With everything these days about KPIs, what about the things that support your KPIs? In sporting terms they are called the 1%ers. And without them you won’t have a very successful business. Here are eight to start with. I am sure there are plenty more.
1. Get the job requirements right!
Ensure you are looking at a range of factors such as the skills/knowledge inherent to the role, fit for the organisation, attitude required etc. Gut feel is great but has proven to be unreliable time and time again if it is the only criteria used.
2. Select well
Make sure you determine potential candidates or employees for promotion (or other roles) through behavioural interviewing, open ended questions, reference checks and assessment. Psychometrics can assist in all manner of appointments, improving selection accuracy considerably. But, like gut feel, assessments are not the sole decision criteria.
3. Induct your people!
How often have you heard someone say ‘I got thrown in the deep end’, ‘I thought my role was something different to what it turned out to be’, ‘I didn’t get introduced to anyone’? Have a good induction – people are less likely to misunderstand the business, their role, the roles of others, systems and processes if you can do this. And they are quicker to add value!
4. Support your people
Don’t shoot first and ask questions later! Your people have a right to be supported. Learn to ask open ended questions, ask what can be done to support your team. Provide ongoing professional development through training, coaching or mentoring (think 70:20:10). You do not want to hear a valued team member say ‘I would have stayed, but you provided me with no opportunities for growth’.
5. Clear/defined roles with flexibility
Don’t ‘lock’ people into their roles with tight boundaries. Nor let people dictate what they can or won’t do according to their job description. Promote a culture of support and flexibility in your company. The thing you don’t want to hear from a team member when you ask them to do something is ‘I won’t do that. It’s not my job’.
6. Performance manage when necessary
You will be challenged by some of your people appropriately and some not so appropriately. There are two aspects to performance – one is to meet/exceed the objectives of the role (KPIs), the other is to demonstrate professional and respectful behaviour and attitude in doing so. You have a responsibility to ensure that not only do employees meet the requirements of their roles on a continual basis, but that they demonstrate company values in doing so. A tough conversation is one that can be necessary but is often avoided.
7. Reward and recognise
A common complaint from employees to leaders is ‘You tell me when I do wrong, but I don’t often get told when I’ve done well’. Naturally we all want to address mistakes, but sometimes we do forget to show appreciation. And this does not take a lot of effort. Sometimes it’s just taking someone out for a coffee.
8. Exit respectfully!
Termination, redundancy or resignation – it should not matter. The way a business exits its people says more about the business than the exiting person, irrespective of what you may think of the individual. Take the helicopter view. What do others make of an exit where a person is shown no recognition that they are leaving and people are not informed? Be mindful that we are human and people do appreciate exiting as gracefully as possible. I know of at least three ‘terminations’ where the person was given a send-off morning tea and career transition support! And that helped everyone get on with business as usual after they departed. This blog does a good job highlighting how to improve your induction exits if you need some further tips.
Getting these eight non-KPIs right will make sure that your business is well positioned and ready to achieve its KPIs and drive growth and success!