Every day can present an opportunity to improve employees’ performance, and many of you are missing it.
Not enough leaders, and especially new leaders, are discussing performance on a regular basis and, instead, are relying only on the annual performance review. That’s just not enough. In fact, 65% of employees want more feedback from their managers. Study after study shows that when they receive it, they are more engaged and perform at a higher level.
Follow this advice to integrate more regular and frequent feedback into your interactions with employees:
- Walk around and talk daily. Make it a habit to set aside time each day to visit your team’s work area and chat with people about what they are working on. Ask about their challenges and successes so that you can coach and praise them.
- Discuss goals regularly. During team meetings, talk about team members’ goals, the progress they are making and how they can support one another. That will keep everyone focused on those goals. Another option: Schedule a 5- to 10-minute meeting once a week with each team member to discuss his or her work.
- Check in at milestones. Take time after key points in projects and other assignments to review the work, offer feedback and review their plans for the next step.
- Prep for success. When you make assignments, discuss how team members can best use their skills, and point out areas where they can make improvements.
When you coach and provide feedback daily, you show your interest in team members’ honing their skills. You will see improvement throughout the year, and you’ll catch any performance problems before they escalate into major issues.
Important: Keep a file of notes about your performance discussions with employees. That way, you will be ready for formal reviews or to back up any other actions you must take, such as terminating a poor performer who hasn’t responded to your efforts.
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