Do you want your employees to always put in their best efforts at work? This article offers ideas you can use to “subtly” make them do that. Your company’s success depends on applying them correctly.

Hint: You Need to Establish a Workplace Performance Improvement Philosophy

Now the above is just a phrase, but a lot goes into doing it. Yet, if you do it right, your employees will surprise you by willingly – and enthusiastically – doing their jobs daily. Indeed, some will readily take up more work (!) as the need to do so becomes obvious. And they would do so without being asked.

I say this from years of successfully getting people (in and out of paid employment) to unconsciously do what I want,using the ideas discussed below!

What follows are ten (10) steps you can take to achieve similar results in your company.

NB: The original article on which this new version is based, was published on this static html page on 18th September 2007.

1. Promote Creativity: 

Setup a workplace atmosphere that stimulate creativity. One way is to actively engage employees’s minds by involving them in crucial decision making about issues concerning the way they do their jobs.

Additionally, requesting their contributions towards solving problems affecting their jobs – and recognizing/rewarding them accordingly – would stimulate creativity.

Invite them to make and/or send in ideas/suggestions. Be receptive to them as they do so. Apply tact in rejecting “bad ideas” to avoid withdrawal.

2. Discourage “Blame”:

Tell them what you want without hurting their feelings. Make sure to discourage blame. Encourage everyone to focus on problem analysis/solving for improved productivity. For instance challenge them to ask WHAT went wrong and WHY – and not “WHO DID IT?”

Those who make mistakes will consequently not fear admitting it. As a result, those mistakes will rarely be repeated – at least not by the same person!

What’s more where people readily own up when they get things wrong, problem solving progresses faster, and often ends successfully.

3. Entrench Informal On-The-Job Coaching:

What is your mental attitude about each employee’s ability? Do you believe they can be coached to improve? Or have you given up on them as “hopeless”?

I suggest you adopt the former attitude because NO one human being can come to you as a perfect employee.

You must guide those who work with you to work better in a manner that benefits the company. Provide (and encourage) spontaneous job-based coaching to complement whatever formal training they are exposed to.

Latch on to any opportunity to carryout informal coaching of your subordinates and other employees. Do this with regard to helping them understand how management utilizes the information they document, and why it is so important for documentation to be accurate and complete.

4. Employ Multi-dimensional Peer Pressure To Enhance Best Practices: 

You could tactfully/subtly use peer pressure to inspire positive attitudinal changes amongst the workforce.

For instance, it is normal in most workplaces, to have “star” workers and average workers. Find a way to make the “star” worker share (or “infect” others with) his/her expertise, knowledge and positive work ethics.

With proper encouragement, you will find that such individuals readily develop the instinct to help others perform better on the job.

The other average workers are likely to already “recognize/respect” the “star” worker. They would consequently appreciate his/her efforts to help them. Properly done, this strategy can greatly reduce the amount of direct effort you and other “leaders” expend to get improved on-the-job performances.

5. Insist That Everyone See The Big Picture: 

Demand that employees always remember to view their jobs from a broader perspective and not narrow into their micro activities.

Task each individual in a specific unit for instance to study what goes on in their units – even though s/he does not have to work there (yet). They should make it their business to know/understand what the next man’s job involves.

This is important because many times they have to interface with the person on the other side of the fence in doing their own jobs. If they understand what his/her job entails they will more readily appreciate how their actions (or inactions) can affect the person.

Getting them to do this will break down the mental barriers that many people build, because they work in physically separate divisions or sections. Communication will happens more effectively, making workplace activities proceed more successfully…to the company’s benefit.

The second and concluding part of this post (which discusses the 5 remaining steps you can take), will appear on this blog tomorrow.