Sounds easy right?

In some ways yes.  To improve performance you need to know several things about the current state of play.

1. What is your current performance (opinion, fact, KPI, says who etc)
2. Where do you need to be and within what timescale?
3. What benchmarks do you have - how high will you set your sights?
4. What resource do you have available?
5. What could stop you hitting your objectives and improving performance?
6. How will you know when performance have improved?

This list could go on forever and requires a lot of research, especially in SMEs who have grown organically and they are not really sure how they've done it.  There tends to be very little routine or a consistent approach to things unless someone steers the ship correctly.

You can tell a manager how to perform better until you are blue in the face but if it is YOUR idea of better performance and not theirs, you'll get nowhere.

In all of this, you (as the MD/CEO) must be clear about what you want to receive from this process - ensure your idea of results is clear in your head.  Then you need to get agreement from everyone else and take them on the journey with you.  Poor communication and inconsistency will leave you with a scatty workforce and no clear direction.  This will inevitably lead to poor job satisfaction, decreased morale and a general negative vibe in your organisation - which we can avoid.

To talk a little more about improving performance, no matter how big or small email me today performance@gemmaangharad.com