Goal: Manage Your Human Assets Wisely
Make the Most of Your Human Assets
In today’s highly competitive world, employee performance matters a great deal. As a result, your employees are either your company’s most powerful asset or its greatest liability.
How do you ensure that your employees are the former, not the latter? By focusing on their performance, individually and as a whole. In other words, by creating performance standards, conducting evaluations, rewarding people who measure up, and
releasing those who do not.
For most small business owners, these activities don’t come easily, yet they are critical to ongoing success. If you’re not already doing them, it’s time to get started.
The Importance of Job Descriptions
Does each of your employees have a written job description? This is important not only for current employees, but future hires and promotions. After all, you can’t hire someone to fill a position until you define what that position is. Many small business owners tend to focus on the larger picture, and that’s a good thing. In this case,
however, detail is necessary. A good job description addresses all of the following:
A detailed summary of the employee’s specific tasks and identification of the most important tasks to be accomplished The expected results, quantified as much as possible.
Identification of each employees’ strengths and the method by which they communicate and learn The amount of authority and responsibility the position entails The employee’s manager—i.e., the reporting structure If the position entails multiple activities—as most do—prioritize them. That way you can use the job description, not only to measure performance, but as a checklist for evaluating candidates for an open position. You can’t realistically expect one candidate to rate A+ in every area. By prioritizing activities, you can identify which candidate has the key skills you require.
Evaluating Performance
Most PRO members do not look forward to conducting annual performance evaluations. Nevertheless, nearly all are scrupulous in doing so—it’s to everyone’s benefit, employer and employees.
Most people want to do a good job. It’s management’s job to define what that good job is—and to let your employees know if they’re on track. If you’re not willing to, your employees can’t deliver an optimum performance.
Think evaluations are only important in big companies? Wrong! It’s especially important in small ones, because employees tend to have varied responsibilities. They need to know which ones to treat as priorities. It is also a discussion of what the employee needs to do the job expected and how that need will be satisfied.
Companies use a range of evaluation formats. Regardless of what evaluation format you use, the objective isn’t to criticize, but to praise, while discovering constructive ways to improve performance. The idea is not only to identify an employee’s weak
areas, but to develop a course of remediation.
The important thing is to make performance evaluations a regular and expected event. After all, you want to continually improve performance.
Wowing Your Employees
The best way to keep your employees happy and productive is not just to reward them, but to wow them. That’s how they know they are valued. That’s how they stay engaged.
But there is no single, magical ingredient for wowing employees. Rather, it is a combination of ingredients. According to PRO members, these include:
Offering appropriate incentives
Treating employees fairly (this includes communicating
expectations)
Providing recognition
Asking for input
Creating a pleasant, comfortable work environment
Hiring people who share your values and goals
You can also add an element of fun, so people look forward to coming to work. Forming a golf or softball league, treating your staff to ice cream socials, and even posting a joke of the day are all ways to add fun and build camaraderie.
You don’t have to spend a fortune to wow your employees. Just get the right components in place, and add some imagination.
You can go further with this information by contacting Ray to help you go deeper into this subject of Making the Most of Your Human Assets. He’s always happy to help Small Business Owners, Presidents, and C-Level Executives strengthen their businesses and take them to the next level.
Set up a zoom meeting with Ray:
https://calendly.com/ray-124/
Or call: 312 593-5133
