You have some employees whom you know could do a better job at solving problems, but they don’t.  So how do you motivate them to do better in this area?  Connect problem solving to something employees want reduced:

1. Explain how solving a problem could reduce their stress.

2. Explain how solving a problem could reduce the number of calls they receive from customers complaining about an issue.

3. Explain how solving a problem could reduce the amount of time they spend working on a task.

4. Explain how solving a problem could reduce…ADD YOUR OWN ITEM!

KEY REMINDER:  To improve employee performance, you have to conduct effective performance discussions, give effective performance feedback, reinforce employee performance, and use effective performance phrases to write effective performance appraisals. 
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Barbara Brown, Ph.D. shows managers how to improve employee performance by linking performance to results. She publishes handbooks that contain phrases for discussing performance and for writing appraisals. Dr. Brown also provides training and consulting. Visit www.LinkToResults.net.

If you want to increase your chance of success when implementing changes among your immediate staff, try linking those changes to what’s important to your employees.  In other words, don’t just focus on the benefits to the company.  Instead, focus on the benefits to them.  How?  Try these three ideas.

• Make a connection between the change and something your staff has complained about (e.g., having to work overtime).  Explain how the change will improve the situation.

• Make a connection between the change and something your staff likes (e.g., taking off early on Friday’s).  Explain how the change will allow employees to continue doing something.

• Make a connection between the change and something your staff wants eliminated (e.g., having to write reports because customer complaints have been so high).  Explain how the change will eliminate the action.

KEY REMINDER:  To improve employee performance, you have to conduct effective performance discussions, give effective performance feedback, reinforce employee performance, and use effective performance phrases to write effective performance appraisals. 
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Barbara Brown, Ph.D. shows managers how to improve employee performance by linking performance to results. She publishes handbooks that contain phrases for discussing performance and for writing appraisals. Dr. Brown also provides training and consulting. Visit www.LinkToResults.net.

If you want employees to improve how they communicate, trying being SPECFIC about the communication problem.  What do I mean?  Well, suppose you are the boss of a supervisor or team leader who does not give clear directions regarding assignments.  In other words, they fail to cover all the bases involving who, what, when, where, why, and how.  To encourage improvement, you could link this failure to give clear directions in the following ways:

• Failure to give clear directions leads to extra work for the supervisor or team leader because he or she has to do the job.

• Failure to give clear directions causes the supervisor or team leader to have to explain or justify delays.

• Failure to give dear directions causes mistakes by subordinates or other employees.

• Failure to give clear directions causes … ADD YOUR OWN IMPACT STATEMENT!

KEY REMINDER:  To improve employee performance, you have to conduct effective performance discussions, give effective performance feedback, reinforce employee performance, and use effective performance phrases to write effective performance appraisals. 
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Barbara Brown, PhD shows managers how to improve employee performance by linking performance to results. She publishes handbooks that contain phrases for discussing performance and for writing appraisals. Dr. Brown also provides training and consulting. Visit www.LinkToResults.net.

If you are looking for a way to motivate employees, why not use something that you already have at your disposal.  That’s your company’s mission.  It represents something that you and your employees should be committed to support. 

But the way to use your mission is not to just point to it and say, “This is why you need to improve!”  Instead, you find some subtle and not so subtle ways to link performance to your mission.  Consider these approaches:

1. Identify how taking on a different assignment helps your company achieve its mission

2. Identify how a corrected assignment helps your company achieve its mission

3. Identify how a revised report helps your company achieve its mission

4. Identify how cooperating with another employee helps your company achieve its mission

I think you get the idea!  Use your mission as a banner and a mantra. 

KEY REMINDER:  To improve employee performance, you have to conduct effective performance discussions, give effective performance feedback, reinforce employee performance, and use effective performance phrases to write effective performance appraisals. 
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Barbara Brown, PhD shows managers how to improve employee performance by linking performance to results. She publishes handbooks that contain phrases for discussing performance and for writing appraisals. Dr. Brown also provides training and consulting. Visit www.LinkToResults.net.

When employees get bored with a job, they sometimes underperform.  This can leave you without much leverage to use as a motivator for performance improvement.  So your challenge is to make that job more exciting and challenging.  It’s called Job Enrichment!  But how do you Enrich a job?  Try these three ideas:

1. Change the way in which the assignment is delivered.  For example, an assignment that was normally delivered by e-mail might be delivered using an online meeting or in a PowerPoint presentation.

2. Allow the employee to demonstrate his or her expertise on a regular basis.  For example, a weekly one-on-one or group training component might be possible.

3. Combine a boring assignment with something the employee finds stimulating.  For example, an assignment that involves solitary research might be combined with an assignment that involves talking with company experts.

KEY REMINDER:  To improve employee performance, you have to conduct effective performance discussions, give effective performance feedback, reinforce employee performance, and use effective performance phrases to write effective performance appraisals. 
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Barbara Brown, PhD shows managers how to improve employee performance by linking performance to results. She publishes handbooks that contain phrases for discussing performance and for writing appraisals. Dr. Brown also provides training and consulting. Visit www.LinkToResults.net.

