©2011. The Renaissance Group. All rights reserved.

How to Improve Your Peoples Performance

By Kevin Poland

The Renaissance Group

Purpose of Today’s Session

• To improve employee productivity and performance

• Understanding why people don’t always perform up to your expectations

• What to do about it

People, Performance andProblems

People: Where are You Now?

• What employee productivity and performance issues come to mind?

• What would you say is the root cause of these issues?

• How do you currently handle these issues?

Employee Engagement

According to a Gallup Organization study:

◦ 29% are engaged

◦ 54% are not engaged

◦ 17% are actively disengaged

Employee Engagement

Dilbert on engagement:

What is Employee Engagement?

An "engaged employee" is one who is fully involved in, and enthusiastic about their work, and thus will act in a way that furthers their organization's interests.

Wikipedia

Why Improve Employee Productivity?

• Business performance (growth)

• More effective + efficient = productive

• Money is lost through employee issues:▫ Bad estimates▫ Poor production or installation▫ Missing deadlines▫ Treat customers poorly

The Work Required to Grow

Entrepreneurial

TechnicalManagerial

What is Management?

Getting results through others

When you do things yourself you are a technician, when you get things done through others you are a manager.

Improving EmployeePerformance

1. Believe it…own it

2. Learn how to improve performance

3. Changing your own behavior

The Management Function

• Your employees are your score card; their success or failure reflects upon you

• A managers reason for being is to help their employees be as successful as you need them to be

• Part of your job is to improve employee performance

Management Training

• Most management training revolves around two main themes:

▫ Motivation & Attitude

◦ Your job is to make sure your people are happy and motivated and that they have a “positive” attitude

Curing Performance Problems

• Treating the problems or the symptoms?

◦ Trying to motivate

◦ Attitude adjustments

◦ Through money

Motivation & Attitude

• Clearly both play a role in performance

• How can we use them to improve performance?

▫ Become an amateur psychiatrist?

Failing to Improve Performance

• Because your solutions are not related to the problems

• What are the real causes of employee performance issues?

▫ We have a Top Ten

Top 10 Reasons

6. Think their way is better

7. Think something is more important

8. Consequences affect performance

9. Fear

10. Incapacity

1. Think they are performing

2. Don’t know what to do

3. Don’t know how to do it

4. Don’t know why

5. Obstacles

Perceptions vs. Reality

• When asked “why people don’t perform?”…How did you answer?

• The majority of managers lead with putting the blame on the employee

Reason #1

• They think they are doing it

• If your employees have no idea how they are doing they have no reason to change

• Tell them…Behavioral Coaching:

Feedback

The Magic of Feedback

Behavioral Coaching and providing effective feedback is the fastest and easiest way to improve employee performance.

Reason #2

• They don’t know WHAT they are suppose to do / what is expected of them

• Four parts to not knowing:1. What specifically to do

2. When to begin

3. When to end

4. What “finished” looks like

Reason #2 Don’t Know What To Do

• What should you do about it?

• Tell them; but how do you tell them?

Position Agreements and

Delegation Agreements

Reason #3

• They don’t know HOW to do it

• Show them

• How do you show them?

Documented Systemsplus

Training

Reason #4

• They don’t know WHY they should be doing it

◦ Why are we doing this work? or Why are we changing?

◦ Do they know the importance of their work?

◦ How it fits in to the big picture?

Reason #4Don’t Know WHY?

• What should you do about it?

• Tell them; Effective Communications

▪ Meeting Rhythm▫ Inspirational Communications▫ Staff Meetings▫ Employee Development Meetings

▪ Behavioral Coaching

Reason #5

• There are obstacles beyond their control

• Remove them

• How do you do that?

Daily Huddles&

Employee Development Meetings

Reason #6

• They think your way will not work / think their way is better

• Convince them

• How do you do that?

Documented Systemsand

Employee Development Meetings

Reason #6Your Way Will Not Work

• Occurs when you are describing work from memory vs. operation manual

• If you are changing the work

• They must believe you…QUANTIFICATION

Reason #7

• They think something else is more important (unsure of their priorities)

• Most jobs include a myriad of things that can be done at any moment in time

Reason #7Something Else More Important?

• How do your employees know what their highest priorities are?

• Tell them

• How do you do that?

Effective CommunicationsMeeting Rhythm

Reason #8

• Consequences affect whether they do what they are supposed to do

• Behavior is a function of consequences

• Change the consequences and performance will follow

• How do that?

Behavioral Coaching

Positive Consequences

• Employee comes to you and says they are stuck or behind schedule.

• What do you do?

• Is this a positive or negative consequence for the employee?

Positive Consequence

Negative Consequences

• You go to your “best” employee and give her a big special project

• What do they do?

• Is this a positive or negative consequence for the employee?

Negative Consequence

Reason #9

• Fear – they anticipate future negative consequences

• Change the consequences

Behavioral Coaching

Reason #10

• Incapacity – personal limits

• Need the “Right” Person

• How do you do that?

Systems:

Recruiting & Hiring

Summarizing Today

• Why do managers fail to improve performance?

• Their solutions rarely address the cause of the performance issue.

• When solving a performance problems where is the best place to start? The most obvious.

Review the Reasons

6. Think their way is better

7. Think something is more important

8. Consequences effect performance

9. Fear

10. Incapacity

1. Think they are performing

2. Don’t know what to do

3. Don’t know how to do it

4. Don’t know why

5. Obstacles

What To Do AboutPerformance Issues

1. Position Agreements

2. Delegation Agreements

3. Documented Systems

4. Effective Training

5. Effective Communications

6. Meeting Rhythm

7. Behavioral Coaching

What Really Motivates

“Pay enough so that money isn’t an issue, then give your employees:

▪ high recognition

▪ autonomy, and the

▪ opportunity to learn and grow,

and watch them excel.”

http://www.ted.com/talks/dan_pink_on_motivation.html

Your Opportunity

• Grow your people (talent):

▫ Engaged employees

▫ Improved culture

▫ More effective

▫ More productive

▫ Improved employee performance

Improved business performance

How Can We Help You?

Growth by DesignTM Program

Complimentary Strategy Session

Contact Information

Kevin Poland

CEO/CMOThe Renaissance Group

813.636.9181Kevin@RenaissanceConsultants.com

http://www.linkedin.com/pub/kevin-poland/b/b02/b1

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