At Small Fish Business Coaching one of the areas we concentrate on to improve profitability is Increased Productivity. This means getting the best out of your team which leads to better performance and in the end –increased profitably.

After all, its Business coaching isn’t it?

Here are some tips for business owners and managers to improve profitability and performance in their teams:

1. Communicate clear expectations – For people to perform well and continue to grow and learn they need to know what’s expected of them. At Small Fish we help business owners formulate a “Strategy on a page”. This clearly defines the Vision for the business, the VITAL FEW things that need to be done to achieve that vision and the individual strategies that must be accomplished. This can be shared with staff and strategies can be related to individual expectations, which become the standards by which performance will be judged. At least they will know – “this is what I need to do to achieve the strategies”
2. Focus on specific areas that require improvement – To get the best out of your team it’s a good idea to pinpoint exactly what needs to be improved. If Sales are low and sales require quotes to be produced, then focus on driving improvements in the number of quotes put out. Monitor them and put KPI’s in place. Provide feedback and assistance to the Salesperson to make sure they are meeting their targets.
3. Help remove obstacles – To perform anywhere near top capacity, individuals may need help in removing obstacles. Managers and Business owners should be that “snowplough” that keeps the road clear for their staff to perform at top capacity. For example if a staff member was having trouble getting work done because their computer was slow or old; it may be time to upgrade it so they can work faster. Keep your eye open all the time for obstacles that could be holding back your team and remove them. People have improved motivation when they see you actively helping them do their job better.
4. Gain a commitment to Change – Unless you can get a commitment from a staff member to improve in any area, that member may not attain the higher performance. They must want to do it, and they should communicate that to you genuinely. There’s some skill to get an intuitive feel when employees are serious or not about performance improvement. Look out for clues like: over agreeing about the need to change and agreeing to change without any emotion. These may be hints that they aren’t genuine about it.
5. Applaud good results – Always praise people when they’ve made their targets or gained that improvement no matter how small. There’s nothing like genuine encouragement and positive reinforcement especially in front of their peers to make them feel good about what they have achieved. Managers often forget this important facet of their role. Enforce that encouragement with a small gift like movie tickets or a book, because this makes them feel good about the achievement for longer, and gives them the opportunity to tell their family and friends about it.

So there you have it …- Five ways to improve productivity in your team.

Steve Eastwood
Small Fish Business Coaching Melbourne
www.smallfish.com.au