Employee of the Month Tips

Performance Appraisals - Are You Ready?

For many managers employee appraisals are not on the top of their favorite to-do list items. They are an integral part of a complete employee performance program. Without them you have no formal basis for making all types of necessary decisions. Neither does the employee.

William S. Swan, PHD with Leslie E. Wilson, MS provides a ready-to-use solutions in their book Ready-to-Use Performance Appraisals: Downloadable, Customizable Tools for Better, Faster Reviews! The book offers a "collection of handy, ready-to-use performance appraisals to save you time and effort, while increasing the clarity and value of your appraisals".

Employee appraisals may never become a favorite activity, but the ready-to-use approach may move them up on your to-do list.

Mutual Value: Employee - Company Development

A company is, after all, a collection of people whose efforts and effectiveness melt together to create an outcome. Those employees who "work" for the company and those people who "run" the company stand to both do better if they share development training goals with a mutual value for success and profitability.

"When the company shows interest in employee development, the employee naturally has a greater interest in the company’s development too."

The quote from Alexander Gordon's article "Importance of Employee Development", points to the benefit of employee development at all levels from those who work for the company to those who run the company. By mutually enhancing the skills and abilities of everybody involved in the company, optimum success is possible.

The Recognition Thermostat

When a room is too cool or too hot you adjust the temperature using the thermostat. The power of recognition as a means to regulate your company's performance environment can work the same way.

This article by John Morris, Employee Recognition Awards Create Progress, outlines 7 planned recognition awards and 3 unplanned recognition awards you can use to regulate your company's performance environment.

"In difficult situations, when companies are in crisis and can only be saved by major effort, group morale often rises to far higher levels than before. Individual objections and objectives are bypassed in the collective drive to do what must be done. This is where recognition awards take its importance. High group morale can enrich individual motivation and performance remarkably!"

Employee Training for Bottom Line Results

Employees training needs to be effective for everybody's bottom line. Both the employer and the employee have something at stake. According to Alexander Gordon in his article Effective Employee Training:

"Businesses have begun to realize the importance and the benefits of employee training and development. When employees are trained properly and assessed periodically, a business definitely improves."

Today, many employees see their job as something they should personally benefit from in a way they have a take away for their own "bottom line". Training results should be measured, in part, by how much both the employer and employee benefit in increased effectiveness that translates to everybody's bottom line.

Use Words to Motivate Employees

Words have the power to move employees in one of two directions. The right words can served as a powerful motivation tool. Will you choose the right words the next time you face an employee interaction?

In their book Perfect Phrases for Motivating and Rewarding Employees Harriet Diamond and Linda Diamond provide you with the "right words at the right time" so you can move your employees and through them, your business, in a positive direction.

The wrong words, of course, will sent your employee in the wrong direction. That's not motivating to anyone at any time.

Positive Employee Gossip

What should you do if you discover employees are talking about other employees? If the "gossip" is of a postive nature your might want to follow a tip offered by Bob Nelson author of 1001 Ways to Reward Employees.

"When you hear a positive remark about an individual, repeat it to that person as soon as possible. Seek the person out if necessary. If you can't meet, leave an electronic mail or voice mail message."

People love to be talked about and recognized for positive behavior others notice. If you don't say anything you'll miss out on the mutual rewards of positive employee recongition.

The Cost of Mis-Matched Employees

Not every employee is hired based on a job description. Not every job description is filled by an employee whose skills, talents, aptitude and attitude match the job description. The cost to both the employer, employee and everybody impacted by the mis-match is hard to calculate, but it is too high.

Should You Care What Employees Think?

How can you find out what your employees are thinking, and frankly, why should you care?

Well, when turnover increases, productivity decreases, and employees generally seem unhappy, you need to find out why...and fast! And your employees probably have the answers. So how do you find out what they are thinking? Frankly, the easiest way is simply to ask them.

Excerpt from Guest Article by Rick Dacri

1 Degree Employee Recognition

What's the 1 thing an employee does to cause you to recognize them?

This short "movie" points out the significance of 1 degree. Some of these examples may seem dramatic compared to the impact of your employee recognition program on both your business results and the productivity of the employee being recognized, but, isn't it just as important?

To view this short "movie" and decide how important 1 degree is click here.

Feedback is Where Incentives Start

How often do employee incentives start with the employer rather than the employee? One way to create employee incentives that work is to start by talking to your employees.

Many people know what would incentives would make them happiest. If you haven't included employee feedback as a part of your conversation to develop an effective, fun and motivating employee incentive program, you're setting yourself and your company up for a less than optimal results.