3 Ways A Communication Tool Can Boost Employee Performance
Open, honest communication is the key to a healthy relationship. No, you weren’t accidentally misdirected to Online Dating Insider, I am talking about employee-manager relationships.
For employees, communication with senior management and relationships with direct supervisors is a must. And for employers, having detailed information about their business from front-line employees can mean the difference between success and failure.“One thing almost every CEO told us is they’d like to have better visibility into what’s going on with their employees, because management often feels removed from the daily goings-on in their own companies,” said Michelle Berg, president and CEO of Elevated HR.
Berg discusses 3 ways in which using 15Five can boost employee performance and ultimately maintain a healthy business:
1) Stay in touch with remote teams
Remote work is slowly becoming the standard, especially among tech startups. In fact, I am personally writing this post from the comfort of my own home. But without an efficient and effective way of communicating, things can rapidly go downhill.
Elevated’s small team wasn’t always the best at communicating and Berg didn’t always know what was going on with her employees. With 15Five, they found a “fast, easy, and effective way to engage with each other on a regular basis.”
And when Elevated’s clients asked for a way to better communicate with their employees, Berg wholeheartedly began recommending the tool. Now, many of her clients ask their teams questions every week.
One such client, a hotel management firm, has an operations manager who needs to communicate with general managers scattered at hotels in different locations. When a problem arises at a property, the operations manager discovers it immediately and uses the comments feature within the application to help managers find solutions.
2) Boost productivity and employee morale
A satisfied employee needs to knows that they are doing well. Managers can capitalize on opportunities to boost productivity and morale by acknowledging employee triumphs.
“Managers can see when an employee does a good job on something, so they can reach out with a ‘like’, a thank you email, or a special lunch to reward the person for her hard work,” said Berg.
As part of its HR services, Elevated also offers support and coaching to managers. They have created a list of 150 potential questions that managers can post, so they can keep the feedback process fresh each week:
– What should you be recognized for outside your regular duties this week?
– What further support do you need to get your job done?
– Do you feel overworked, and if so, how?
– What steps can you take to make your workload more manageable, and how can I help as a manager?
3) Streamline performance reviews.
Both employees and managers hate annual reviews. They rarely reflect an employee’s performance over an entire twelve-month period, with the most recent work standing out. People who step it up in the final weeks of the year can receive rewards and accolades that they did not really earn, and top performers who had a few rough weeks can be overlooked for recognition or advancement.
Instead of relying solely on the annual performance review, many companies are choosing team feedback platforms that foster open communication between managers and employees all year long. These solutions stimulate conversations so that issues can be addressed before they become problems, and ideas can be implemented in real time. Instead of just evaluating performance, managers can help employees grow and reach goals.
“Before 15Five, managers had to try to remember what happened in the last three months, and it’s hard to really remember anything more than a week ago,” said Berg. “Every goal, task, issue, idea, and comment is right there, so it makes the review process more actionable and useful.”
Elevated and many of its clients now have a fast, efficient tool to encourage open communication between managers and employees. Managers get a high-level view of everything that’s happening with their workforce – no matter where employees are located – and employees have a trusted platform to share their ideas, concerns, and successes.
Elevated HR is a boutique human resources consulting firm based in Alberta, Canada. The company works with over 50 small and medium-sized businesses to externally manage all HR functions, supporting over 2,500 employees.
Image Credit: Daniel Mitchell
