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Insurance Industry News from ProgramBusiness.com

Focus On Employee PerformanceA famous experiment many years ago involved telling a group of blue-eyed students in front of their class that they were smarter than brown-eyed students. Not surprisingly, the blue-eyed children performed better during the next few months. Then one day the teacher told the class that she'd made a mistake, and in fact brown-eyed students were smarter than blue-eyed ones. Predictably, the scores of the brown-eyed children improved while those of the blue-eyed students deteriorated. The moral: whether children or adults, people will live up to others' expectations of them. Traditional job performance appraisals can have a negative impact on employees' self esteem. If you rate workers on a traditional 1-5 scale, an employee with a low rating might be motivated to improve out of fear for losing their job. But the long-term effect can be disastrous — once the fear subsides, the worker will probably end up performing at the low level of the appraisal. Probably because they don't have an affinity for the job they are supposed to be doing. If that employee then confuses a poor performance rating with their self-identity, rather than their job performance, the effect on their productivity will be even worse.
To solve this problem, start by hiring people who have a natural affinity for the work they are doing. Assessment tools and skill tests will help you to do this. Then help employees feel good about themselves. Everyone who works for you should view themselves as a "5." Focus on acknowledging what employees are doing right. Spend less than 20% of the time and energy focusing on their weaknesses. If you're certain that an employee — despite their skills, and your training — just "doesn't get it," document the fact. Then focus on their conduct (don't use "you" phrases) and provide them the opportunity and resources needed to improve over the next 30 days. If the employee still isn't meeting their job expectations after that time, do everyone a favor and let them go.
AVOID WORKPLACE DRAMAS
One of the most frustrating aspects of employee relationships involves unnecessary dramas in the workplace. How many times have we heard business owners and managers ask, "Why can't people just do their jobs?" The fact that many workers and managers thrive off of dramatic confrontations. This is a trap that you don't want to get sucked into!
The first step in avoiding workplace dramas is to understand that "it's not always about us." Don't take what other people say or do personally. Once you begin playing a role in other people's dramas, you're asking for punishment. It's better to "disconnect" and view matters objectively rather than emotionally.
Avoid others' "emotional space" by speaking in "I" terms. As soon as you use the word "you," the other person will feel that you've ventured onto their emotional turf. Once that happens, their fight-or-flight mechanisms will kick in. Phrases such as "you should" or "you don't" will activate a negative emotional response every time. It's better to say "I noticed" or "in my experience," which will keep you on your side of the line and let the other person "own" their conduct.
Focus on the situation, not the individual. For example, instead of asking "How do you expect to get this project in on time?" say, "I'm concerned that the project may not be completed on time" — and then be quiet. The other person will probably address your concern without attacking you in the process. This approach provides amazing results every time.
For more information about the services provided by Don Phin, visit http://www.donphin.com.
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