Improving Employee Performance With a Change Plan
As a former or current subordinate of a company, you understand how difficult it can be at times to know how to change your working behavior to improve your performance. Maybe you weren’t sure how to please the boss or you were never told exactly what you were doing incorrectly. Now that you have subordinates yourself, it is in your power to make your experience a thing of the past. Improving employee performance can happen more easily and quickly if you spend time implementing a change plan.
What’s the Big Deal About a Change Plan
One common problem that low performers have is following too closely to what they think an employer wants out of them instead of following their own career aspirations. Employment for them breeds an attitude more like servitude than mutual progress. Because of this, both the employer and employee don’t get what they want out of each other, which creates confusion, stress, and a disruption in the innovation a company needs to grow. A change plan is a step-by-step process that focuses on the needs of the employee and the company to ensure success.
Utilizing the Habits of Top Performers
You have or have had some fantastic employees in your day, and maybe you were one of them, so you know what success can look like. By learning general trends of these types of personnel, it makes creating a change plan a little easier.
Top performers typically have the following attributes:
-Keep their focus on a company’s overall success by excellently completing essential tasks and projects.
-Keep their knowledge and technical skills up to date with new information in order to apply it to the success of the company.
-Become invaluable by helping others often with innovative solutions.
These are signs of a great employee, something the following steps will help you create out of your current team.
The Steps to Take
There are definitely lazy employees out there, but one of the biggest managerial mistakes you can make is to jump to that conclusion too soon. Often, employees sense their employer’s or manager’s unhappiness with their work, but knowing it doesn’t necessarily create better performance. Even if you are communicative about your unhappiness in specific ways, an employee’s willpower might not get the job done the way you want. Instead, take a look at these six steps that will lead to improving employee performance:
1.Use a reward system. Yes, your employees aren’t children or pets, but rewards can still go a long way in improving employee performance. Plan short-term goals with your subordinate and reward them with monetary incentives, such as bonuses or small raises, if they are met by a specific date.
2.Offer opportunities for professional development. Progress is hard to make if an employee isn’t learning or improving any skills. Take the time and resources to implement professional development days or opportunities best suited for your company’s and employee’s success.
3.Use an employee’s workspace to your advantage. Sometimes just moving an employee to a different area can help with improving employee performance. If more solitude eases conflict and stress or community increases productivity, take advantage of this step. Experiment until you get it right.
4.Connect with top performers. Attitudes are hard to control in the workplace, and if your employee is struggling because of those around him or her, make a point of connecting hard-workers with your employee. This tends to allow the better attitudes to rub off.
5.Be future-focused. Often, getting your employee to commit to better performance can be done by letting them see how they can invest in their own career future. Display real numbers that include how much money they can make with a raise or how many opportunities exist with a promotion. On the flip side, let them see how much they are missing out on over the duration of their career by not improving employee performance.
6.Mentor well or find one. If you have the time to mentor your employee, do so. If not, find someone that can help your employee build up those great habits discussed earlier.
Mustering enough willpower is likely not going to cut it when improving employee performance, whether from you or your employee. Increase your subordinates’ earning potential, productivity, and performance by following a change plan that is suited to the individual needs of the company and employee. Learn more how to take your business to the next level with great employees with Mighty Recruiter’s helpful articles and tools.