While there are many facets to a successful business, none is more important than the people that make up your business. While you may have many products or deliver different services, its the people in your business that makes things happen. Highly successful businesses are those that focus on people and the general premise is that when your staff is happy and proud of what they do and who they do it for, then your business will flourish. Conversely, unhappy staff can be like poison in your business and infect every single aspect of it.
While staff relations is a tender subject and one that requires a lot of skill to handle effectively, there is one vital piece of the puzzle that you need to pay particular attention to. This is the staff performance appraisal process. This is the point where your facts and figures meets the people behind them.
The ability to measure progress and results is vital to any business. We often get caught up in looking at facts and figures and try and solve problems on that level. The reality however is that you have to go well beyond that and talk to the people that makes things happen. Performance appraisals is all about talking to every single person in your company and look at their individual performance in the business. This allows you to drill down right to the core and get to the bottom of problems in the business.
While many think of this process as a "witch hunt" its important that you communicate to your staff what the real purpose of these reviews really are. Its a two way process and its the opportunity for you to see how any individual is performing against their job requirements. Its also the opportunity for the individual to see how you as a business is holding up your end of the deal.
All people want to be heard. They want to feel like there is someone who cares, someone who appreciates them and that there is a person behind the "face" of a company. This is where you can use these appraisals to your advantage and instead of focusing on what the individual is doing for the business, look at what you are doing for the individual instead.
Performance appraisals is a fantastic two way process. It allows you to measure your business performance on the micro level and on the "human" level and it allows you to identify problem areas. It also allows you to offer your staff the opportunity to be heard. Regardless of your type of business, this is vital and something that you have to have in your business.
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Do you have a job performance review coming up? Read more about the 360 degree performance appraisal and how you can get the most out of it.