People quit their jobs for a variety of reasons, and your first instinct as an HR leader might be to address how to improve work performance and retention. Some of the reasons employees quit are beyond your control, like relocating for a spouse’s job. However, the number one reason employees leave their jobs is because they are unhappy with management. So, as a manager, how can you improve work performance without sacrificing employees?
Fortunately, this is an issue employers can address. From lack of transparency between leadership and employees to micromanaging, there are many ways to create a rift between management at work. We’ve identified two factors critical to improving work performance, and — you guessed it — they’re both directly related to management. Here’s what you can do to improve work performance.
1. Encourage respect between employees at all levels.
Harvard Business Review surveyed over 19,000 people and found that 54% of respondents did not feel like they were regularly respected by leadership. The survey also found that lack of respect had major consequences on employee health, wellbeing, job performance, and retention. In other words, companies that do not encourage respect for employees at all levels suffer in many areas from profits to productivity.
Strengthening employees’ respect for team members helps open lines of communication and improve work performance and productivity. According to Forbes, approximately 60-70% of the workforce isn’t working as hard as they could be as a direct result of an unhappy relationship with management.
Implementing a recognition program that provides an easy way for managers to recognize their employees helps build respect, no matter where employees rank in the company. If employees are recognized by management regularly for their hard work, their relationships improve drastically, which could mean big improvements on work performance
2. Establish open communication between management and employees.
When employees feel like they can trust senior management to make the right decisions and keep them informed, employees are more likely to have better focus, better retention, and — most importantly — better communication.
Management can encourage open communication by hosting weekly check-ins with their employees to gauge how they’re feeling at work, what roadblocks they are facing, and what can be done to best support their goals. This highly increases job satisfaction and gives employees the opportunity to provide honest feedback about the workplace, request any urgent changes, and feel like they have a say in what goes on in their environment day-to-day. When employees feel like management is aware of the work they’re doing, they are more likely to raise concerns, stay invested in the company, and stay at their jobs.
Another tip: review your manager-to-peer recognition activities regularly to see how often management recognizes your workforce. If you notice a lack of recognition, encourage management to be more attentive to their employees’ needs and accomplishments.
By treating your employees with respect and encouraging open communication, your company can create a culture where work performance is a main priority. Learning how to improve work performance is easy with these tips.
