Your employees are amongst your organization’s most valuable assets, and taking the initiative to improve their performance can underpin your business’s success. Communication is a critical element in any staff management process, but what else should your management strategy include?
Taking a coaching approach to managing your employees could help you successfully connect with your team and guide them towards improved performance. This is because coaching is a collaborative and consultative approach to managing employees.
Whether you’re dealing with an underperforming employee or you’re just looking for new strategies to enhance your team’s performance, it’s important to identify any issues, take an interactive approach to employee management, and create workable and effective action plans for management.
At the core of this type of management strategy lies four key steps: explanation, employee feedback, discussion of ideas, and implementing an action plan and follow-up.
1. Identify and explain the performance issue
Coaching involves bringing performance issues to attention that help employees correct them before they become major problems. You need to give a clear explanation of the situation and your employee’s performance and describe the behaviour using examples so they understand.
Make sure you also clarify why something has to change. For example, you can note, “I know you’re extremely capable, but recently your team members have noticed a slower response to work requests. This has impacted our project deadlines, which we’ve had to move back.”
Also Read: How tech companies get employees to work overtime and why we fall for it
You can also describe how their performance is affecting the team’s outcomes and in turn the organization’s bottom line. Use an objective, neutral tone and avoid reacting emotionally when discussing performance issues.
2. Ask for employee feedback
Once you’ve presented your explanation, check in with your employee. Always give them a chance to provide feedback and explain the reason behind any performance issues they have. For example, probe for feedback by stating, “I value your input and want to understand if you see the same opportunities for improvement here.”
Challenge your staff members to review their goals and come up with ideas for improving their performance. Reserve judgment and interruptions until you’ve heard their account, and ask questions for clarification where necessary. Impediments to performance can include things like time, training, tools, and temperament, so you could ask something like, “Do you think these barriers exist? How do you think we could eliminate them?”
3. Discuss ideas for solutions
Once your employee has had the opportunity to provide an explanation and layout of their perspective, you can move onto the next step: reviewing and considering potential solutions. Start with the causes of the issue, and focus on their performance rather than criticizing them as an individual. For example, say, “I’d like to come up with a few different ideas to support you in doing your best work.”
When exploring solutions to specific issues, take a life-link coach approach to manage your employees by looking for ways to empower them by boosting their self-belief and self-worth. For example, you can check their previous high performance by saying, “I have every confidence you can reach your targets because for the most part you’ve been a stellar, valuable employee in the organization.” Additionally, provide the guidance your staff member will need to achieve their goals.
4. Create an action plan and follow-up
Devise a clear action plan for improvement and get your employees to commit to change. Consider setting up SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound) performance goals to ensure they’re specific enough to be tracked and measured.
Don’t forget to communicate your confidence in your employee’s ability to make the necessary changes. For example, say, “I have every confidence you can meet these performance targets.” For already high-performing employees, focus on continuous improvement.
Also Read: The importance of one on one meetings with your employees
When creating a plan for improvement, set up milestones or time frames for following up and giving regular feedback so you can track progress and make adjustments where necessary.
Regular feedback can keep your employees on track and empower them by making them feel valued, but don’t overlook the importance of getting your employee’s feedback as well. For example, ask this: “How do you think it’s going? Do you have any adjustments you’d like to make?”
If your employees fall short again, offer constructive feedback for improvement. If your employee matches or exceeds expectations, recognize and reward them.
Effective coaching supports high-performing employees
Coaching is a powerful tool that any manager can use for employee performance management, but it seems many organizations aren’t harnessing the power of training and development.
Also Read: The importance of one on one meetings with your employees
The Bureau of Labor Statistics recently revealed that US organizations with 100-500 employees provided, on average, six minutes of training per employee every six months. In the UK it’s a similar sorry story, with 57 per cent of British SMEs not offering any staff training and development.
What does this really mean?
For employees who are already highly productive, it can further enhance their contributions to the organization by supporting continuous improvement and preventing stagnation.
This is why, coaching for performance management helps to support your team with improved morale and higher engagement — whilst, at the same time it ensures you’re employees are accountable.
Lastly, it can provide them with the motivation to innovate and improve productivity to become high-performing staff members, and this could pave the way for a competitive and profitable organization.
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