Especially at the beginning of the year, many companies conduct employee conversations. During these discussions, the past year is reviewed, and new goals are set for the current year. If these conversations are conducted as a mere obligation, you won’t uncover their potential.
However, it doesn’t have to be this way. Beginning-of-year conversations are meaningful and effective if you consider the following 7 points:
1. Attitude Matters:
Don’t see these conversations as a burdensome duty but rather as an opportunity to thoroughly engage with the status quo, exchange ideas, and reconsider certain points.
2. Make Time:
Even though time is precious, make room in your schedule for these conversations – and for preparation. Rushed discussions with employees and poor preparation will only cover the usual points, keeping the conversation superficial and yielding few new insights.
3. Listen to Your Employees:
Don’t just talk about your impressions; listen to how your employees perceived the past year. Focus on what can be changed in the coming year – are there work priorities to adjust, new talents beneficial to the company, etc.?
4. Discuss Development Opportunities:
Employees often find it frustrating to stay stagnant. Motivated employees want to progress, achieve new career goals, and take on new tasks and responsibilities. Consider the potential of each employee and what the next stage of development could look like.
5. Conduct Regular Conversations:
Regular feedback, although seemingly obvious, is often neglected in practice. If too much time elapses between events and discussions, memories fade, perspectives diverge, and an effective summary becomes nearly impossible.
6. Consider Your Employee’s Personality:
Don’t generalize all employees; consider their personality, individual skills, and limitations. If you have a success/failure evaluation system, make room for different personalities. Goal-setting and achievement should always involve the individual – an identical evaluation system for all employees is not very useful and can lead to frustration for some.
7. Summarize the Results:
To ensure the conversation is remembered and the goals for the new year are clear, summarize the discussion and results in writing. This keeps both parties on the same page, and the priorities for the year are clearly outlined.
In conclusion, employee conversations are definitely recommended because they help you understand where your employees stand, what’s going well and what’s not, and what they want to achieve. By considering the points mentioned above, your conversation will be productive and not just serve as a corporate obligation.
Our Tip: If you want to learn more about your employees’ behavior and develop strategies for performance improvement, our Strategy Planner for Employee Conversations is perfect for this purpose!
