Productivity / Performance

Take every opportunity to deliver positive feedback

09/27/2023

For some employees, hearing words of praise is better than a cash bonus—and such praise is a key reason people want to stay in their jobs. Yet many managers can muster up such phrases only during annual reviews … if at all. Here are 10 key ideas managers should consider when offering positive feedback to employees.

Post-pandemic, get new hires up to speed fast

09/22/2023

A July poll conducted by Intelligent.com revealed that employers believe newly minted high school and college graduates aren’t as academically and socially skilled as they were just five years ago. Plus, they said recent grads are more likely to have unreasonable salary and benefit expectations. If you’re struggling to assimilate young employees into your workforce, here’s how to bring those new hires up to speed.

Use performance logs to simplify employee reviews

09/15/2023

It happens to every manager: You sit down to prepare a staff member’s review and realize you can remember only what the person has done the past few weeks. Or you allow only a single incident (good or bad) to color your assessment. If you’re relying solely on your memory to evaluate employee performance, you’re […]

Survey: Returning to the office improves productivity

07/31/2023

Employees may grumble when their bosses order them to scrap remote work and come into the office, but they acknowledge the post-pandemic transition has its upsides.

Teach these 5 business etiquette musts to your team

07/28/2023

Forty-five percent of participants in a recent ResumeBuilder.com survey of more than 1,500 business leaders said their company currently offers etiquette training. An additional 20 percent said their company plans to offer etiquette training in the future. What topics might be beneficial to cover? Here are a few to consider.

Monitoring: Beware fixating on productivity

07/26/2023

Are supervisors asking to install tracking software on their remote employees’ computers and devices? They may be suffering from what Microsoft has termed “productivity paranoia.”

Do they just have the ‘blahs’ or is staff burned out?

07/25/2023

Today’s workers feel the strain of maintaining high performance in an environment that makes success decidedly more difficult. It’s important for managers to be able to identify and deal with burnout—the loss of interest and motivation that can result from workplace pressures.

A user manual for every employee? Imagine the insights they would give managers

07/21/2023

When people buy an automobile or an appliance for their house, they typically receive a user manual. Owners can turn to this document to understand the product’s capabilities, learn about care best practices and receive advice on how to troubleshoot a suspected problem. Wouldn’t it be great if employees came with such a guide? The good news is that they can.

The key to running more effective meetings

07/07/2023

While meetings are necessary for virtually every organization, they’re often a source of frustration for employees. That’s especially true if the meetings they attend are delayed, unproductive or could have been covered in an email.

How to keep new employees productive & engaged

06/28/2023

When employees quit shortly after being hired, the departure is a gut punch to productivity and adds unnecessary costs. Plus, it can send unsettling shock waves to employees. Managers set the foundation for good employee relationships during the hiring process and in those first weeks on the job. Here are tips to keep newbies onboard, productive and engaged.