A Behavioral Approach to
Motivating, Coaching and Appraising
Employee Performance and Skill Improvement
A Behavioral Approach to Motivating, Coaching and Appraising Employee Performance and Skill Improvement
To stay competitive, many organizations are now demanding that employees continuously improve performance through developing new skills, enhancing existing skills and improving the overall design of the work process and flow. Also, there is an increasing trend for organizations to hold line managers and team leaders accountable for their team members’ performance and skill improvement. Thus, managers must understand how and be equipped to motivate and guide the improvement of employee performance and skill development.
Performance Improvement Concepts
Abraham Maslow has completed research that proves that all humans, as a part our nature, seek to satisfy specific and basic human needs.1 Humans also seek to satisfy these basic needs in a specific order or “hierarchy.” This innate human tendency to follow this needs “hierarchy” directly impacts learning and performance in and out of the workplace.
The figure below illustrates the point that people will more effectively seek to improve performance and learn new behaviors only when such needs as survival, security and social comfort are first met. Humans naturally work to meet these needs starting with the most basic of needs. As each level of need is met, new needs will emerge. In other words, humans will not even think about seeking and achieving potential until the more basic needs of survival, security and social comfort are being met and maintained! A typical scenario that demonstrates this would be the team member that is
actively seeking and achieving potential, when, for whatever reason, a more basic need is lost or
threatened. Consequently, that person’s efforts will naturally turn more towards regaining that need, rather than continuing to seek and achieve potential. That employee’s performance may visibly diminish as he/she focuses on satisfying the more basic need. Think about past learning or work situations when, as a work team member or leader, that your social comfort or job security was lost or threatened. How did you react? Were you distracted with thoughts or actions to regain your job security social comfort? Did this interrupt your learning or encumber your performance as a work team member or leader?
Survival Safety Social Comfort Seeking Potential Achiev-ing Potential
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
Figure 1
1
A. H. Maslow, The Maslow Business Reader. (New York: John Wiley and Sons, 2000), 1.
It is critical for a manager to not only understand the hierarchical concepts in Figure 1, they also need to be able to recognize whether or not their team members’ needs are met and then be equipped with the skills and tools to effectively help their team members meet these needs.
Implementing Performance Improvement
While it is usually difficult for a manager or team leader to help his/her team members to meet the most basic human needs of survival, a team leader or manager, by employing a common sense and behavioral approach to performance improvement, can see that a team member’s workplace security and social comfort needs are met, so as to motivate and improve skills and performance.
First, it is important for the team leader or manager to establish and/or clarify norms for how employees or team members will interact. A work environment where a team member can come to work every day knowing that trust, integrity, respect and risk free learning are a natural part of the organizational or team culture, greatly contributes to meeting a team member’s security and social
comfort needs.
Secondly, the team leader must clarify just what performance and skill development is expected of him/her, what measures and tools will be used to evaluate performance quality and skill
development progress, and what support and training will be provided to help the team member meet his/her goals. Having clear expectations and the necessary support to meet expectations is also essential in meeting the team member’s security and social comfort needs. Also, this step helps the clear the way for a team member to identify and seek his/her potential. Think of a time when expectations were unclear in your work situation, or you understood what was expected of you, but accomplishing your goals seemed impossible. How did this impact your performance? What behaviors did you naturally engage in?
Appraising performance and skill development progress is the next critical step in motivating performance and skill development improvement. Without an effective databased appraisal system, it is difficult to evaluate performance improvement and/or skill development aimed at achieving one’s perceived potential. Effective appraisal includes evaluating knowledge comprehension, behavioral change as it relates to knowledge comprehension, and business results related to performance improvement and skill development. It is important to measure knowledge
enhancement and comprehension. However, that is not where evaluation should stop. If knowledge is expected to generate new or improved behaviors (i.e., performance), then these behaviors must be observed on the job. Also, it is logical to assume that these new behaviors should have a positive impact on business results. Therefore, it is critical that business results be evaluated as they relate to the team member’s new and/or improved behaviors.
