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December 11, 2019
As the end of the year draws closer, you may have outstanding goals you hoped to achieve for your business. You want to report success to your employees and customers, keeping the company profitable and progressive. So what can you do in the fourth quarter, while holidays and upcoming PTO is at the forefront of everyone’s minds?
Four steps to encourage employees to push toward yearend goals
Just follow these four steps to keep your employees motivated to keep working to close out any incomplete goals:
- Break goals down into do–able steps. Depending on how large an undertaking the remaining work is, you’ll need to start with an honest assessment of what can reasonably be finished. Consult your employees or supervisors to help you estimate what’s able to be accommodated. Break larger tasks down into smaller steps and choose a few key priorities to tackle in the remaining days and weeks.
- Minimize distractions. Your employees will need as much time as possible to dedicate to crossing items off the list. Work with each employee to reprioritize other work and carve out time to work on critical steps toward the yearend goal. If some work can be de-prioritized and set aside to resume in Q1 of the upcoming year, that may help. Also, remind your workers that distractions such as the internet, cell phone usage and idle chatter outside of break time should be minimized in order to push towards completing critical tasks.
- Offer rewards. When money, merchandise or other prizes are on the table, it can be incredibly motivating to employees. Consider offering gift cards or company logo merchandise for those completing specific tasks. It’s also a fun gesture to promise a team party to celebrate after all the hard work is done and the goal is met!
- Catch up frequently on progress. Ask for regular updates on progress. Keep these brief so as not to disrupt employees’ work. Consider short team meetings to help everyone touch base and stay on track. Be available when people have questions or get stuck and need guidance to keep moving forward. Be ready to stay dynamic and make changes if a step isn’t working and is becoming a roadblock to progress. Good communication is the key to keeping everyone on task.
Help your employees stay focused
It’s your leadership and support that will inspire your employees to work hard towards the yearend goal.
Need support?
If you’re having a hard time meeting goals, it could simply be that you need more workers in place. And if you decide to staff up in the New Year, contact Inter-Connect. We’ll work with you to understand your staffing needs and find workers who fit. To learn more, contact us today!