The most common reason that employees leave their jobs is their manager. A very simple test for self-evaluation as a manager is to listen to yourself when you talk. How many times do you say I or me? How many times do you say we? The best managers are ‘we people’ not ‘me people’. The best managers are able to get the most out of their employees.
- Reward Positive Behavior – Employees repeat behavior that’s rewarded. Often managers don’t think to acknowledge positive behavior exhibited by employees. Doing so will result in the same positive results going forward.
- Praise in Public – Recognizing employee performance in front of others achieves positive results. Not only is the employee being recognized going to repeat the actions that were recognized but other employees will see that these are the right ways to perform.
- Offer Criticism in Private. A good manager praises in public and criticizes in private. No person likes to be called out in front of an audience. In order to get positive results from criticism they should be delivered in a forum that is not embarrassing.
- Review Goals Regularly – A good practice is to set and review goals with employees regularly. Only conducting reviews annually will result in minimal results. Discussing and setting goals with employees more frequently will be much more effective and will achieve better results
- Be Specific in Criticisms – Observations on performance should focus on specifics. They should not be general. Without clear information an employee cannot make constructive use of the criticism.
- Praise the Team – A good manager takes most of the blame and little of the credit. This is a simple rule for recognizing employee contributions. If a manager takes credit for team accomplishments employees will feel as if their efforts aren’t recognized.
