I keep hearing small business owners telling me they cannot find good talent who want to work. I think they are not attracting talent that wants to work for them.
More and more research says that employees want leadership from their employer.[1] In fact, McKinsey says they want a clear and consistent approach to performance management. One that measures results, behavior, and it is fair. They want their individual performance goals to be tied to the team and to see how they contribute.
This means many small business owners are going to have to develop a clear, consistent communication cadence around performance. And the sad truth is, most won’t because they are afraid it will take too much time. When in reality it will save time, improve performance and it will relieve stress.
And it really takes only three conversations that are structured and scheduled on a regular basis. They are:
- The Alignment conversation
- The Accountability conversation
- The Growth or development conversation
The Alignment conversation aligns your team with the overall goals of the organization and their own aspirations and performance goals. “Here’s where we’re going. Here’s how your work contributes. Here’s what success looks like this month.”
The Accountability conversation is about visibility into performance. How well are we keeping our promises to ourselves and the organization? “How are we doing on the promises we made to ourselves and the firm?”
The Growth conversation is about helping teams and individuals develop skill sets and mindsets to serve the organization and their own developmental goals. “What do you need to develop next to serve both your goals and the firm’s?”
Each of these conversations is had at the team level and the individual level and on a regularly scheduled basis. For example, the Team Accountability conversation is often held monthly. (You as the leader determine the cadence) The goal is to share with the team how well the team is doing in their contribution to the organization and their overall goals. It also shows everyone where everyone on the team is at. We celebrate the wins publicly. This demonstrates what is rewarded in the organization. The visibility ensures that everyone knows where everyone is, and trust me, the low performers don’t want to stay low. They will work with you to improve.
[1] https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/people-and-organizational-performance/our-insights/what-employees-say-matters-most-to-motivate-performance?
