16 June 2022
Buzz words: what are they in your industry?
In every industry there seems to be a catch cry or phrase or two that people just roll their eyes at. In HR, a high performance culture would have to be up there. It’s one of the goals of every Employer – have a high performing culture. Because a high performing culture equals better performance, better performance equals greater productivity, greater productivity equals greater efficiencies, greater efficiencies equal greater profitability. Right? Sounds simple.
We know that you’ve got to start somewhere. So how exactly do Employers start to make this apart of their everyday vernacular?
First and critical step is communication. It underpins the success of any strategy let alone this one. Communication is one of the most critical characteristics of a healthy and effective workplace. When there’s a culture of transparency that encourages feedback from managers to employees and vice-versa (360 feedback!), it allows a meaningful two-way support system to grow.
Having the ability to have candid, open conversations without fear of retribution supports the notion of a positive workplace culture. It is this that aids in the construction of a high performance culture. Traditionally performance reviews were a great way to set clear expectations about employee conduct and performance. But for those businesses that only do them annually, this might not be enough engagement to truly make change. We would encourage on a minimum that Employees have a check in at least once a quarter. This then enables employees the ability to track their own goals and progress whilst trying to strive for excellence but still have a level of support from their Managers to address any concerns.
Which leads onto the next point about the benefits of prioritising regular feedback. As we mentioned above, you should be touching base with your employees at least once a quarter to address any issues. It’s the phrase of “Don’t wait until something goes wrong to speak to an employee about their performance.”
Saving up negative feedback is never recommended. whilst it might be a difficult conversation to have, it’s a very important one even if it is uncomfortable. The reason being that if the event is fresh in their mind, they’ll have the opportunity to respond accordingly and acknowledge any learnings or mistakes and not carry it forward indefinitely.
If you think about reward and recognition, often the praise or honor comes when the expectation is exceeded. If you treat both ends of the spectrum the same in terms of timeliness, then the quest towards a high performing culture will be underway. For Employees understanding that both positive and negative feedback will be handled in the same manner can remove the stigma around receiving feedback. Again, this adds to the trust profile.
The trust profile is again strengthened when the team is empowered by collaboration and innovation. A culture that encourages collaboration and innovation can only be perceived as positive. Employees working together, learning off one another and embracing each other’s skillset to create the best strategy or effective solution is one that will increase engagement. Employees that are encouraged to grow, think and stretch themselves are more likely to be engaged. When engagement is strong so is workplace enjoyment. When Employees enjoy what they do, they become natural advocate for the business.
A company that lives and breathes by its values is another element of a high performing culture. After all the values are the core and foundations on which the company is built. Thus, having employees who are aligned with the company’s values increases employee engagement. This behaviour encourages everyone in the workplace to act by those values if it becomes the new norm. By being inclusive this garners a greater sense of belonging. With belonging comes positivity and with positivity comes performance.
Building a high performing team is not something that can happen overnight. It is one that takes multiple attempts over multiple time periods. It can be challenging but once established then it becomes the new norm and additional benefits will flow. We know that managing people is complex, and it keeps business owners up at night.
That’s why we are here to help. Why not let Now Actually Human Resources help manage your people to get the best out of them? Drop us a line now [email protected] or book a meeting with the team.
