Do You Have A Winning Formula For A High Performance Workforce?

We know very well that a high performance workforce is not a new idea, but keeping managers, teams and employees engaged, motivated and performing to the very best of their abilities is a challenge for any organisation.

This challenge is made even more difficult with the current state of the economic climate, pay rises being frozen, bonus schemes disappearing, restructures, redundancies and stagnation in job roles.

So it begs the question, just how do you keep high levels of motivation and drive up performance?

Building a high performance workforce doesn’t happen overnight, and there is no ‘quick fix’ solution. It requires a commitment and assurance to producing a maintainable, workable and manageable approach to performance development and should form a key priority of any performance development strategy.

Here are a few ideas and solutions to help your organisation achieve a high performance workforce.

Organisational Principles

• The Performance Management Method

Ensure you provide a clear message as to what standards of performance are expected. This will make sure that all employees understand what is expected of them within their role and how it adds to the success of the organisation. A scheme for providing feedback should allow for numerous sources of feedback – not just the direct line manager.

• A High Performance Culture

Ensure that provision is made for regular and open communication regarding the performance of the organisation.  Managers and team leaders should make a distinction between employees that are making good and poor contributions and should encourage and reassure employees to take appropriate risks and remove the fear of failure and blame.

Managerial Principles

• Interaction With Employees

By using a coaching method of management, managers will enable employees to find answers to business problems and issues. Provision of the correct resources should be made to allow employees to be successful. There should be clear and consistent expectations and changes to plans and priorities should be minimal.

• Formal Reviews

These reviews should concentrate on the positive characteristics of an employee’s performance. If there is a performance weakness, these should only ever be discussed if the manager can suggest an improvement plan. Agreed actions in connection with the employee’s medium to long term career ambitions should also be discussed and noted.

• Informal Feedback

Ensure that informal feedback is provided on a regular basis. Feedback which is precise, timely, specific and composed is one of the most powerful drivers in gaining high performance.

Employee Principles

• Day to day work

There should always be time given to communicate the bigger picture.  Help your employees understand how their roles, current projects and efforts contribute to the overall success of the organisation.  Greater contributions, increased productivity and higher performance comes from employees who enjoy and understand the work they deliver.

• Opportunities

Ensure you recognise your employee’s strengths and provide opportunities for them to use those strengths. Ongoing, timely, appropriate and relevant training gives the most effective learning.

By following these simple ideas, levels in performance will increase. Employee engagement and motivation will also increase with higher levels of productivity and success for the organisation.

If you require any information regarding employee engagement and motivation, then contact us on +44 (0) 1255 850051.