Bringing out the best in your staff is a delicate process. The goal is not only to boost productivity but to do it in a way that allows your employees to take a deepened satisfaction in their work. You need to enhance “potential” in a way that doesn’t lead to burnout and turnover.
But how?
The modern workplace has been in the slow process of shifting its perspective on this question for the last two decades. In this article, we look at how you can maximize employee potential while maintaining a happy work environment.
Clear Expectations
The word “potential” is somewhat imprecise on its own. What are you trying to accomplish as you work to maximize your employee’s potential?
In its literal use, the word has limits. One employee’s potential could be quite different from the next. To effectively bring out the best in your staff, you should begin by looking at everyone as an individual. Identify their strengths, and work from there, creating an environment that plays to them.
Trying to harness an employee’s potential should also involve recognizing their limitations. Sarah may never be as good at sales as Andrew. And Andrew might not know diddlysquat about customer service compared to Sarah.
Once you’ve established reasonable expectations, share them with your staff, and regularly check in to see what you can do to help them reach those goals.
Create an Employee-Driven Work Culture
“Maximizing potential” meant running people as though they were machines, with avalanches of work and extended business hours that ultimately led to significant burnout. The modern work environment is slowly shifting to a different mindset.
This is mainly attributable to two factors:
- The recent popularity of terms like “work culture”. High-profile companies like Google have been making headlines for years because of their employee-friendly work environments. They have found great success in letting workers enjoy flexibility with their scheduling while also providing health and wellness benefits like gym memberships. You don’t have to be as big as Google to create a work environment that caters to your employee’s needs. Find little ways to make their work environment more comfortable. Not only will this improve their performance, but it will also lead to less turnover.
- Covid-19. The pandemic showed that people could be very productive working from home. In some cases, it also made it clear that the traditional office work environment doesn’t always make the best use of employee time. Many workers found that they could get as much or more done working from home and still have time to take their kids home from school, get lunch with a friend, or even fit in a mid-day gym session.
Studies have shown that people can only do sustained, high-quality work for about four hours daily. After that, progress tapers off significantly, and the employee is more likely to grow bored or frustrated.
You probably aren’t interested in switching to a four-hour work day. However, you may find it beneficial to deemphasize quantity and focus on quality. As you provide your staff with clear expectations and flexibility in fulfilling them, you will probably find that the overall quality of work improves significantly.
Manage Stress
Studies have shown that stressed-out employees are likelier to make mistakes and generally put out low-quality work. This leads to higher employee turnover and will inevitably prevent employees from hitting their potential.
Ask your employees how you can reduce stress in the workplace. While you may not be able to implement all of their suggestions, they will appreciate being asked. The information they provide will be invaluable to improving your overall work environment.
Consider Supplementary Training
Corporate trainers work to maximize the operational efficiency of your business. They help companies reach their full potential by working directly with the staff to recommend specific approaches to the workflow and even suggest new technologies that may improve productivity and cooperation.
By following these above points, you can really help your employees reach their full potential in the best way posible.
