Good Job. Bad Job.

One of the simplest things a supervisor can do to keep the team activated is recognize good work.  “Good Job” goes a long way, especially when recognition is public and employee to employee recognition is encouraged.  Recognition creates satisfaction in employees, motivating them to continue their “Good Job” streak, resulting in high-quality productivity. 

The toughest thing a supervisor must do to keep the team activated is recognize bad work.  Bad work, although commonly ignored by supervisors, is always recognized by the team.  Employees won’t stop for employee to employee “bad work” recognition but they will stop working to gossip about the poor performance and the fact that the supervisor has not addressed the problem.  Employees will then forget their motivation to continue their “Good Job” streak causing the quality in production to drop. 

 Last year Towers Watson conducted a Global Workforce Study that revealed 61% of employees questioned how well their managers dealt with poor performers.  An issue that even our federal workforce is weighed down by, Patricia Niehaus, national president of the Federal Managers Association, put it in perspective for me when she took the blame from the managers and laid it on the lack of training on tools available to deal with poor performers.  "It's not that managers are timid or willfully ignoring their responsibilities," Niehaus said in a statement to Government Executive, “but managers must know these avenues exist to utilize them." 

Wow! 

Have you ever been trained on how to handle poor performance or have you been shown the tools and resources your company offers to do so?  If your answer is yes: Where do you work?!  I’ve had to deal on my own and through trial and error; here are 3 steps that work for me:

1. Appraise:  Find value in the Job poorly done (at least two strengths).  Identify the cause and effect of the poor work performance.
2. Share:  Communicate with the poor performer.  Ask him/her to evaluate the work before sharing your evaluation.  It’s important not to make the employee feel like he/she is in the hot seat.  Remember, this is an opportunity to transform an employee into a better producer and not the time to make someone feel as though they've done something wrong.  You can use the following type of statements do so:

The invitation:

I’d like to get your opinion on something

Vs. 

I need to talk to you about your poor work performance

Meeting Opener:

I just want you to know that your ability to [insert strength 1] and [insert strength 2] does not go unnoticed.  I was hoping you might have some ideas to improve our department…”

Vs.

You’re doing a bad job.

Listen:

How can the improvements the employee mentions positively affect the poor work performance. 

Repeat: 

So what you’re saying is…

Vs. 

I know.

Evaluate Performance:  

I’ve noticed that some seem to be struggling with…

In fact, how would you rate your work on the subject?

Agreed.  I have also noticed…(include evaluation points not yet mentioned)

Do you think that your suggestions may help improve this struggle? 

What else can we do to make you better at it? 

Cause and Effect:

Did you know that you are such an important player to this company that when your performance drops, it actually costs the company…

The fact that you were able to provide solutions for our weakness will have a positive impact on the entire company. 

Recognize:

 Thank you for being such a valuable employee. 

     3.  Remark: After you share make sure you send out a thank you note that documents the need for improvement.  Email is better for documentation but if your employees do not have email, write a thank you card and make a copy for the file:

Thanks for taking the time to share your suggestions.  As I said yesterday I really appreciate your ability to [insert strength 1] and [insert strength 2].  I look forward to seeing the improvements we talked about specifically in your performance regarding X.  Let’s reconnect next week to talk about your progress.

This may seem like a whole lot but once you get in the habit of coaching your employees to be better at what they do, you’ll get it down to a 5 or 10 minute talk.  

4 Steps to Boosting Production On A 4 Day Work Week:

1.    5 Minute Huddle: 
Gather together to voice job expectations. 
Example, the expectation may be to produce as much as you do in a 5 day work week.
Ask your team how you could meet the expectations as a team and guide them to setting their own goals. 
Example, try asking “how can we do this?” and turn their feedback into goals. 
Let them know what victory looks like and ask them to set a consequence.
Example: If we succeed, then (you fill in blank); if we fail, then ( they fill in blank)

2.    Keep Score: 
Verbally recognize the value of the team’s performance by measuring production and visually allowing them to see if they are falling behind, on tract or exceeding expectations.  Try giving them an update at least 3 times a day (at the start, middle and end of the day).
Example: Wow, way to push through team, we’ve already accomplished (fill in the blank), only (fill in the blank) till we get (list reward). 

3.    Blow the Whistle:
Remind your team not to cut corners or ignore safety rules and regulations just because speed is increased.  If you see someone compromising their safety or the safety of others, speak up and remind the team that the unsafe practice will only slow the team down.  Give examples of injuries that have occurred and get them to commit to creating a safe and comfortable working environment for themselves and their team.  Remind them to take breaks and lunch when needed to avoid monotony and low energy levels. 

