Helping Employees Achieve Higher Performance

The following steps will help you and your employees interact in ways that make you work more efficiently and effectively. These steps will help you help your employees feel more motivated on the job and build the connection between their own interests and the interests of the organisation.

• Help your Employees Stretch   Take your employees above and beyond the status quo of just doing the same job every day. Make their work challenging, and help them to see the big picture- and their part in it! Most people want to be better and more capable. But they may resist if they feel that higher expectations are being imposed on them. Make sure your employees know that you’re simply trying to help them stretch and grow.

• Set clear standards   What are the standards of performance for a particular job? Identify them and be specific about the outcomes that characterize outstanding performance and the outcomes that indicate unacceptable performance. Invite discussion on this matter and listen carefully to what the employee has to say. Encourage each employee to establish his or her own parameters for measuring performance based on what he or she considers to be realistic.

• Define the scope of Responsibility for Employees  Make sure everyone understands who is responsible for each job activity. When employees know their roles in a relationship to those of others, this reduces confusion and gives them a better sense of how they might work with their fellow employees to meet their individual objectives.

• Document what you and your employees Agree On   Develop a written list of performance standards for meeting and for exceeding the expectation you’ve agreed upon with your employees. Remember: you want your employees to continue to stretch, yet you must be sure they can attain those goals. Be specific about what its going to take to reach the standards, in each area of job activities.

• Decide on a course of action   Once you’ve set standards, review the specific tasks of each person’s job. Identify and discuss the areas in which each employee is skilled and qualified. Ensure all employees know that once they have started the project and gained more insight into the intricacies, you are willing to revise these expectations as necessary. By doing this, you provide a safe environment so that each employee can be open and honest with you about the successes and struggles along the way. In other words, you're sending out a big message that says, "It's OK to be human!"

•  Observe and Follow Up   Take time to observe how things are going along the way. Don't wait until the end of the project to check in with your employees.  

•  Be Clear about Rewards   Let employees know what to expect if they meet or exceed the standards you've developed. Be clear and upfront about potential rewards. Let employees know what's in it for them. And plan for them to succeed.

Suggestions for Rewards

• Greater Autonomy and Responsibility- tells employees you trust them to make decisions
• A promotion- more responsibility and salary increase
• Visibility within the organisation- Sending a memo publicly recognising them
• Additional Resources- new computer system, an assistant, software, seminars
• Special recognition- certificate of appreciation, gift certificate
• A more flexible work schedule
• Material Rewards- such as trips, dinners, lunches, bonuses 

 

Superannuation Increase From 1st July 2002

 For the 2002/2003 tax year (commencing 1 July 2002) the minimum level of superannuation support you will be required to pay under the Superannuation Guarantee scheme will increase from 8% to 9% of your employee's total base earnings.