OK, so you have an employee who is rude and inconsiderate of others.  Training has not helped and neither have your conversations about “playing nice” with others.  Besides firing this employee, what do you do? 

You link the employee’s behavior to performance and only performance.  In other words, don’t talk about how this employee’s behavior causes others to feel hurt or frustrated.  Instead, talk about how this person’s behavior impacts the work that others do. 

Start by converting terms like rude and inconsiderate into tangible outcomes.  Ask the following questions:

• How does this employee’s behavior delay work?
• How does this employee’s behavior impede work?
• How does this employee’s behavior decrease productivity?
• How does this employee’s behavior decrease quality?

Once you have your answers, start linking those answers to the employee’s behavior.  Tell this person, “When you do ABC, you cause XYZ to happen.” 

The point—you are here to work and your behavior is having a negative impact on work.

KEY REMINDER:  To improve employee performance, you have to conduct effective performance discussions, give effective performance feedback, reinforce employee performance, and use effective performance phrases to write effective performance appraisals. 
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Barbara Brown, PhD shows managers how to improve employee performance by linking performance to results. She publishes handbooks that contain phrases for discussing performance and for writing appraisals. Dr. Brown also provides training and consulting. Visit www.LinkToResults.net.

Suppose you are the boss of a supervisor who questions why you don’t delegate more of certain types of assignments to her?  Your reasoning is that this supervisor does not communicate effectively.  She is tactless, abrupt, and not very clear in her explanations. 

You have mentioned this to her during performance discussions but not much has changed.  So why not use something she wants (delegated assignments) to get something you want (improved communication)?  Try these ideas:

Every time she asks about a delegated assignment…

• Make the connection between the assignment and something she failed to communicate that led to incomplete work

• Make the connection between the assignment and something she said that had a negative impact on her employees’ productivity

• Make the connection between the assignment and something she said that had a negative impact on her employees’ quality of work

• Make the connection between the assignment and something she said that had a negative impact on morale
 
KEY REMINDER:  To improve employee performance, you have to conduct effective performance discussions, give effective performance feedback, reinforce employee performance, and use effective performance phrases to write effective performance appraisals. 
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Barbara Brown, PhD shows managers how to improve employee performance by linking performance to results. She publishes handbooks that contain phrases for discussing performance and for writing appraisals. Dr. Brown also provides training and consulting. Visit www.LinkToResults.net.

So you have an employee whose attire is not inappropriate enough for a “you must go home and change” command.  But it does border on sloppiness or on the fringes of inappropriateness.  What do you do?

You make the connection between the employee’s attire and interactions with customers.  Here’s how:

• Explain how attire impacts customers’ willingness to cooperate with the employee.  Cite examples. 
• Explain how attire impacts customers’ willingness to believe what the employee is saying.  Cite examples.
• Explain how attire impacts the kind of positive feedback customers’ give about the employee.  Cite examples.
• Explain how attire impacts the kind of negative feedback customers’ give about the employee. Cite examples.

KEY REMINDER:  To improve employee performance, you have to conduct effective performance discussions, give effective performance feedback, reinforce employee performance, and use effective performance phrases to write effective performance appraisals. 
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Barbara Brown, PhD shows managers how to improve employee performance by linking performance to results. She publishes handbooks that contain phrases for discussing performance and for writing appraisals. Dr. Brown also provides training and consulting. Visit www.LinkToResults.net.

If you want employees to be better Team Players, try explaining the benefits of teamwork from an Individual Work perspective. For example:

“When you attend team meetings on time, you don’t have to spend extra time trying to learn what happened when you were absent.”

“When you keep other team members informed, they can give you what you need more quickly.”

“When you deliver your information to the team in a timely manner, members are more likely to reciprocate when you need information.”

KEY REMINDER:  To improve employee performance, you have to conduct effective performance discussions, give effective performance feedback, reinforce employee performance, and use effective performance phrases to write effective performance appraisals. 
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Barbara Brown, PhD shows managers how to improve employee performance by linking performance to results. She publishes handbooks that contain phrases for discussing performance and for writing appraisals. Dr. Brown also provides training and consulting. Visit www.LinkToResults.net or email her at Barbara@LinkToResults.net.

Have you ever talked to an employee about doing a better job and the complaint was that “I am just so stressed out”? If so, this is a good opportunity to clearly explain how doing a better job can reduce that employee’s stress. 

Start by thinking about the improvements or changes you want. Then make a connection between stress relief and improved performance. These are four examples:

1. Prioritizing assignments could reduce stress because the employee would not have an overload of “must do” assignments.

2. Returning phone calls in a timely manner could reduce stress because the person called would not become angry with the employee.

3. Getting organized could reduce stress because the employee could find things more quickly.

4. Showing up at meetings on time could reduce stress because the employee would not have to spend extra time being “caught up” on missed information.

KEY REMINDER:  To improve employee performance, you have to conduct effective performance discussions, give effective performance feedback, reinforce employee performance, and use effective performance phrases to write effective performance appraisals.