Mar 20 2009
The Power of Positive Feedback
The Power of Positive Feedback
The key to motivating employees is to remember how natural it is to want and need recognition. If we don’t receive recognition for what we do at work, we will put our energy into seeking it elsewhere—often to the detriment of our job responsibilities.
Fortunately, there are many ways to recognize employees and improve their performance. Here are three:
1. Remember that an employee’s performance is never absolutely consistent. Like everyone, he or she has good and not-so-good days. Be alert to those times when an employee is performing at an above-average level, and provide rapid recognition for such performance.
2. Offer positive feedback on the things the employee does well. An employee’s job is normally made up of a series of small tasks and some of these tasks will be done better than others.
3. Recognize a person’s talents or strengths that are not directly related to the job. An employee who is only an average performer might consistently arrive early, be good at orienting new employees, or keep his or her workspace clean and orderly. Your job is to reinforce the habit of excellence with positive recognition wherever you see it.
