Research shows that ‘knowing what’s expected of them’ consistently ranks highly as a motivator in employee surveys. One of the biggest challenges for managers is defining their expectations of behaviours. In this series of articles I’m going to share with you a range of behavioural performance objectives that you can copy, edit, revise, correct and [...]

Research shows that ‘knowing what’s expected of them’ consistently ranks highly as a motivator in employee surveys. One of the biggest challenges for managers is defining their expectations of behaviours. In this series of articles I’m going to share with you a range of behavioural performance objectives that you can copy, edit, revise, correct and [...]

I’m often asked by managers how they can make their performance review or appraisal meetings more of a two-way discussion, how they can encourage their staff to be more fully part of the meeting.
A start point is to give your staff member time and support in preparing for the meeting. How?
Take a look at this [...]

I’ve written in the past about how to write behavioural, or ‘soft’, performance objectives. Of course, it’s also important to be able to write what I call ‘firm’ objectives. Firm because they relate to the tangible elements of the job that can be measured in terms of quantity, quality or time.
Here’s a quick and easy [...]

There comes a time in every manager’s life when they need to tell their staff that the way they are working isn’t, well, working. They may need to explain that they need their staff to be ‘more effective team players’ or ‘more receptive to change’. The challenge is in how to explain to those staff [...]

How often do we stand back and think about the value of applying effective people management practices – especially the value to the business? Take a look at this piece of research:
Proudfoot Consulting’s Productivity Survey for 2007 (PDF, 3.1MB) shows that in the UK 33.3% of the time spent in work is unproductive. Taking into [...]

Research shows that ‘appreciation for a job well done’ consistently ranks highly as a motivator in employee surveys. Yet research also shows that most people don’t feel they get enough praise.
So what’s going on?
Putting aside the fact that it’s likely that some of our survey participants feel they should be praised for turning up every [...]

I’m often asked by clients how to ensure that the learning from training courses results in improved performance in the workplace.
As an example, a client has recently asked me to develop a ‘Leadership Skills’ training programme and to outline a plan for ensuring that the learning from the programme would lead to the delegates improving [...]

Over the last 15 years I have worked with hundreds of managers, including team leaders and supervisors, in organizations of all shapes and sizes. Many of those managers were, by their own admission, reluctant to manage.

I’ve recently been working with Sara, a small business owner, helping her to develop a more focussed and structured approach to managing her staff’s performance.
Here she talks about her experience of working with me, the impact it has had on her staff’s performance and, importantly, the impact it has had on her confidence and wellbeing.
Over [...]