By Laurie Dillman

Do your employees know where they stand?  Is there a great deal of competition between employees in your organization?  Can you trust the intentions of the people you work with?  Have you witnessed back-stabbing amongst your employees?  Do employees know when they are getting a raise?  Do your employees participate in self-development opportunities?  Are your customers talking about your business non-stop?  Do you have regular staff meetings with employees to address their ideas and concerns?

Regardless of how you answer the questions above, they all drive home the importance of performance management as it relates to business goals, success and employee retention.

There is really no secret to success in performance management. As long as you are honestly letting your employees know how you feel about the job they are doing—along with tips that can help them do a better job—you will always be met with a willingness to improve performance.  Sometimes all it takes is to put yourself in their shoes for a few moments to understand what they might be thinking while you are distributing the feedback to ensure a positive response.  I make a point of talking with a few strangers everyday about their feelings towards their boss and their job, and this is the statement which I hear the most:” My boss has no idea what I do for our organization!”

Are you this boss?

It does not count if you actually do know what that employee is doing for the organization, but do not take the time to appreciate them on a regular basis.   There are so many ways that you can improve customer service, employee retention, and sales, if you are willing to truly lead the people who have chosen your organization as a home away from home.

A 2012 study by the Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM) regarding employee engagement uncovered some very interesting facts:

• 83 per cent of employees reported that they are determined to accomplish their work goals and confident they can meet their goals;
• 79 per cent of employees reported satisfaction with their relationship with their co-workers;
• 75 per cent of employees were satisfied with opportunities to use their skills and abilities at work;
• 72 per cent of employees were satisfied with how their work contributed to their organization’s business goals; and
• 71 per cent of employees reported that they frequently felt that they were putting all their effort into their work and that they were satisfied with their relationship with their immediate supervisor.

Good employees care about their performance; however, they also care about fairness, trust, and respect.  If you do not believe this you will not be in business for long.  Every moment of every work day your employees are in alert mode; especially, when they are not receiving regular feedback about their overall performance.

Employees cannot feel certain about their performance unless you tell them how they are doing—good or bad.  Withholding feedback causes employees to lack confidence in their organizational role which, in turn, leads to employee dissatisfaction. The simple answer is to create a performance management system which fosters fairness, trust, and respect amongst all of your employees.

From my experience the key to retaining top talent is appreciation.  People who are appreciated tend to be happier, more willing individuals, with positive attitudes.  They are willing to serve others because they know that it helps them to get what they need.

Twenty-five years ago a very successful man told a conference room full of people (myself included) that the secret to success lies in helping enough other people get what they want.  I believe that advice is still very relevant today especially when it comes to business. If you help your employees get what they want, you will get what you want; however, how do you know what they want unless you ask them?  If we agree with the findings of the SHRM study then we would agree that people want to do things the best way possible, so help them to do this by giving them the essential feedback.

In the HR world, this is known as performance management that works.

Laurie Dillman is a value driven HR generalist who is passionate about life.  Currently she is a Human Resources freelancer living in the City of Prince George, BC.  She would enjoy hearing your comments and ideas about performance feedback.  You can find her on LinkedIn or at dillman@telus.net.