A key challenge in organisations today, with the ever changing external environment and the varying pressures that organisations encounter, is leadership.
Leaders need to communicate, motivate and empower their employees whilst being strategically focused on performance outcomes. This will enable employees to be engaged and grow with the needs of the role, the business and customer expectations. Ultimately keeping them with your business for longer.
Get this part wrong and you could face losing your most valuable asset, your employees.
There are a number of ways that leaders can enable these sorts of conversations with their employees including;
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- 1 on 1 meetings – there are benefits in having regular one on one meetings with employees to discuss how they are progressing in their role, any concerns or assistance they need and to learn more about their career aspirations. Meetings can be held as frequently as required by the individuals; however usually fortnightly or monthly.
- Performance Appraisals – involves managers and employees meeting on a one-on-one basis at regular intervals throughout the year to discuss work performance. Performance appraisals can be defined as the process of identifying, evaluating and developing the work performance of employees to help achieve the goals and objectives of the organisation. At the same time, appraisals benefit employees by providing them with recognition, feedback, career guidance and development along the way.
- Team Meetings – are a great opportunity to encourage teams to work together to generate new ideas, perspectives and solutions based on different perspectives and experiences.
- 1 on 1 meetings – there are benefits in having regular one on one meetings with employees to discuss how they are progressing in their role, any concerns or assistance they need and to learn more about their career aspirations. Meetings can be held as frequently as required by the individuals; however usually fortnightly or monthly.
It is also important to support the development of leaders within the business and provide guidance to current leaders so they can enhance both their own and their team’s performance. Here are our favourite questions that your leaders should have in their coaching toolkit:
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- What is the result you’re looking to achieve here? (Why does that matter?)
- How else could you approach this? (What ideas do you have? What else can also be possible/true?)
- What resources do you need? (Does anyone else need to be involved? How else can I support you around your efforts to complete this?)
- What are you willing to commit to doing/trying/changing (by when)? (If you couldn’t use that excuse/thing that’s stopping you anymore, how would you move forward?)
Contact Small Business Society for more assistance with coaching your leaders and managers.
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About Kate Tongue
Kate Tongue is the founding Director of Small Business Society.
She is a qualified and experienced Human Resources professional with more than 10 years of experience across the private and public sectors.
Her particular interest and experience is in managing the employee life cycle, delivering process improvements, and Human Resource strategy.
Looking for more information on the various stages of the employee life cycle or Human Resources in general? The following may interest you.
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The steps I take to write a job advertisement that attracts the best people
How to get the most out of a phone screen interview
Articles to assist you with developing and coaching your leaders:
Improve your employee engagement
Plus lots more information and advice:
Small Business Society Blog