Introduction

Let's paint a quick picture. Your organization is about to embark on a new company initiative. The initiative is forward-thinking, needle-moving in your industry, and will take cross-functional effort to succeed. 

You already have a diverse team of high-performers, so you're confident in the campaign. But every new initiative comes with unique challenges. So how do you ensure you get the best out of your brightest? Follow these five steps to better employee performance.

The 5 Steps

1. Match skills and interests

We all have our strengths and weaknesses. As a leader in your organization, one of the best investments you can make is understanding your employees and leveraging their strengths. 

Make a concerted effort to match talents with passions. Especially when extra work falls on your employees' plate, try to make the extra work, at the very least, an enriching experience.

2. Be specific

The name of the game is specificity. For new initiatives, make a step-by-step roadmap of deliverables and due dates so your employees know exactly how success looks. 

Then, explain each step to everyone involved, even the work they won't be doing. Even if certain employees are only working on a small portion of this project, providing them with the bigger picture goal will help frame what they're doing and help them understand the why behind their work.

3. Provide tangible feedback

As it's time to hand in the deliverables for review, the best thing you can do to speed up progress is offer tangible feedback to each employee. 

Feedback is crucial to ensure quality is as high as possible for this initiative. Tangible feedback lessens rounds of review, but practical help employees level up their skills, leading to step four.

4. Prioritize upskilling

Attach the goal of the initiative with your employees' opportunity to develop their skills. Top talent invests in themselves anyway, but if they know their employer wants to invest in their growth as well, that's rocket fuel for their motivation -- not to mention satisfaction in their role.

After you see what needs work, you can then create personalized learning and development lessons to level up their skills. Check out Arist and create your first personalized lesson in minutes. Or let us create one for you.

5. Request feedback

No matter your role, tenure, or experience, you should try to grow just like your employees. Requesting feedback lets them know that you're not perfect and also looking to improve your performance (just like them!). 

When requesting feedback, ask things like:

• How do you feel this project went?

• How was my initial direction (did it make sense)?

• How was my feedback? 

• Did I provide tangible takeaways?

• How could I have been better?
  
  

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Ask for real-time feedback. Provide psychological safety for your employee and ensure there will be no negative repercussions for honesty.

Conclusion

Outside of your product or service, your employees are the engine that fuels your business. So make a concerted effort to be systematic with these five steps and watch your employee performance go through the roof.

Schedule a demo to see how Arist can innovate your employee’s performance.