Improve Employee Performance Idea 112 – April 21, 2010: Talk Frequently About Goals

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.
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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.