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.  

If you want your employees to achieve your objectives, try explaining how achieving your objectives will allow employees to achieve their objectives.  How?  Use these juxtaposing questions as a guide to create your own list:

1. What interests my employees when it comes to working with people?  Can I link the achievement of our organizational objectives to these interests?

2. What interests my employees when it comes to “not” working with people? Can I link the achievement of our organizational objectives to these interests?

3. What interests my employees when it comes to doing different types of tasks? Can I link the achievement of our organizational objectives to these interests?

4. What interests my employees when it comes to doing “the same” types of tasks? Can I link the achievement of our organizational objectives to these interests?

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 tried to improve employee performance by linking positive performance to your organization’s Vision? If not, do it! Why? Because sometimes the way to get employees to do a good job for you is to make the performance more about the organization and less about you (or less about the employee). The Vision Approach allows you to do that. Consider these steps:

STEP 1:

Share your organization’s Vision Statement with employees. If you don’t have one, create a list of 5 things your organization is trying to achieve in the next 1 to 3 years. Use this as your Vision Statement.

STEP 2:

• When discussing goals, link them to something in the Vision Statement.
• When discussing problems, link them to something in the Vision Statement.
• When discussing achievements, link them to something in the Vision Statement.
• When discussion ANYTHING about work, link them to something in the Vision Statement.

EXAMPLE:

“By achieving this goal, we will reduce the amount of time required to resolve customer complaints. We will also help achieve our Vision of becoming a Customer-Friendly organization.”

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. 

If you want your employees to think more about how their work impacts others, provide some examples they can relate to.  For example:

1. Explain how performance or non-performance impacts the administrative staff.

2. Explain how performance or non-performance impacts you as a manager.

3. Explain how performance or non-performance impacts the person who sits next to them.

4. Explain how performance or non-performance impacts the technician in another office.

5. Explain how performance or non-performance impacts the training department.

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. 

So you want your employees to be more creative. But how do guide them in that direction? By offering specific behaviors that represent creativity; then linking those behaviors to everyday tasks. For example:

1. Seeks alternative approaches WHEN completing assignments.

2. Challenges conventional practices WHEN starting assignments.

3. Offers new perspectives WHEN faced with difficult problems.

4. Provides fresh ideas WHEN projects change.

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. 

Is getting promoted on your list of goals this year? If so, you will want to highlight your value by focusing on the BIG PICTURE. And what better way to do that than by linking what you do (or achieve) to what your organization does (or achieves). Here how:

1. When you talk about a task YOU completed, explain how that task contributes to success for the organization.

2. When you talk about a task YOUR SUBORDINATES completed, explain how that task contributes to success for the organization.

3. When you discuss pending workloads with SUPERIORS, link those workloads to mission, vision, and values of the organization.

4. When you discuss future goals with SUPERIORS, link office/unit/team goals to organizational goals.

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. 

It’s the beginning of the year; a time for setting new work-related goals. But how do you get your employees to accept, or better yet, embrace those goals? 

You explain how achieving those goals can positively impact employees. This involves answering the “what’s in it for me” question. Don’t just assume that employees will do their best to achieve your goals. Give them a reason to want to do their best. Use these 2 questions to develop your list of reasons:

• Will achieving these goals help employees achieve personal goals? If so, which ones?
• Will achieving these goals help employees achieve professional goals? If so, which ones?

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. 

Sometimes the most effective way of dealing with a negative employee is to explain the “negative impact” of their negativity. How? Try these four ways:

1. Explain how negative comments lessen the employee’s opportunities for career advancement.

2. Explain how negative comments decrease other coworkers’ willingness to work with the employee.

3. Explain how negative comments cause the employee to miss deadlines because of time spent “complaining” about work rather than “doing” work.

4. Explain how negative comments cause the employee to make mistakes because more attention is focused on what’s wrong rather than what’s right.

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.