Supply Leaders Academy

Performance Management: An Overview

15.06.16 10:09 AM By Randall Mauldin
shakehandsManagers always keep thinking about motivating their team. The best way to do this to address emotional needs of employees! Asking one simple question by putting themselves in the shoes of the employees works nicely. The question is: How do I want to feel while working? This question alone creates the four pillars of satisfaction on job! They are: - The employee needs to feel that he or she is a part of interacting group - COMMUNITY - The employee must feel that he or she is heard, valued and appreciated - WORTH - The employee must feel that he or she is being motivated and challenged in action - INSPIRATION - They employee must feel that he or she developing and learning continuously - GROWTH For an employee, there are two conflicting thoughts: need of fitting in and need of integration and standing out. These two aspects need to be addressed by the managers. It is very natural that if an employee feels to be left out or feels that he or she is not a part of the team, job satisfaction will never come and it is this peculiar insecurity which interferes with the performance of the employee. The managers need to make the employees feel that they are all part of a community, a community which is responsible for the growth and development of the organization. However, very often the managers simply ignore this motivational factor and try to push the employees for results. Results just dont come on their own! Yet another important thing is appreciation. When an employee is appreciated and when the leaders express their gratitude on a daily basis, motivation flows in because the employees feel that they are worth and that the company values them. Leaders who do not do this run at a risk of losing the attention and commitment of the team. Increasing salary or giving performance bonus is not enough. They do motivate but that motivation is not long-lasting. An employee will love the work in two circumstances. First, he or she is an expert of the job and loves doing it and second, he or she is being appreciated for the efforts being put in for the job. This appreciation is the internal factor which negates the need of external factors like salary increment or performance bonus. Employees must be inspired to do something or develop something, some project which will benefit the entire workflow every day, will benefit the organization as a whole and will develop confidence and knowledge. The inspiration must help the employees to motivate themselves. Next comes the growth. If an employee doesnt see the growth opportunities, there will be lack of motivation. But, growth will come through learning and development which is better done through workshops, trainings, personal coaching etc. In short, whatever is needed to enhance the skills of the employees so that the growth opportunities generated must be done! When an employee knows that the organization is investing in his or her personal development and that managers are supporting him/her before and after such training, the employee get motivation. If the employees can be motivated to do work, performance boosts up and this is when performance management can be achieved completely! Copyright copy; 2012 Joe Maldonado