4.    Deliver the Trophy:
Congratulate your team and stick to your commitments by delivering what you promised if the goals are met and do so in a timely manner (the sooner the better).  If the reward is handed out instantly, employees will have an incentive to meeting goals the next time you have a short work week.  If the reward is given out late, employees will lose interested and overlook the fact that the reward was part of the plan. 

If the employees fail to meet the goal, stick to the consequence and hold the team accountable.  You could always set new goals and a new deadline and aim for the prize all over again. 

Go!

Way to go!

In our personal lives, we congratulate others to express joy in the success or good fortune of one another.  In business we should do the same for our colleagues and employees, especially after they have completed a project or task that we have delegated out to them; even more so when their hard work results in our success.  Congratulating your employees for a job well done will make your employees feel good about the work they did for you and hungry for more recognition resulting in satisfied and motivated employees.  What does this mean to you?  Production!  Every time you congratulate someone on a job well done, you are doing your job and driving production.  Here are a few Successful SUPERvisors techniques to recognize employees:

Personally:  Take the time for some face to face recognition by offering a hand shake, verbally recognize growth, congratulate on successes and thank employees for their hard work.  If you don’t have the time for a one on one, do it as you pass each other in the hall or next time you meet at the water cooler. 

Publically:  Let everyone in on your appreciation; in an environment where you are visible to the team, offer a high five, say good job, cheer your employee on, get loud – this stuff only takes seconds of your time.

Technically:  Email a thank you note (option to include upper management), leave a voicemail, hang a flyer, blurb about it in the company newsletter, post it on the company website, post a recommendation on linked-in…

Take Action:    Congratulate
Keep On: 

Follow Up
Delegate
Supercharge Employees
Interval Train
Encourage employees to start at the finish line
Setting the Pace.  Establish a speed and standard for production
Talking:  Communicate at all times; your job is to remind your team what they are working towards
Looking back at what you’ve done; evaluate your progress.
Being Proactive rather than reactive
Communicating the vision, state direction, involve and challenge the team to go for it!   
Acting out and aligning your values with your company values and those of your employees.   Walk the talk.
Delivering the VIP Treatment
Being the Expert Extraordinaire
Giving and continue to establish a good reputation
Copycatting the Successful SUPERvisors of your past
Telling yourself that you’re a Super SUPERvisor!
Believing; remember, you’ve made the conscious decision to lead.  

Too Much To Do & Not Enough Time To Get It Done; When to Delegate

Do you often find yourself with little time to supervise employees and production due to a long list of tasks that need to be completed “yesterday”?  If so, you’re not alone; one of the most common aches & pains supervisors share is having “too much to do and not enough time in the work day to get it done”.  So, what do you do, leave before the work gets done or stay late and get it done?  Neither.  A successful supervisor looks at what needs to be done, delegates the list of tasks and supervises the work to ensure it gets done.  In fact a common trait Successful Supervisors share is knowing what and when to delegate and what and when to do it themselves.  Most determine their work load by asking themselves the following questions:

1.     Is this an acceptable task to delegate (one that is not mandatory I complete on my own)

2.     Who (besides me) on my team can get the job done?

3.     Am I committed to supporting and supervising the team member I assign to the task?

Answering yes to these three questions before making the decision to delegate is crucial!  You must acknowledge that the task does not have to be completed by you, recognize someone on your team with the skills and capabilities of completing the task and commit to taking full responsibility of the team member’s work through your support and supervision commitment.  Remember, delegating a task does not take your responsibility away from it. 

Answering no to the questions listed above means that assigning the task would violate policy and/or jeopardize your position within the company, there is absolutely no other member on your team with the skills and capabilities needed to complete the task and that you are not committed to fulfilling your job as a supervisor by overseeing and supporting your team member to complete the assignment. 

You’ll find that the more you delegate the more fulfilled your employees become, especially when you begin to task them with more important projects.  As the tasks you delegate are accomplished, you’ll begin to trust your employees more and allow them to grow as they take full ownership of their delegated responsibilities.  Delegating is a win, win situation for all!

Take Action:    Delegate

Keep On: 

Supercharge Employees

Interval Train

 Encourage employees to start at the finish line
Setting the Pace.  Establish a speed and standard for production

Talking:  Communicate at all times; your job is to remind your team what they are working towards

Looking back at what you’ve done; evaluate your progress.

Being Proactive rather than reactive

Communicating the vision, state direction, involve and challenge the team to go for it!   

Acting out and aligning your values with your company values and those of your employees.   Walk the talk.

Delivering the VIP Treatment

Being the Expert Extraordinaire

Giving and continue to establish a good reputation

Copycatting the Successful SUPERvisors of your past

Telling yourself that you’re a Super SUPERvisor!
Believing; remember, you’ve made the conscious decision to lead.