No organization can work well and achieve its goals if employee performance is weak. Skilled, engaged employees are instrumental assets in pushing an organization toward success. And while every manager knows this, very few know which steps to take to lead the team on the right path. 

In this article, you’ll learn how to improve employee performance and engagement – and why it matters. 

Why it’s important to improve employee performance and engagement

According to Statista, 65% of employees said they were engaged in their careers in 2021. This leaves us with 35% of employees that don’t like their work, aren’t motivated, and aren’t performing at their best.

                                       Source

If you have at least a few employees that fall into the second percentile, they can have a detrimental effect on your company’s culture, productivity, and progress. 

That’s just a small part of the problem. An issue that is mightier than all is employee turnover. People who aren’t engaged and motivated to work leave their jobs. The 2022 Career Optimism Index reports that 1 in 3 US workers would leave their job even if they don’t have another opportunity stacked up. 

Gallup’s analysis is even more concerning in this matter. 

                                   Source

According to their findings, companies with employees that aren’t engaged experience 81% in absenteeism and up to 43% in turnover as a result of this. 

Maximizing the performance of your team by offering them what they need and engaging them is a way to help your organization meet its goals faster. Since happy employees are less likely to leave you, this can reduce employee turnover, too – and we all know how costly that can get. In this matter can calculate employee Net Promoter Score and take necessary steps to increase employee retention.

To put it simply – a happy, engaged, and high-performing employee is an organization’s strongest asset. Are you ready to turn your employees into this?

Ways to improve employee performance and engagement

When employees struggle with a lack of motivation and bad performance, companies tend to blame them for it. The reality is, many external factors drive this, and these often go beyond laziness or procrastination. The top 3 are:

• No recognition
• Absence of performance goals and feedback
• No opportunities for growth, inadequate skills, or no training opportunities

Now that you know the main factors, let’s find the solutions to every one of them. 

1. Provide recognition and rewards to deserving employees

People want to be valued for their hard work and performance. Paying them is not enough. If you want your team to be engaged and motivated to work at their best, you need to recognize and reward their efforts. When deciding how to choose softphone for large business, consider factors such as scalability, and security features to ensure seamless communication across your organization.

A company where growth and performance are acknowledged is a place where people feel motivated and engaged to work. If you are not focusing on this already, it’s about time to create a program that promotes recognition for people who do their job well. If you don’t have ideas for this, use some examples of recognition for employees to motivate you. 

While creating a rewards and recognition structure, keep the following key areas in mind:

• Quality of work and completion of projects
• Personal initiatives
• Adaptability to the company’s requirements and way of work
• Leadership skills
• Personal or professional growth
• General performance
• Long-term work for the company

2. Conduct performance reviews to motivate and guide employees

Performance reviews tell the managers and the employees a lot. This is a great method to show your team that you care about their progress and keep track of how they work. It’s also an amazing tool that will motivate them for their good work and help them learn where there’s room for development. 

Performance reviews can be tricky, though. Take a look at these stats:

• 24% of employees would leave their job if they get inadequate performance feedback
• 30% of the feedback decreases employee performance

So, on one hand, employees expect your feedback. On the other hand, you need to be very careful about how you do this.

If this is your first time creating performance review forms and you are not sure where to begin, try using a ready-to-use employee review template and customize them to your liking.

3. Invest in a Learning Management System

All those gaps that you found in your reviews need to be filled. How do you do this in your company? The secret lies in offering your team development opportunities to boost their performance and make them more engaged. 

The ideal solution for this is to invest in a learning management system or LMS that will respond to your employees’ needs and offer them growth opportunities. An LMS is a learning platform that empowers learning and facilitates online education. It’s the ideal solution for your team because it combines flexibility and personal development. 

Platforms like Edly will help you with every part of this. Your employees can test their current knowledge and work on their skills based on the results. It’s a great thing to add to your perks program.

Employees expect to be offered opportunities for growth. Invest in something that will upskill your employees and is not only beneficial for the employees but is also good for the organization. 

Your employees’ performance and engagement are in your hands!

There you have it – the easy solutions to the 3 most common reasons why employees aren’t as productive or engaged as you’d want them to be. Where will you start?

About the Author

Nadica Metuleva is a freelance writer who’s passionate about creating quality, original content. She holds a Master’s degree in English teaching and a Bachelor’s degree in translation. With 8 years of experience in the freelance writing industry, Nadica has become proficient in creating content that captivates the audience, drives growth, and educates. You can find her on LinkedIn.