Bring a Team Together

No one wants to work at a company that has all kinds of drama and multiple bosses dictating what the employees are supposed to do each day. Most people just want to understand their job and what it takes to perform well. Then they don't want to be stood over while doing it. But that doesn't mean that there isn't room for performance evaluations.

Anyone who tells you that they know their job and they don't want you to evaluate them should be carefully watched and evaluated. In cash businesses especially, you will find that those people aer often the ones stealing out of the "cookie jar" in some way. Selling or reselling merchandise (like at a movie theater where I once worked) is a typical endeavor of these kinds of people. The items in stock aren't theirs, and they have no problem pocketing a couple of dollars for a service or product provided at no cost to them. And these employees who don't want to be watched are the prime offenders when it comes to making a buck off the company dime.

Do yourself a favor and find a method to evaluate every employee monthly. Taking the time will show the employees that they are worth the effort, it will stop small roblems from becoming bigger ones, and it will prevent the "company theft" that can occur if performance is left unchecked.

"How do I do this?" you might ask. It is a very simple process of taking daily tasks and listing them out as performance criteria. You have to make an evaluation criteria that is measureable (like a scale of 1 through 10) and determine what excellent performance, adequate performance, mediocre performance, and unacceptable performance look like. Then you have to be able to paint the picture of each performance level to your employees during their evaluations.

Often it helps to dream about what your ideal company performance would be, and then taper it to be as realisitc as possible without trimming off potential for greatness.  I mean that you should dare to dream big, but surely take a look at what resources you have now and how you can best utilize the talents that exist in the company if you don't want to hire or fire people right away. But a good look in the mirror for your company, a desire to improve, and the willingness for all employees to do what it takes to make your vision a reality will be the keys to your company's success.

I have made multiple changes in organizations that have increased productivity and happiness all around, but there is no one right way. Get input from every member of the organization and look for the best ideas first. Then look at HOW to make the changes work.