Building a cohesive, high-performing team is the best way to ensure your small business will thrive, no matter the challenges that may lie ahead. Managing employee performance is challenging, but it’s a fundamental aspect of being a business owner. The effects of poor performance can be devastating for a small business, financially and morally. How do you empower your employees to succeed? How to motivate your employees to give their best day after day?
Read on to discover a few excellent ways to improve employee performance and achieve fast business growth.
Set Clear, Actionable Goals
A small business typically relies on a small team of people who don’t always have well-defined roles and responsibilities. When working with a small team, flexibility regarding tasks and assignments is critical, but it can also lead to confusion and accountability problems. Who must do what and when? As the owner or manager, you must always be able to answer this question. Knowing exactly what they must do and when helps employees manage their time and energy more effectively.
Studies on productivity have shown that employees need a specific, measurable goal to focus on to feel motivated and engaged at work. Setting clear goals for every employee and the team as a whole should be thus a priority for every small business owner.
Invest in Training
Another excellent way to improve employee performance is to invest in training. Give your employees opportunities to develop or cultivate skills that would benefit your business. What are your team’s vulnerable spots? Where do you face productivity issues? What types of problems do your employees face most commonly? Providing training is a great way to help employees understand and surpass any professional or personal limitations they may have.
Are you looking to improve your workflows and save time, money, and energy? Help your employees develop their problem-solving skills. If they learn how to identify the cause of a problem, they will never have to spend time and energy on the same issue again. Invest in root cause analysis training for a significant increase in productivity.
Recognize and Reward High Performers
Recognizing and rewarding outstanding performance is another excellent way to incentivize your employees to perform better. Having their efforts seen and appreciated is a massive confidence boost. It also helps employees maintain strong motivation even when faced with difficult challenges.
Lack of feedback leads to low employee morale. A high performer who feels underappreciated will slowly lose motivation and may even consider looking for a new job. And losing a high performer can be a big blow for a small business. Who are the high performers in your team? Recognize and reward their efforts, either publicly or in private.
Final Words
One of the biggest challenges of being a small business owner is building a reliable, trustworthy team that believes in your vision. Can your team help you transform your vision into reality? Strengthen your leadership skills and help your employees discover and cultivate their potential. Doing so will ensure the success of your business.
