Archive for Communication – Page 3

Employee Surveys: Don’t Just Ask…Act!

Hand writing Time to Plan concept with blue marker on transparent wipe board.

For the first 6 months of this year, only 32.9% of employees were engaged at work, according to Gallup, who regularly measures employee engagement. This means that nearly 70% of employees were not engaged.  Lack of employee engagement translates into less productivity and lower morale, and may ultimately impact business results.

There are multiple factors that contribute to employees being engaged and motivated – a sense of purpose, opportunities for growth, a positive culture, learning and development, and effective leadership, to name a few. Often companies, especially small ones with limited resources and time, are hard pressed to know where to focus to move the engagement meter in the right direction.  A good way to determine how to improve your employees’ satisfaction, engagement and motivation is to ask them.

Conduct an employee survey.

Perhaps you’ve done one before. But there are surveys and there are surveys. And…it’s not just about asking a bunch of questions. It’s about asking a few good questions that encourage an honest response, and then actually acting on the information you receive. Too often employees are asked to spend 20 minutes or so providing input to a survey and then they never hear anymore about it.  This is most likely not the intent when the survey is sent out, but sometimes there are so many ideas and suggestions for improvement that leadership can’t get their arms around them, or they compete with other priorities. Good intentions get lost in the shuffle.

There is a better way.

Start by creating a list of questions that will help you identify some areas that employees want to see improved. Common ones are training and growth opportunities, communication, and understanding how their role fits into the big picture. Pare the list down to 3 or 4 effective questions. Communicate to employees the purpose of the survey and that you will be selecting one or two areas to work on based on the results. An alternate way to gather responses to the questions is through employee focus groups. Once you’ve gathered and analyzed the data, communicate results to employees and involve them in prioritizing the areas to work on.  Select one or two areas to focus on in the short term. Be open and honest about what’s achievable. Consider setting up employee work groups to create solutions for the improvement areas selected.  Make progress updates a regular part of your employee communication. The important part is to ask and to ACT.  When employees see that you are true to your word, they will be more willing to provide you with feedback and ideas and to be part of the solution.

“Research indicates that workers have three prime needs: Interesting work, recognition for doing a good job, and being let in on things that are going on in the company.” –Zig Ziglar

6 Tips for Developing a Performance Improvement Plan

pip-2As I’ve often said, performance management is an ongoing process not just an annual event.  As such, when there’s a performance issue it’s important to deal with it in a timely manner. The goal should be – if possible – to turn the situation around and get the employee back on track versus terminating them. This requires a plan. Here are some tips for developing an effective Performance Improvement Plan (PIP).

  1. Keep detailed documentation. When it’s clear that there’s an issue – the employee is regularly late, absent without an excuse, or submitting sloppy/incomplete work, for example – note the dates and description of the incidents. This will document a pattern of poor behavior and will serve as a backup in the event of a legal dispute down the road.
  2. Have an informal performance discussion. Hopefully you are having regular one-on-ones with your employees. If so, that is the perfect time to clarify expectations and alert the employee that there’s an issue. Give the employee the opportunity to explain and to offer ideas for a solution. It may be that the issue could be resolved by a change in work schedule or additional training. Be sure to share the impact of the employee’s under-performance and that without improvement, the next step will be a formal PIP.
  3. Create the plan. If the performance doesn’t improve after the initial performance discussion, it’s time to create a formal PIP. The plan should clearly describe the expected behaviors and specific goals – with deadlines – for achieving those behaviors. Goals should be SMART – specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and timely.  Establish a reasonable timeline for the behavior change – long enough to determine whether the behavior change can be sustained, but short enough to take the next step (possible termination) before other people/processes are impacted by the poor performance.
  4. Obtain employee’s agreement and signature. It’s essential that the employee commit to the goals on the plan. If possible, co-create the goals. If the employee feels they’ve had the opportunity to provide input to the plan they are more likely to follow it. As part of your documentation process, and to reinforce the formality of the PIP, get the employee’s signature.
  5. Monitor performance. As part of the plan, schedule regular check-ins to discuss progress. Acknowledge any progress, and also remind the employee that you are looking for sustained improvement.
  6. Formally close out the plan. If the employee fails to meet the expectations defined in the plan, the next step is determining whether termination is appropriate. If the employee follows the plan and shows the expected improvement, acknowledge that improvement and close out the plan. If the employee makes a good effort but doesn’t complete all the goals or you are unsure whether the performance will be sustained, you may want to extend or create a new PIP.

When it comes to Performance Improvement Plans, prevention is the best medicine. You will have fewer PIPs to write if you deal with performance issues in a timely manner, keep lines of communication open with your employees through regular one-on-ones, and are consistently clear about performance expectations.

When Hiring, Be Clear About Work Environment

Now Hiring Sign A red sign with the word Now Hiring with an arrow on a brick wall

One of the areas I help my clients with is performance management – both setting up performance management processes, and dealing with performance issues.  Lately I’ve been finding that a number of organizations are struggling with issues related to new employees adapting to a small company work environment.

In small companies, where a gap in resources can make a huge impact, hiring managers are often so focused on filling the gap that they don’t take the time to go beyond simply matching qualifications to requirements. However, if they neglect to give the candidate a clear understanding about the work environment, they could be looking at performance issues down the road.

Take, for example, a candidate who is used to working in a large, structured organization, where roles are narrowly defined, and processes and procedures are well-established and documented.  They are deeply knowledgeable about their own role, but have traditionally delegated to others responsibilities that don’t fall within the definition of that role.  Unless they are told otherwise, when this candidate becomes an employee they may assume that it’s “business as usual.” I do my job and others do theirs.

A small company environment, however, is very different from a large, structured organization. People wear multiple hats, processes are often established on the go, and there are typically many things going on at once. The ability to prioritize is essential.

One of the most important components of effective performance management is managing expectations. This begins in the hiring process. As a hiring manager, help potential employees understand not just what the job requires, but also what working successfully in the company environment requires. Present them with realistic scenarios about what they might be asked to do in their role. Ask behavioral questions to determine how flexible they are, and how they prioritize. Ask them to describe a situation when they were asked to do something out of their job scope. How did they handle it? What was their comfort level?

Performance issues generally have one or more of these three root causes: 1) lack of ability, 2) lack of training or information, 3) lack of motivation.  Do your best to avoid these by taking the time to ask good questions, and provide clear expectations during the hiring process.

If you need help with developing an effective hiring process, please contact me.

 

 

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