Everyone is busy doing many things and it is easy to put aside this important activity. However, this is an essential aspect of good leadership and employee performance management. The solution is to commit and schedule the time in your calendar.

The other obstacle is fear or discomfort. Many people perceive an employee performance review as an unpleasant experience. At first this may be the case if you have not done it on a regular basis. But you can make this a pleasant experience both for yourself and the employee by following the steps listed.

retaining top performing employee

Retaining Top Performing Employee; 5 Things to Consider

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Retaining Top Performing Employee; 5 Things to Consider

 

The cost to replace a top performing employee for a business is enormous. Loss of productivity is another key reason you want to do everything you can to retain your best performers.

retaining top performing employeeI spoke with psychologist Judith Kolomeir who sees a lot of clients with issues related to the workplace. I asked her what she thought were the most important factors to consider keeping employees motivated and engaged with the company. We came to an agreement on these five things.

    1. Good pay and benefits. While many studies say that this is not high on the list of what motivates people to stay with a company, you can be sure that if someone is offered a lot better for the same work, they will be highly enticed to leave. In fact, just this week a small business owner was telling me about a manager who left his company to go and work for a large firm that offered a package he just could not match. Make sure you can offer competitive salaries and benefits if you want to keep your best people.
    2. Interesting and challenging work. Your top employees want to use their skills and be engaged with their work. So, make sure you give people work that will utilize their strengths and skills. Challenge them to solve problems and contribute ideas for improving the work they do.
    3. Flexible schedule or working arrangement. People need time to deal with family and personal issues. Parents with young children have a lot on their hands and appreciate having flexible working conditions. This can offset salary discrepancies in some cases.
    4. Opportunity for advancement. People want to know that they can grow with the company and have the chance to take on more responsibility and get better pay, benefits and recognition. This can also be investment in skill development and training programs that are tailored to the employee for personal development.
    5. Good working environment. This means have the right tools and support to do the job, but also creating a team environment where people build solid working relationships with their team members. Strong relationships are hard to leave.

    retaining top performing employeeThere are many other items that you might think of to retain your top performers. The best approach is to hold regular meetings with each employee that reports to you directly. Have a conversation with them. Ask questions such as, how do you feel about your job right now? What is important to you for the future? How well do you feel the company can meet your longer-term career expectations?

    If every manager in the company does this you will then have the pulse of your employee satisfaction. Act and lead by example.

    It’s your job as a business owner and leader to make sure people are satisfied with their job, working conditions and the company if you want to retain your top performers. Be pro-active!