Improve Employee Performance Idea 94 - June 29, 2009: Connect Change to What Employees Want

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.