Management Mistakes Can Hurt Employee Performance Cautions ActionCOACH

Sept. 27, 2008 - PRLog -- In the rapidly evolving global economy, a company’s employees have to out perform counterparts on every continent.  If the company is unable to profit from their production, the job – and possibly the company – will relocate to a lower cost economy.  For small-to-medium sized businesses that already struggle against larger domestic rivals, squeezing every last dollar of revenue from employee production is especially critical.  The key, according to ActionCOACH Marketing Director Jodie Shaw, is to create a work environment that motivates employees to excel.

“One factor above all others determines the performance level of any employee – attitude,” Shaw said.  “Study after study confirms that highly motivated employees out perform by a significant percentage average production rates.  Our client base of small-to-medium sized businesses has highly motivated owners, but they often lack the management skills and experience to properly energize their workforce.  In our consultations with thousands of clients, we see the same mistakes made again and again.”

Recently, Shaw provided a list of the most common management mistakes that dissuade employees from performing at peak rates.  Those mistakes include:

Lack of vision

Without a clear and compelling company direction, employees can only do what they are told.  They have no ability to innovate or to create new solutions and improve processes.  It is common for the business owner to have a vision for the company, and maybe it’s been synthesized into a nice slogan on a plaque in the lobby, but that does not secure the employee’s commitment to the plan.  Communicate the vision directly to employees – clearly and continuously.  

Communicating one time only

If a message is important, it should be repeated – as many times as it takes because, sadly, people just don’t listen that well.  Goals, product strategy, customer care policies, and competitive advantages are examples of ideas worth repeating.

No accountability

Employees need to understand that the company expects them to do what they’ve said they’ll do.  Otherwise, anything they perceive to have a higher priority, which will almost always be, coincidentally, easier to accomplish, will be done instead.  Of course, accountability starts at the top, so the owner must do what s/he has committed to do as well.

Attempting to improve employee's weaknesses

Instead of recognizing an employee’s strengths and building upon them, many managers rue their weaknesses and waste considerable time and money trying to eliminate those.  Not only does building on strengths create more value for the company – it is much easier.  

Place employees in the wrong jobs

We see the cliché proven repeatedly:  an employee is promoted to their level of incompetence.  Owners usually take a star performer and assume s/he can do equally well in a new role.  Many do, but the problem arises when they don’t, and the owner allows them to stay in the new position.  Do everyone a favor and move him or her to a more appropriate responsibility – without causing embarrassment for not meeting expectations.  They can, again, be a star performer given the right situation.  .

Present a moving target

Flexibility is critical to the success of small-to-medium sized businesses in today's fast paced economy; however, when a company does decide to change direction, issue an official statement to the employees.  Otherwise, it is too easy for the employee to flip-flop from one set of objectives to the other without telling anyone – just as the owner has done.    

A competent Business Coach, can assist the small business owner in overcoming these basic mistakes. This is why an increasing number of small-to-medium sized business owners are turning to a Business Coach for help with some aspect of their businesses. Today, business coaching is a rapidly growing industry, next only to IT and ActionCOACH enjoys the largest share of the market.

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ActionCOACH is the world’s number one business coaching firm, with more than 1,000 offices in 26 countries. To learn more about business coaching and ActionCOACH, go to actioncoach.com.