Three Tips To Turn Indifferent Employees Into Top Producers

By Raquel Baldelomar 

Technology has completely changed how business is done. Today, more and more people can (and want to) do their job remotely with flexible work hours. This means there are fewer face-to-face interactions with colleagues and executives, because staff members can email, text and videoconference meetings. In addition, people want a job that fits their lifestyle, has meaning, offers development opportunities and allows them to use their talents. If you haven’t already started adapting your management structure to reengage staff members, the time to start is now. Here are three tips to help leaders develop a management philosophy that fits the new workplace dynamic.

1. Embrace flexible work schedules. The number of employees who are working remotely increased by four percentage points, bringing it to 43%, according to the report. Not only do employees want to be able to work from home or a Starbucks, some also want to work different hours than the typical 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. schedule. The bottom line is employees want more control about how and when they work. In fact, 51% of employees would change jobs for a position that offers more flexible time , the report found.

Leaders should be open to flexible work options for staff members. Have employees block out time on their calendar so the entire staff know when they are available to take phone calls, accept meetings or answer email. You can also require staff members to work a certain number of hours during your normal business office hours or even come into the office one day per week. It’s still important for staff to interact, communicate with each other and work together on common goals. That camaraderie will help improve employee engagement.

2. Reimagine how you evaluate employees’ performance. The dreaded annual employee performance review appears to be on its way out and an increasing number of business leaders, HR professionals and employees are happy to see it go. Only 21% of workers “strongly agreed that their performance is managed in a way that motivates them to do outstanding work,”  according to the report.

So what can leaders do better? Give feedback more frequently . One of the biggest flaws with the annual performance review is that many managers treat it as something to check off their list every year instead of a tool to use throughout the year to help manage their employees. Perhaps that is why companies like Accenture, Deloitte, General Electric, IBM, The Gap, Adobe and Microsoft are all revamping their performance management systems—and some of them are completely ditching the annual review.

Leaders can either evaluate the annual performance review process and improve it or scrap it and build a process that suits their needs. Regardless of which option you choose, employees want very specific items included in the process, according to the study. American workers want a very detailed and clear job description. They also want a voice when it comes to choosing goals and they want to understand how those goals fit into the big picture of the organization. Lastly, performance conversations should be handled in a manner that makes staff members feel supported not judged throughout the process.

Raquel Baldelomar is the founder and president of Quaintise, coauthor of the book Sugar Crush and can be found on Facebook at facebook.com/raquel.baldelomar