It's a part of every business: motivating employees to do their best. There are many different methods by which a boss will use to motivate their employees whether it be by positive feedback, negative feedback, or some other method that the boss feels is best. Sometimes, it might involve a long sitdown with the employee or just a simple set of words. This article will discuss a few methods a boss could use which will hopefully improve the employees' performance down the road.
#1: Focus More On An Employee's Positives As Opposed To Their Negatives
There are numerous articles out there that speak to why positive feedback or negative feedback is superior to one another. I personally believe that positive feedback, even in situations that require improvement, is a better method for two reasons: 1) Employees will feel that they are on the path to success and will have more faith in what they are doing and 2) They have more trust in their boss.
With regard for the first reason, take the example of an employee's production being slower than the company average. It's easy to tell an employee that they are not doing well enough and to pick up the pace. But it would be a lot more effective to tell the employee that while they are doing a good job, they need to find some way to increase production. Then, as the boss, maybe you can give some recommendations as to what the employee can do or what to avoid. This way, the employee feels that their work is being valued but at the same time, they realize that they can do better and yield better results. This will ultimately give them more trust in their boss.
#2: Always Be Constructive In Your Criticism
Criticism is inevitable whenever you want someone to do better. You will always have to point out what a worker can do better. However, there is a big difference between telling someone their production is terrible and explaining why their production is terrible and what they need to do to improve it. Constructive criticism involves the process of pointing out someone's flaws and explaining what they can do to make it better. This is a more effective method of motivating an employee as it gives them a sense of direction as to what to make better.
