Ten Top Performance Management Tips

  • Talk to Your People Often
    By building a great relationship with your people you will bring trust, honesty and information. This gives you a head start in Performance Management of your people.

  • Build Feedback In
    On the job two-way feedback processes gets rid of the nasty surprises that gives Performance Management such a bad name. By building it in as a natural activity, you take the edge away.

  • Be Honest
    By being frank and honest, which the preparation work in building a great relationship has afforded you, both parties treat each other with respect and see each other as working for everyone's benefit.

  • Notice Great Performance
    When you see good stuff, shout about it! Let people know. Celebrate successes and filter this into formal processes.

  • Have a System
    Performance Management is a process and needs some formality - especially for good personnel practice and record. This need not be complicated, but it needs to be organised and have timescales.

  • Keep it Simple
    But do keep it simple. If you have a relationship with your people that is strong anyway, you already know what they are about. Formal discussions can be friendly and simple, with formality kept to a minimum.

  • Be Very Positive
    Celebrate great performance! Focus on what's going well. It's about successes and building on strengths, not spending ages on their weaknesses - that serves no-one. Go with the positives!

  • Achieve Their Needs
    Remember that we all have needs that we want fulfilling. By working with your people to create outcomes that will do this, you will strengthen your relationships and channel effort in a constructive direction.

  • Tackle Discipline
    Whilst it often happens, Performance Management is not about managing indiscipline. That has to be managed in a different way. By setting clear standards in your business that everyone understands and signs up to, discipline becomes much, much easier.

  • Learn from Mistakes
    As part of regular on-the-job and informal review, mistakes will come to light; things will go wrong. By using the 'What went well? And 'What could you do differently?' format, the unsatisfactory performance becomes controllable and a positive step.

    Try these ten out, maybe not all together, but one at a time. Have fun! There are other benefits apart from just improving the performance of your people - can you spot them?

    Copyright 2005 Martin Haworth is a Business and Management Coach. He works worldwide, mainly by phone, with small business owners, managers and corporate leaders. He has hundreds of hints, tips and ideas at his website, http://www.coaching-businesses-to-success.com. (Note to editors. Feel free to use this article, wherever you think it might be of value - it would be good if you could include a live link)

    ...helping you, to help your people, to help your business grow...

    In The News:

    • pen paper and inkwell


    cat break through


    10 Great E-Commerce Businesses You Can Start Now

    If you've been thinking of starting a business on the... Read More

    10 Things To Do Before You Start Your Business

    If you are thinking of starting a new business, or... Read More

    The 7 Keys to Business Success

    Do you run a business that seems to run you?... Read More

    The 10 Biggest Mistakes People Make Managing Organisational Performance

    mistake #1: rely just on financial statementsProfit and loss, revenue... Read More

    Top Ten Reasons to Write a Sales Letter for Each Product? - Part 2

    Authors/publishers are great at getting their books written. Entrepreneurs know... Read More

    Seven Keys to Get Out of a Rut

    Rut -- a routine procedure, situation, or way... Read More

    Why Dont They Just Get It Done: 7 Performance Tactics for CEOs

    Buckling under the weight of chronic corporate restructuring, and frustrated... Read More

    5 Things You Must Do Well When Buying a Business to Not Get Burned

    Are you not sure what Business to buy? Need to... Read More

    7 Money Saving Tips to Decrease Home Business Expenses

    We all know that running a home business is highly... Read More

    Ten Ways to Strengthen Your Reading Habit

    Most people wish they read more. It is an activity... Read More

    Top Ten Listening Skills for Speakers

    Good Speakers need good listening skills to become Great CommunicatorsSpeakers... Read More

    Ten Tips for Working at Home

    1. Maintain regular working hours and stick to them.2. Get... Read More

    7 Strategies for Handling Last Minute Meetings

    Have you ever found yourself having to scramble to organize... Read More

    How to Counsel Your Non-Performing Team Members - 10 Tips

    Counselling non-performing team members is a tough part of any... Read More

    Top 10 Ways Websites Makes Me Suffer

    I believe some people create and publish websites for the... Read More

    Top Ten Tips: Where to Get the Best Business Books Now!

    There are many places you can get books, and I... Read More

    Shaking Your Money Tree: Seven Ways to Make Quick Cash

    Does your business have a money tree you can shake... Read More

    Yummy Yummy: Top 7 Business Lessons from the Wiggles

    At Macquarie University in the early '90s, three Australian early... Read More

    How To Use The Power Of Focus To Build Massive Momentum In Your Business

    Getting focused on what you want to achieve and creating... Read More

    10 Nifty Tips for Better Business Cards

    Not having a business card is as bad as using... Read More

    Ten Reasons to Implement Choice Theory in Your Organization

    What is Choice Theory (CT)? CT is a theory of... Read More

    Top Ten Tips for Improving Your Cash Flow

    Cash is king-so they say. If you work for yourself... Read More

    #1 Key To Select Right Business Partner

    Having business partner or planning to start a business with... Read More

    The Top 10 Reasons Your Staff Wants to Quit

    From an employee's perspective, management often conducts itself in ways... Read More

    Top Seven Questions for Starting Projects More Effectively

    We all are project managers. Some of us manage projects... Read More

    After Hurricane Katrina - Seven Things You Can Do

    If you are like me, you are living some distance... Read More

    Top 10 Items For A 21st Century Toolbox!

    Skilled workers of every age have prized their tools. I... Read More

    Positioning Your Company for Debt Financing

    Positioning Your Company for Debt Financing:There was a time in... Read More

    1 Step Program to Achieve All of Your Goals

    In Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen's original "Chicken Soup... Read More

    The Top 7 Marketing Tips You Dont Want To Overlook

    1. Combine Emotion and LogicConsumers buy because the want to... Read More

    Ten Tips on Delegating Work

    One way to manage your time more effectively is to... Read More

    7 Tips for Home Business Start-up Success

    1) Prepare a realistic business plan.Think of this as your... Read More

    Ten Tips For Staying Connected While Working Alone

    Ten Tips for Staying ConnectedMany of my business clients tell... Read More