Great Managers Use Daily Communication to Raise Performance

Why is communicating regularly with your subordinates important?

“Informal performance management should be taking place constantly, not just arbitrarily,” says Robert L. Cardy, author of “Performance Management: Concepts, Skills, and Exercises.” He explains, “For instance, a manager who observes a worker using equipment in the wrong way or treating a customer in a rude manner should provide immediate feedback and take corrective action with the worker.”

Cardy’s advice implies that a good manager provides daily feedback to as many employees as possible. Here are some specific ways that you can improve your daily routine to benefit your subordinates.

Get Involved

Proactive and consistent managers help the organization to run smoother. They are constantly communicating with their employees. Constructive feedback is one type of communication. Other forms of communication include greeting employees, listening to their concerns, and helping them to solve problems. If you aren’t talking to your workers every day, there is something lacking in your style (unless you work with telecommuters or employees in distant locations).

Be Specific

Your daily feedback will be most helpful if you can give specific examples of good and bad performance. The feedback should also relate to an employee’s specific performance. It is not usually advisable to compare the performance of two or more employees. They want to know how they can do their own job better. They already see the examples around them of higher performers.

Walk Around

It is one thing to communicate daily with the workers. It is another thing entirely to get down to the nuts and bolts of the operation. If you are in the factory, you should walk up and down the work floor and check how individuals are performing. If you work in a store, you should be walking around every department. If you work in an office building, you should be dropping into as many offices as you can in a workday. Employees will begin to anticipate your presence in their work routine. If they are expecting you, they might be more inclined to perform better for a longer portion of the workday.

Remember, you are the manager, and it is your job to make employees feel valued. Your consistent delivery of oversight, advice, feedback, and troubleshooting can help them succeed in their positions. You don’t want to be the boss who stays in the head office all day buried in paperwork. If you want to be dynamic and effective, you’ve got to get out there and walk the line.

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