Engaging your employees should be a top priority for any organization. While there are a number of ways to achieve this, one of the most important is to ensure that employees are kept in the loop.
Every manager should be trained to give both formal and informal feedback to their employees. Daily feedback is a driver of engagement. Alternately, lack of feedback is a driver of disengagement. In order to feel engaged, employees need to know what they’re doing matters and that it contributes to the overall mission of the organization.
Measure, Benchmark, Assess, Tweak & Repeat
You’ve set a goal for your sales team. They work feverishly to make sure they meet that goal. What happens if they never hear the results of their efforts?
They will assume one of two things:
- You didn’t measure
- You didn’t care
Both are dangerous assumptions to a team dynamic. Imagine if the NFL adopted the T-ball method of scoring. This would mean that during the Super Bowl, no one gained any points for crossing into the end zone or a kick was celebrated whether it flew between the goal posts or to the far left. How much support and participation would teams receive from fans and players? How would a player’s financial worth be determined? What would the point of a strong defensive line be if their efforts made no difference?
Create benchmarks that are measurable. Create a scoreboard that lets your team know how close or far away they are from reaching their goal. Assess the goals, and if met – give them a higher goal next month. If they don’t reach a goal, evaluate the work involved, the tools used, and the skills needed to decide if the goal or the process should be adjusted.
ONCE YOU’VE TWEAKED YOUR SYSTEM INTO A WELL-OILED MACHINE – REPEAT!
This excerpt was Way #7 from C.A. Short Company's new (and FREE!) eBook, "35 Ways to Influence Corporate Culture and Increase Your Bottom Line."
C.A. Short Company partners with companies to manage, drive and facilitate increased employee engagement to increase financial performance, productivity, quality, and core performance outcomes. Our process and research-based platform enables executives and managers to engage their teams to increase the bottom line, motivate staff, and incentivize positive behavior. To Request a Complimentary Consultation, click here.