Dr. Barbara Brown trains, writes, and consults on performance management. Her E-Books, E-Courses, and Onsite Training Programs offer strategies for maximizing contributions with special emphasis on linking performance to results.
BOOK Dr. Brown for your next seminar, conference, or workshop.
Click on "FREE STUFF" at her website to download tools to manage performance discussions.
It’s the beginning of the year; a time for setting new workplace goals. But how do you get your employees to accept, or better yet, embrace those goals? You explain how achieving goals can positively impact employees. This involves answering the “what’s in it for me” question. In other words, you give employees a personal reason for doing their best. Consider these three ideas:
Visibility, Recognition, or Praise: While every employee will not crave the same level of positive accolades, employees generally want to receive acknowledgement for a job well done. Think about employee comments that involve complaints regarding “lack of recognition.” See if anything you are trying to achieve will offer results in this area.
Improved Communication: You have undoubtedly heard employees complain about poor communication or miscommunication. Sometimes those situations can be improved by a change in procedures or processes. Examine your goals for anything that could create a positive change in the information employees’ receive, how they receive it, or when they receive it.
Improved Working Conditions: There are probably instances where employees mention things that don’t work well or items that could be improved. This could include everything from how they receive work to the number of meetings they have to attend. See if your goals contain improvements in workplace or workflow practices.
Goals Offer Improvements For Everyone
You are aware of your organization’s goals. You are also aware of your employees’ goals. Look for situations where the achievement of one goal will result in the achievement of another. When you find this connection, use it to encourage positive performance. That way, you are not just assuming that employees will do their best to achieve your goals. You are giving them a reason to “want” to do their best.
- Related Videos
- Related Articles
- Ask / Related Q&A
- If I Absolutely Knew I Could not Fail, What Would My Goal and Commitment Be?
- The Secret to Achieving Your Goals - Commitment
- Mid-year Goal Setting for Special Success
- Goal Setting: Is There A Smarter Way To Do Things?
- Why Most People Fail to Achieve Their Goals - 4 Common Reasons
- Secret Behind Goals and Goal Setting
- Goal Setting Advantage - Legend or Logic? Part 2 of 4




How Good Clothing Racks Give a Better Shopping Experience
By: Tom Tran | 26/12/2009Clothes are one of the merchandise that people tend to buy most often. That is why it is wise for every store owner to think of innovative ways to display their apparel products to their customers. Using clothing displays to market your clothes has also come a long way in...
What is Automatic Data Capture?
By: Ray Feoli | 26/12/2009It's been called the "Supply Chain of the Future" and is being implemented by more companies to streamline business proficiencies every day. So although you may have heard of automatic data capture, you may be asking, "What exactly is it?" In this article, you will learn some of the main...
Reasons Your Records Should Be in Digital Format Rather Than on Paper
By: Ray Feoli | 26/12/2009During a time when digitally maintained records are an affordable and easy to implement solution to your document management needs, the real question should be, "Why WOULDN'T your records be in digital?" Let's go through some of the many reasons why your business would benefit by going digital with its...
What is the True Value of Your Store Inventory?
By: Ryan J Bell | 26/12/2009The goods that sit on your shelves and floor represent a major capital expenditure. In reality, it likely represents one of the largest expense classes on your books (though technically-speaking, it carries as an asset). Many independent outlets understand that carrying their inventory is dear. However, they realize it in...
Handling Employee Absenteeism
By: Mark Thomas Walters | 26/12/2009To deal with the issue of employee absenteeism, it is necessary to look beyond the surface of the issue, as there is no quick fix to the problem. Firstly, punitive measures are unlikely to work because there is always a way around them. Even if they appear to work with some,...
Easy Ways To Manage Critical Business Documents
By: Ray Feoli | 25/12/2009Documents claim up to 60 percent of office worker's time and account for up to 45 percent of labor costs. Documents are a necessary evil to the function of any business. You can no longer just file it away and forget about it, you have to actually MANAGE it. Do yourself...
Four Critical Ingredients to a Successful 6 Sigma Implementation
By: Ryan J Bell | 25/12/2009The six Sigma strategy is steeped in info collection and statistics analysis. As such, many practitioners fall into the mistake of thinking the success of a given project is a foregone conclusion. That is, so long as they stick closely to a quantitative approach, identifying and getting shot of process-related...
The Role of a Leader in a Six Sigma Implementation
By: Ryan J Bell | 25/12/2009One of the reasons there is a tightly outlined structural power structure within a standard six Sigma team is because such a structure supports a leader. That individual is immediately responsible for the results produced by their team. the leader's responsibility extends further. She determines the focus and direction of...
Giving Positive Feedback – 7 Ways to Make It Meaningful
By: Barbara Brown, PhD | 07/07/2009 | LeadershipWhen you give employees positive feedback, you want them to know that you value their performance. You also want them to repeat that performance. One way of doing that is to make sure your feedback is meaningful. This article offers a three-step approach for giving meaningful feedback and seven examples of ways to apply the approach.
Implementing Change – 3 Questions To Increase Employee Buy-In
By: Barbara Brown, PhD | 01/07/2009 | LeadershipWhen you introduce change in your company, you want employees to feel committed to doing their best to make the change a success. One way to do that is to explain how the change will benefit the staff, not just the company. Use the three questions in this article to manage the change discussion and gain buy-in.
Want Better Performance? Try Focusing On What Employees Want Reduced
By: Barbara Brown, PhD | 30/06/2009 | LeadershipOne way to encourage better performance is to link improvements to things employees want fewer of. These might include fewer customer complaints or fewer meetings. This article provides 10 things you can use to explain how performance improvement can lead to reductions in something employees want.
Motivating Employees: Use People Interests When Making Assignments
By: Barbara Brown, PhD | 24/03/2009 | ManagementSome employees like working alone while others crave a crowd. So why not use these “people” likes or dislikes as a motivation tool. How? By consciously looking for opportunities to allow employees to work with the numbers of people they desire. This article gives you four options for making such assignments.
Jumpstart Your Career By Using A Big Picture Approach
By: Barbara Brown, PhD | 03/03/2009 | Career ManagementAs you move up the corporate ladder, you want to demonstrate your personal competence and your organizational knowledge. This article shows you how to accomplish this by making a few small changes in what you say. It contains four strategies you can use to jumpstart or advance your career by showing superiors that you understand the Big Picture.
Increase Goal Commitment by Focusing on Positive Results for Employees
By: Barbara Brown, PhD | 28/01/2009 | ManagementIf you have started the New Year by setting or reaffirming some workplace goals, you need your employees to embrace those goals. One way to accomplish this is to show employees how doing what you want will help them achieve what they want. This article offers three ways to explain the benefits of embracing workplace goals.
Employee Negativity – 3 Ways to Discuss Personal Impact
By: Barbara Brown, PhD | 21/01/2009 | ManagementEven employees who constantly complain about work or workers care about certain workplace issues. Why not use those issues to encourage fewer complaints? This article gives you three ways to explain the personal impact of negativity.
Employee Performance Discussions – 4 Ways to Keep Focused on Work
By: Barbara Brown, PhD | 17/11/2008 | ManagementSometimes you have to talk to employees about what they say as well as what they do. You want to keep such conversations focused on performance issues, not personal perceptions. This article offers four types of performance discussions and ways to handle each.