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Expert Answers to Biz Questions
Listen in! Pick up some expert advice to a reader's question that we selected from CyberSchmooz.
4 Communication Strategies to Increase Employee Performance and Get Targeted Results
Every business owner wants productive and efficient employees, but sometimes that goal seems out of reach. There will always be employees who veer off course or become the focus of disciplinary problems. When you’re trying to build an efficient team, you need to keep those situations in check.
Applying progressive discipline to employees who don’t perform seems like the obvious solution. You can’t afford to keep employees who don’t want to follow directions. However, an employee’s poor performance isn’t always their fault and progressive discipline doesn’t produce lasting change.
Usually, employee performance issues stem from poor communication. When communication improves, employees are productive, projects flow, and the need for discipline disappears.
To make that your reality, here are 4 communication strategies to increase employee efficiency and get targeted results.
- Maintain an open door policy
When employees know you’re available to talk and you’re willing to listen, they’ll develop a deep trust in you. When an employee trusts you, it’s easy to persuade in the direction you want them to lean. They won’t get defensive or resist directions when they don’t understand why you’re asking them to do something.
Most importantly, an employee who trusts you will feel comfortable asking for clarification, which automatically improves their ability to get the job done correctly.
- Take care of your remote employees
Employees want more than a good paycheck. They want to do their job with the least resistance possible. They want access to functional and useful tools to get their work done. When employees don’t have the right tools, rule-breaking and slacking off is inevitable. People get frustrated when they have to use cumbersome workarounds to accomplish simple tasks.
Taking care of your remote employees is the best thing you can do for your company. It doesn’t matter if they’re contractors or employees. Make sure they have all the tools they need to be efficient.
An employee’s choice of tools directly affects your business’ performance so it’s better to provide the tools whenever possible. While employees can make do with their own tools, there’s often a better method. For instance, in an article titled Teamwork Requires Communication: Phone Solutions for Mobile Workforces, Mark Greim from sipVine explains several benefits of using a hosted VoIP phone system. The biggest benefit is the ability to assign a phone number to an employee that connects to a desk phone, their laptop, and their cell phone. They’ll be reachable everywhere without having to give out their personal number. If they leave the company you can reassign the number to someone else.
To find out what tools your remote employees need most, find out what they’re struggling with. If you can find a way to ease their struggles, their performance will improve.
- Ask employees to tell you what’s going on
With the exception of actual crimes (like theft, vandalism, and violence), when an employee does something deserving of disciplinary action, ask them what’s going on. Schedule a private meeting to discuss the matter in an open, non-hostile manner. Ask your employee for their side of the story and try to understand the situation from their perspective.
The point isn’t to be sympathetic and let them off the hook. The idea is to uncover the source of their behavior and address the issue at the root. If it seems like their behavior stems from their personal issues, you probably can’t do much to help them and you may want to let them go. However, if they have a laundry list of things that aren’t working in the company, listen to them and take notes. Chances are, the employee you talk to isn’t alone in their struggles.
When you find the root of the struggle, fix it. By fixing what isn’t working in your business, you’ll improve all employee performance across the board.
- Go out of your way to appreciate your employees
In most companies, employees tend to have the same (or similar) persistent complaints. Usually these complaints have to do with feeling undervalued.
A staggering 66% of employees say they’d quit if they feel unappreciated at work. Before they quit, employees who feel undervalued are more likely to take shortcuts, let deadlines slip, and underperform.
A little appreciation goes a long way. Reach out to your employees and let them know their work is valued. Ask what you can do to make their job easier. Most of all, take their feedback and commit to fixing things that aren’t running as smoothly as you’d like. Employees who feel appreciated work harder and take ownership of their goals.
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