Business Building - How to Motivate Under-Performing Personnel

Emulate High Performers

Direct your staff to model the behaviors of their well
accomplished colleagues. The more you and your staff are
presented with these positive archetypes, the more likely
they are to model that behavior and exhibit the high
performance you seek. This applies internally and externally,
on a group and individual level. In addition to being modeled
from outside sources, successful techniques should be shared
by different groups within your organization. In order to
perform at peak level, your staff must know the details of
the methods that bring results. Take time or set up meetings
to share success stories where your staff can share their
most effective strategies.

Believe in Your People

The Law of Expectation plays a key role in managing people.
Simply stated, it says, "In life, you get what you expect."
So, expect the best from your staff in order for them to
perform at a high level. Given the proper resources and
direction, good people will perform at your level of
expectations. As someone they respect, the more you believe
in their ability, the more they will believe in their own
ability. Confidence breeds confidence and success breeds
success. Responsibility given to the right people will
communicate a message that you expect more of them and they
will perform to reach that level of greatness.

Set Realistic Goals

Employees should know at all times what they are striving
toward and being held accountable for. It is important that
your team has clearly defined goals set at the beginning of
any evaluation period. There is nothing as disheartening as
being evaluated without being given prior written goals. Also
important to note is that goals assigned to employees should
be attainable and influenced by factors within their control.
You should support your staff by providing them whatever
resources they may require for the attainment of their
objectives.

Incentive Programs

Incentive programs should encourage behaviors that benefit
the organization and promote its mission and values. They
should offer enticements for employees to launch new
initiatives that will directly or indirectly boost morale,
generate revenue, and reduce expenses. Incentive programs
work to create a corporate culture that promotes initiative,
teamwork, and the generation of ideas for productivity
enhancements. They assist in fostering the development of new
business, as well as the projects that affect the bottom line.
As the old saying goes, "You get more from what you encourage
and reward." Management is no exception.