Encouraging Employee Excellence
The process of developing an excellent workforce begins long before they begin their work. How much forethought was given to the deliberation of the necessary skills, experience and knowledge that an individual needs to fulfill their jobs? How will you know if the employee is set up to succeed or if they are or are not successful?
I hear countless tales of screenings, when useless questions or disinterested interviewers conduct their first round of conversations over the phone. Relevant questions such as, why do you want this job in this organization are sadly, overlooked. Hypothetical questions or what was your hardest challenge have their limitations also - because they are trick questions.
If you find yourself in a seemingly fruitless interview, RUN as far and as fast as you can from the potential position. It's a precursor of other horrors yet to come - and some of them might very well be at your expense.
When offered a position or if you are doing the offering, utmost care should be placed on the orientation and training for the new employee to get acquainted with the particular style and/or culture of the organization or company,
Then, a somewhat informal check-in should complement the more formal process to permit the new employee to get ingrained into the current workforce.
Here's how you might encourage employee excellence:
1) Set clear expectations for the new position. Identify what needs to be done, by when, within what budgetary restraints.
2) Meet regularly about progress and concerns. No one should be evaluated on an annual basis. Evaluations should occur everyday so the best performance is fostered.
3) If there are set-backs or deterrents to the employee's progress - whether a new employee, or someone that you are moving up through the ranks into a new position - have a conversation to determine what is happening and how you can support moving forward toward the goal.
4) If someone just can't get the work done, perhaps, there was a mistake in hiring and the skills that were presented are in fact, not there. Act on it. Clearly communicate what needs to be done.
5) No one likes to make the determination that it isn't working out; but to leave someone in a job because you have a warm body to do the work, is ineffective. It sends a bad signal to your existing workforce.
6) When someone presents a supervisor with a problem, ask them to come back with at least two solutions; maybe three. When you provide an employee with the opportunity to demonstrate critical problem solving, it empowers them.
7) If you have a toxic employee, you need to cease and desist. That individual needs to leave. When toxicity becomes the norm, it damages the integrity of your workforce.
As soon as you discover it, have a conversation about your awareness and take the necessary steps with the guilty party to move them onto a path of cooperation within the work standards or move them out the door.
8) Celebrate often and together. Great leaders share the credit when things are going well; AND they take the blame when they aren't.
9) Inspire your workforce to take risks within reason. First do no harm is a resounding mantra to keep within your sights. Calculated risks provide a wealth of growing experiences.
10) At the end of the day, people enjoy working with other people - or they leave. If you want an excellent workforce, you have to set the groundwork to nurture one.
There are many designs, many great leaders, whose work ethic apparently grew great workplaces. Respect, clear communication, reasonable expectations and risk taking are key components that will bring you the desired results and provide a great place to work.
I hear countless tales of screenings, when useless questions or disinterested interviewers conduct their first round of conversations over the phone. Relevant questions such as, why do you want this job in this organization are sadly, overlooked. Hypothetical questions or what was your hardest challenge have their limitations also - because they are trick questions.
If you find yourself in a seemingly fruitless interview, RUN as far and as fast as you can from the potential position. It's a precursor of other horrors yet to come - and some of them might very well be at your expense.
When offered a position or if you are doing the offering, utmost care should be placed on the orientation and training for the new employee to get acquainted with the particular style and/or culture of the organization or company,
Then, a somewhat informal check-in should complement the more formal process to permit the new employee to get ingrained into the current workforce.
Here's how you might encourage employee excellence:
1) Set clear expectations for the new position. Identify what needs to be done, by when, within what budgetary restraints.
2) Meet regularly about progress and concerns. No one should be evaluated on an annual basis. Evaluations should occur everyday so the best performance is fostered.
3) If there are set-backs or deterrents to the employee's progress - whether a new employee, or someone that you are moving up through the ranks into a new position - have a conversation to determine what is happening and how you can support moving forward toward the goal.
4) If someone just can't get the work done, perhaps, there was a mistake in hiring and the skills that were presented are in fact, not there. Act on it. Clearly communicate what needs to be done.
5) No one likes to make the determination that it isn't working out; but to leave someone in a job because you have a warm body to do the work, is ineffective. It sends a bad signal to your existing workforce.
6) When someone presents a supervisor with a problem, ask them to come back with at least two solutions; maybe three. When you provide an employee with the opportunity to demonstrate critical problem solving, it empowers them.
7) If you have a toxic employee, you need to cease and desist. That individual needs to leave. When toxicity becomes the norm, it damages the integrity of your workforce.
As soon as you discover it, have a conversation about your awareness and take the necessary steps with the guilty party to move them onto a path of cooperation within the work standards or move them out the door.
8) Celebrate often and together. Great leaders share the credit when things are going well; AND they take the blame when they aren't.
9) Inspire your workforce to take risks within reason. First do no harm is a resounding mantra to keep within your sights. Calculated risks provide a wealth of growing experiences.
10) At the end of the day, people enjoy working with other people - or they leave. If you want an excellent workforce, you have to set the groundwork to nurture one.
There are many designs, many great leaders, whose work ethic apparently grew great workplaces. Respect, clear communication, reasonable expectations and risk taking are key components that will bring you the desired results and provide a great place to work.
Posted by Kayte Connelly CCT at 11/10/2011 6:30 PM 
Categories: Capacity Building, Strategic Planning, Personal Development, Leadership
Tags: Human Resource Development hiring Personnnel supervision
Categories: Capacity Building, Strategic Planning, Personal Development, Leadership
Tags: Human Resource Development hiring Personnnel supervision
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