You want improved business results and profits, right? The ability of your employee workforce to exceed goals and expectations will have a major impact on business results and profits. What can you do to ensure that your employees are performing at their best?

The answer lies in the ability of managers to have certain critical conversations with their employees.   Here are several topics managers should be regularly discussing with their employees to achieve maximum performance.

  1. Alignment and Focus.  Employees are often not aware of the top company or even department goals and priorities. Astonishing as it may sound, a Harvard Business Review article states that 95% of employees are not aware of, or don’t understand, the company strategy.  This can cause many problems where employees are not focused on key objectives and may be misdirecting their efforts. Managers can help overcome this challenge by having conversations to explain the mission, vision, values and strategy of the organization as well as the department objectives and metrics used to track progress and results.  This can not only help performance but allow employees to know where improvement is needed.
  2. Change Initiatives.  Change happens constantly in the workplace and change initiatives are not always successful. Managers play a key role in explaining the changes that are coming, why they are being implemented and how these changes affect the employee and their role. Without employees understanding and buying into change the success of important organizational change initiatives could be at risk. 
  3. Career Development Planning.  Every organization wants employees to grow and improve in order to optimize the value and contribution that employees bring to the company. Supporting employees in developing new skills and abilities offers two main benefits – it helps employees advance in their careers by becoming more ready for future opportunities and it also helps the company since employees with broader and stronger skill sets can accomplish more – help solve problems, increase productivity and innovate. While employees must drive their own careers they cannot do this alone.  The manager plays a critical role in helping employees to develop and grow.  This help can be offered by discussing development options and preparing a career development plan
  4. Development support.  Having a career development plan is very important for today’s employees but it’s only the beginning.  Once the plan is in place, the manager’s continuing interest in the employee’s development is vital.   Managers can make introductions and open doors, ask questions that prompt the employee to reflect on next steps and offer encouragement.  Supporting the employee’s development is not done via a single conversation but many.  Relax – we are not adding another big task to your already overcrowded plate!  Supporting development does require continuing attention but the good news is that much of this can be handled through brief progress checks that are embedded in the regular flow of business conversations.  So your managers don’t need to take on “extra” responsibilities, only be attentive to the employee’s development from time to time. 

All of theses conversations and feedback help drive higher employee performance. Do your managers need help with these conversations to help you generate stronger business results and profits?  Contact us about our process to help managers have these essential conversations.  

We look forward to hearing from you.