Finally, the appraisal data must be used to identify performance strengths, gaps and the causes of those gaps. As appropriate, rewards are then applied and improvement strategies are determined and implemented. Thus, the improvement cycle continues. With each improvement cycle, the team leader and the team member become more practiced in the art of attaining and sustaining performance improvement.
The concepts outlined above also require a consistent implementation strategy and specific tools to accomplish each step. The figure below illustrates a common sense and cyclical process that has been proven to successfully implement the concepts outlined above.
Implementing Performance Improvement
Create a safe environment for interaction and
learning.
Use appraisal data to determine and implement
new improvement strategies.
Clarify performance and skill development expectations, measures, support, training and
evaluation methodology.
Plan a balance of learning, practice, job and
evaluation activities. Appraise and document
performance and skill development.
Learn, coach and perform.
Figure 2
Tools for Implementing Performance Improvement
Access to tools for implementing each of the above steps (and the knowledge and practice to use the tools effectively) is critical. Below is a list of suggested tools to help a manager or team leader to implement each of steps illustrated in Figure 2.
Create a safe environment for interaction and learning.
A Team Charter Document and Workshop where ground rules for team operation, communication and accountability are established and maintained.
Clarify performance and skill development expectations, measures, support, training and evaluation methodology.
A Job Competency Model where capabilities, measures, performance and skill targets, and evaluation methodology are outlined.
Plan a balance of learning, practice, job and evaluation activities.
An Activity Planner that helps determine a balance of learning, practice, job and appraisal activities aimed at achieving the team member’s performance and skill development expectations.
Learn, coach and perform.
Discussion Planners and Guides to help the team leader plan, conduct and follow-up coaching and
feedback discussions with the team member.
Appraise and document performance and skill development.
Knowledge Tests to appraise knowledge acquisition and comprehension. Skill Performance Audits
to appraise new behaviors (as they related to knowledge acquisition and comprehension).
Inspection Check Lists to appraise work area readiness and quality. Business Results Reports that
appraise business results related to performance improvement and skill development. A
Performance Improvement and Skill Development Progress Summary Report for documenting
results and suggestion for improvement.
Use appraisal data to determine and implement new improvement strategies.
Create a new Activity Planner using the data recorded in the Performance Improvement and Skill
Development Progress Summary Report.
Implementing performance improvement and skill development as described for many will require a change in mindset, as well as a change in behavior. A mindset for improvement requires a leader to have the courage to decide to learn and use this proven and behavioral approach, the imagination to envision the outcomes of incorporating this approach as a part of the team/organizational culture, the patience and perseverance for team members to learn, practice and improve performance and skills, and an insatiable passion for achieving desired and sustained outcomes.
Assessing your Performance and Skill Improvement System
Use the simple assessment on the following page to assess and determine your performance and skill improvement approach, system, tools and capability strengths and opportunities. The data from this simple assessment could actually provide a specific rationale and direction for realizing your “wildest dreams” for managing performance and skill improvement in your organization!
Performance and Skill Improvement System Assessment
Rate your performance and skill development system practices, tools and capability using the scale below. 5=Strongly Agree 4=Agree 3=Not Sure 2=Disagree 1=Strongly Disagree Rating
System Component Organization Behaviors
System Tools to Implement
Capability to Implement
We have a safe and healthy environment for team member and leader interaction and learning.
Leaders clarify and provide team member
performance and skill development expectations, measures, support, training and evaluation methodology.
Leaders help team members plan a balance of learning, practice, job and evaluation activities. Leaders coach team members in their learning and performance improvement.
Leaders and team members work together to appraise and document performance and skill improvement.
Leaders help team members use appraisal data to determine and implement new performance and skill improvement strategies.
Average Rating
What are our performance and skill improvement strengths?
What are our performance and skill improvement opportunities?
What should our next steps be for improvement?
