When you talk to employees about performance, you have different goals. You may need some employees to improve, while you could want others to continue doing a great job. Or perhaps you want everyone to just get along! Whatever your goal, if you link performance to results, you get better performance. The key is to be sure the results are meaningful to employees.

Meaningful results can include improved customer service, increased profits, or decreased error rates. They can also include things like improved performance ratings, increased opportunities for advancement, or enhanced technical skills. But make sure you don’t just focus on things that are important to your organization. Include things that reflect personal interests of your employees as well. Consider these eight results.

1. Link Performance To Job Enrichment:
Employees want to feel that what they do is important. Doing more challenging work or working with different employees are just two examples. Investigate things employees like about where they work. Determine what makes them excited. Use this information to explain how effective performance can lead to greater job enrichment.

2. Link Performance To Learning And Development:
Consider your employees’ strengths and weaknesses. Would new knowledge, skills, or abilities be helpful? Or maybe there is a possibility for gaining certification in a certain area. Use this information to show how positive performance can result in enhanced capabilities.

3. Link Performance To Career Advancement:
Think about how certain actions give employees greater opportunities for advancement on the job. Perhaps there are possibilities for a job rotation or a high-profile assignment. Use this information to connect employee interests to performance, highlighting the impact on upward mobility.

4. Link Performance To Money And Rewards:
Identify the monetary perks that exist for employees. Go beyond the regular paycheck. Include anything from cash payments to tickets to the theater. Use this information to link performance to financial rewards or other types of benefits.

5. Link Performance To Other Employees’ Performance:
Ask: Who does employee performance impact? Consider managerial staff, technical staff, support staff, and others. Use this information to emphasize how one employee’s performance can positively or negatively impact another employee’s performance.

6. Link Performance To Office Achievements:
Look at an organizational chart of your company, agency, or association. Examine workflow processes and the products or services you provide to other offices or departments. Do they depend on materials or information from your employees? If so, consider what happens when they get what they need or when they don’t get what they need. Use this information to explain why effective performance is important.

7. Link Performance To Organization Success Measures:
Think about how your organization measures success. Some organizations use sales quotas as a guide. Others track the acquisition of new customers. Look at strategic plans and operational goals for direct or indirect links. Use this information to explain the broad-level impact of doing or not doing something.

8. Link Performance To Guiding Principles:
Look at your organization’s vision, mission, and values statements. This information tells you the kind of fundamental practices that are important. Examine instructions on “how” employees should do things as well as “what” they should do. Also consider rules, regulations, and policies. Use this information to support the importance of certain types of performance.

Linking Performance To Results Does Work

Bottom line, if you link performance to results, you get better performance. Just make sure that you balance the results between things that are important to your organization and things are important to your employees.