Good leaders are continuously looking for ways that they can improve the work performance within their agency. If your goal is to improve workplace performance it would be a crime to overlook the powerful effect of employee recognition. At Milkman the most effective way to achieve success in the agency is by making the working days a more enjoyable experience for all the members.
Why improving work performance is important
A successful team relies on more than just the right selection of people for the job. The fact is that a great employee will hinder under a negative working environment. On the other hand, a weaker performing employee will thrive when in a nurturing and strong working environment. It is important to cultivate a work culture that promotes growth and equips your employees with new skills or tools required for improvement.
How employee engagement factors into improved work performance
Put into its simplest form, employee engagement is the connection that an employee feels with their workplace. It is a multi-level construct where employees need to engage with the organisation, the people they work with, and the work itself.
5 ways to improve work performance
Here are our top five recommendations to help your agency thrive and improve work performance!
1. Push your team towards specific goals
Most employee recognition programs are accumulated of pre-set goals that are to be recognised when achieved. It is up to the company to determine what these goals are that will be recognised and celebrated.
This could range from a variety of things such as;
- Celebrating tremendous teamwork
- Acknowledging a milestone
- Or a work anniversary
It is good to push teams towards specific goals because it then emphasises the importance of having goals to work towards. This will help to keep important goals top of mind and make it easier to celebrate the process of achieving these.
2. Improve relationship between colleagues
We all like to be recognised for our hard work, it’s in our human nature to feel like we are appreciated and valued in our jobs. Yet, this is something that is commonly overlooked and forgotten.
Don’t get us wrong, the lack of recognition of someone's hard work doesn't always mean that you don't value what they do. However, it does help to build and improve peer-to-peer relationships within the workplace.
3. Help employees find their strengths
With recognition of good work comes understanding of one's strengths. Imagine yourself in the Milkman office where your role is in digital design. There are so many aspects under the design umbrella. In this position you might find that the team you are collaborating with regularly compliment your AMAZING animation work. It’s because of this recognition that you would understand that you have a strength in designing animations.
Alternatively, imagine your digital designer has no awareness of which area they thrive in most. Consequently, they might pass up on opportunities to harness their strength in designing animations for clients because they don’t think they are good enough. It’s the same with any position at any job, recognition allows your employees to know exactly where they add value to your company.
4. Reinforce company core values
Similarly to when you celebrate and recognise major objectives met in the workplace the same thing can be done with core values. This is great to help establish what the core values are within the company and create principles behind your organisation.
Why align recognition with your core values? Because it is one of the most effective ways to create high-level behaviour ideals within your team! It provides a pathway to incentivize employees to live up to these core values.
5. The breakdown of how it impacts siloed departments
When given recognition this can be one of the most effective ways to provide a sense of insight and belonging within the team or department. This simple tactic helps employees to understand how their skills fit in the bigger picture.
When you encourage employees and highlight their strengths it will inspire your team to keep major goals top of mind, and build better peer-to-peer relationships. A little encouragement goes a long way.
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