There is always room for improvement, especially in a company that wants to stay visible, viable and maintain its competitive edge. Recognizing the current strengths and abilities of your workforce is as critical as identifying their untapped potential to assume leadership positions, participate in team-building activities, exercise initiative and develop better communication skills. In concert, these elements not only contribute to a more effective and cohesive organization but may also improve employees' individual performance levels.
Step 1
Communicate your expectations and emphasize personal accountability. No matter what type of business you run or how many employees you have, it is essential that every employee understands how her respective contributions toward a common goal define the company's value, success and longevity. Hold regular staff meetings to track the status of pending projects, make new assignments and encourage brainstorming on existing or potential problems. Hold your workers accountable for the responsibilities they assume, the choices they make and the deadlines they have agreed to meet. Anne Bruce, author of "How to Motivate Every Employee: 24 Proven Tactics to Spark Productivity in the Workplace," suggests that the more ownership and engagement employees feel in the decision-making process, the more empowered they will likely feel to put forth their best ideas and best work product.
Step 2
Monitor and evaluate job performance through annual or twice-yearly written appraisals. These provide workers with the functional equivalent of a report card to identify what they are doing well, what areas need improvement and whether training classes would benefit an existing job or assist in the transition to a new one. Invite employees to prepare self-evaluations which allow them to highlight recent achievements, discuss issues that they believe are inhibiting them from doing their best work and request future training and development assignments. Encourage feedback throughout the year, not just during the review periods. According to Brian Tracy, author of "Full Engagement!: Inspire, Motivate, and Bring Out the Best in Your People," emphasizing positive traits and actions in the workplace does more to improve employee performance and morale within an organization than constantly looking for faults and making workers feel as if their every move is being watched with suspicion.
Step 3
Create and administer a fair and consistent system of acknowledging merit. No matter what position a person holds in your company, he wants to know that his work is being noticed and appreciated. A successful company culture is one that rewards initiative, performance and dedication through bonuses, promotions, merit certificates and perks as well as compliments and good old-fashioned thank-you's. Donald Kirkpatrick, author of "Improving Employee Performance Through Appraisal and Coaching," also emphasizes the importance of mentoring and coaching as a way to demonstrate that management is committed to helping workers achieve their highest potential by providing them access to the best advice on how to advance their careers.
Step 4
Lead by setting a positive example. John Baldoni, author of "Lead by Example: 50 Ways Great Leaders Inspire Results," emphasizes that managers who engage in active listening, respect the unique talents of their staff, instill confidence in others and know both when and how to delegate responsibilities achieve better results than egotistical leaders who believe that theirs is the only "right" way to get anything done. The first step in improving any organization is establishing and enforcing the concept that there aren't different sets of rules that govern the activities of supervisors and subordinates. Managers must be held just as accountable for their own mistakes and shortcomings as anyone who works for them in order to foster a healthy and truthful workplace. It's also critical to discourage gossip, address rumors before they escalate to paranoia and stay sensitive to feedback on what the company could be doing better.