If you expect your employees to work out their differences on performance issues, they need the skills to manage those discussions.  In other words, they need skills in giving criticism and negative feedback.  Here is one skill:

Ability to explain the impact of what the person did or did not do 

This lets the person know that you are not criticizing just to be critical.  You are criticizing because that person’s behavior affects something in the workplace.
 
Some phrases you might use include, “This approach will cause…” or “The impact on our Team is…”

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.
_____________
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.

Suppose you have an employee who always reacts to what someone else said without really understanding what was said.  That employee might just need to develop some skills in seeking clarification from others. Help your employee by suggesting that he or she use the following approaches to seek clarification before reacting:

Paraphrase what was said:  This involves using your own words to restate what was said.

Restate what was said: This involves repeating exactly what was said.

Summarize what was said: This involves combining two statements that were said and putting them in your own words.

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.
_____________
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.

When employees become lackadaisical about acquiring or maintaining their skills, you need to find ways to encourage them to feel differently.  How?  By letting employees know that you value their skills and that their skills are valuable. Try this from a “saving time” perspective.

• Explain how skills help employees save time doing a weekly task.

• Explain how skills help employees save time doing a daily task.

• Explain how skills help employees save time doing a monthly task.

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.
_____________
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 become better problem solvers, you need to tell them what represents “ideal” problem solving skills for you and your organization.  For instance, suppose you wanted employees to do a better job of assessing the IMPACT of problems and solutions.  Those “ideal” skills you are looking for might include:

• Identifies how problems and solutions IMPACT customers

• Identifies how problems and solutions IMPACT other coworkers

• Investigates how problems and solutions IMPACT other stakeholders in the organization

• Determines the negative IMPACT of ‘not’ solving problems

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.
_____________
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.

When employees do something right, it is important to let them know that you know what they did.  Why?  Because you will want your employees to “repeat” that behavior.  And you have a greater likelihood of getting a repeat performance if you recognize it.

Just remember to make your reinforcement meaningful.  How?  By making sure you explain the IMPACT of the performance.  For example:

Tell the employee what they did right and how it positively affected…

• You
• The team
• An individual coworker
• Goals
• Etc.

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.
_____________
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.

Encouraging employees to be passionate about learning something new requires more than just giving them a list of courses they can take.  You have to also give them a personal reason for taking those courses.  The more reasons you can give, the better.  Consider these areas:

Work:  Will help the employee excel in some task.

Career:  Will help the employee advance on the job.

Interest:  Will fulfill the employee’s desire to learn something new.

Complaint:  Will address the employee’s concerns about lack of learning opportunities.

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.
_____________
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 achieve goals, you have to make “goal achievement” an integral part of everyday conversations.  That does not mean you wait until a goal is achieved to say thanks or talk about the goals you are trying to achieve.  It does mean that you “talk” about goals regularly.  And you can do this without causing employees to roll their eyes and think “here we go again.”  How?  Try these four ideas:

• When employees accomplish a task that is related to a goal, say “thanks” and connect the accomplishment to the larger goal you are trying to achieve.

• When you give employees assignments, explain how that assignment is linked to the larger goal you are trying to achieve.

• When employees make improvements, highlight the connection between the improvement area and the larger goal you are trying to achieve.

• When employees deliver poor performance, explain the impact on the larger goal you are trying to achieve.

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.
_____________
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.

Whether you want employees to improve performance, take on a new assignment, or be a better team member; it’s all about change.  So you can increase your success of getting employees to do what you want if you look at these actions through the lens of change.  How?  Try asking these four questions:

1. What is the benefit to the employee if he or she changes?

2. What is the drawback to the employee if he or she does not change?

3. How might the employee make this change easily?

4. What can I do to help the employee make this change easily?

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.
_____________
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.

When you think about the skills your employees need, allow them to create a “specialized” list of skills they believe would help them do a better job.  To do this, you might:

1. First, create a “generalized” list of skills that fall into a separate area; for example communication.

2. Second, present this list to your employee and explain that these are some general communication skills that are important for effective communication on the job.

3. Third, ask your employee to select from the list any that he or she believes would be useful for doing a good job.

You will then be in a position to move forward with discussions about acquiring new skills, enhancing current skills, and applying needed skills.

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.
_____________
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.

How do you encourage employees who don’t like one another to work together to complete an assignment?  You emphasize the Main Goal of the assignment.  Consider these Main Goals:

• Everyone needs to work together to get a bonus.
• Everyone needs to work together to meet the delivery date.
• Everyone needs to work together to make the corrections.
• Everyone needs to work together to reduce the backlog.

Bottom-line, everyone will suffer if everyone does not work together.

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.
_____________
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.