3 Steps to ensure your team is producing expected results
Introduction
Now that you have brought on the right candidate and you have trained and developed them. How do you ensure that this team member always maintains their best? How do you know they are performing at their best?
Small business owners are often left to their own devices when it comes to performance management. Many don't have the resources and are often busy running a company to do all of this work themselves! But they're in luck! There are tools out there that can help you get started with employee progress check-ins and performance reviews. And the process doesn't need to be complicated or time-consuming - just follow these three steps: Step 1) Establish goals for your employees at the beginning of the year, so they know what's expected from them. Step 2) Review everyone's progress regularly throughout the year. Step 3) Meet one-on-one with each person at least once per quarter to discuss how things are going and where they want to go.
Frequently Communicate the Established Goals
When a company's clear goals and expectations are well established at the beginning of each year, it ensures accountability, productivity, and, most importantly – success is in place. This communication should be made clear by explaining what's expected from all employees, their responsibilities, and how they can achieve these targets by providing metrics or numbers behind them, so everyone knows where things stand ahead of time!
“Your ability to communicate is an important tool in your pursuit of your goals, whether it is with your family, your co-workers or your clients and customers.”
Monthly Progress Check-ins
A monthly progress check-in is a great way for business owners to ensure employees achieve their goals. This meeting can also help them know what needs more attention and give feedback if it isn't going well enough!
A small business owner should always conduct regular meetings with their staff members so that they may recap the individual's measurable results in regards to the previous month. These discussions serve two fundamental purposes: firstly, as an opportunity for discussion among team members; secondly, by allowing you as a leader to get updates from staff about how things have been progressing since your last conversation.
“If you can’t measure it, you can’t improve it.”
Quarterly Performance Reviews
Performance management is how you bring out the best in people. To determine if a team member is doing their job correctly, you have to regularly do performance reviews or evaluations to ensure they are still doing what needs to get done.
The old way of thinking is, do an evaluation once a year. But let me be honest, knowing where someone stands in the business is not good enough once a year. You really want to work up to where you're giving evaluations or performance reviews to your employees every quarter. This way, they have three months to improve their performance.
In order to give performance reviews quarterly, communicating expected goals and conducting check-ins need to be done timely and regularly.
Conclusion
We don't want anyone to quit or, worst, terminated, which means performance reviews should also reflect this tone! These three steps, as discussed, might seem like time-consuming tasks, but in reality, these have a considerable impact on both parties involved. The employee knows that their career isn't just going nowhere; it's being supported and encouraged toward success by giving constructive criticism when needed along with support through coaching opportunities every so often.
Bring out the best in people and watch how your company grows! If you need assistance with how to do this, we’ll be happy to help!
