As an IT manager, one of your key responsibilities is to
develop your staff. This requires you to assess your employees, offer them
feedback, find methods for developing or introducing new skills, and implement
ways to reward good performance. Since so much is required of IT pros these
days, this is not an easy task.
Evaluations
You need to keep on hand an effective means by which to
assess and measure employee performance, such as TechRepublic’s
evaluation form. This form provides a framework for developing an evaluation system. It’s built on an assessment of five categories of performance: communication, interaction, productivity, quality concerns, and job knowledge and skill.
Feedback
Once you assess an employee’s performance, you must offer
him or her feedback. By communicating what you and others see in the employee,
you can provide both positive and negative reinforcement. As stated in the TechRepublic article, “Coach your tech
staff by providing meaningful feedback,” employees must find the
feedback acceptable so that they will try to integrate it into their daily
routine. In order to create an accurate reflection—and one that the employee
will have faith in—your feedback must be timely, specific, purposeful,
credible, and behavior-based.
Training and development
Building a great team starts with assessing the skills your
employees have now and determining the skills they will need later. Then, you need to identify training that addresses the needs of the organization. You should
develop a list of skill gaps in your team that you want to fill and critical
support position skills that you want to enhance or add depth to within your
team. Next, you should incorporate the organizational needs into
an individual development plan that consists of two to four areas of focus for the year. The
amount of yearly training will depend upon the needs of the organization, the
current capabilities of the employee, and your available training funds.
Rewarding performance
IT organizations often struggle to retain and motivate their
employees. One factor is that management can fall into the trap of throwing
money at valued employees instead of getting to the real root of what motivates
them.
It’s important to know the difference between motivating and
manipulation. Good managers who value motivation work hard at helping people
find positive reasons for doing their best. Manipulators resort to punitive
measures that may seem to work at first but will quickly drive talented people
out the door. Get expert tips in the article, “Craft a motivational plan
that will help you, your employees, and your company.”
For a comprehensive list of employee performance management
resources, see page two.
Downloads
- Template
for identifying employee performance
Using this template, one IT executive identified
a core group of employees as top performers and then recruited them for a
pilot program. This group then helped guide company policy and raised the
bar for other employees. - Performance
review template: Peer feedback
When it’s time to conduct an employee’s annual
performance review, his or her peers can be an excellent source of
information and insight. This template includes a cover letter explaining
the process and a survey designed to elicit useful, targeted peer
comments. - Training/tuition reimbursement kit
This kit can serve as a framework to define and formalize your organization’s approach to employee training. It consists of a policy that outlines expectations and guidelines for the program. - Training
assessment templates
Training new employees and assessing the effects of training is an
involved process. These templates can help busy managers keep training
efforts on track and organized. - Motivation
tactics for those who lead techies
In this chapter from his book, Leading Geeks, Paul Glen warns that
traditional methods of motivating staff won’t work with knowledge workers.
Check out his suggestions for what will work. - TechRepublic’s Morale Boosters Hall of Fame
TechRepublic’s Morale Boosters Hall of Fame
provides true tales of managers who’ve succeeded in boosting employee
morale through simple actions, policies, and perks. Use these ideas to
improve morale in your office. - Use
these documents to build a morale-boosting sabbatical program
Sabbaticals can promote professional development and company performance
by revitalizing weary staffers. This sample sabbatical policy and
application will help you take the first steps toward establishing this
valuable career program.
Articles
- Set annual
review goals that aren’t project related
When doing annual reviews for your staff, stay
away from making individual goals project related. Here’s how to align
goals with individuals. - Guide staff
behavior by setting a good example
Make all the rules and recommendations you want, but don’t lose sight of
the fact that your team is led more by your actions than your words. Here
are some strategies for shaping your team’s attitudes and habits through
your own behavior. - Go the extra
mile before writing off an employee
A member has just been promoted to director of IS and finds that an
employee seems unqualified to work in IS/IT. Find out what steps this
member should take in order to give the seemingly unqualified employee a chance
for an IS redemption. - Focus your
staff behavior to position your department as a strategic business partner
If you want to position your IT department as a
true strategic partner to business goals, you have to first address the
collective behavior of your staff and make changes where needed to align
with the rest of the business. - Use
one-on-one sessions to guide your team
How much time do you spend talking to team
members about their performance? Probably not enough, unless you’ve got a
schedule and plan in place. Ken Hardin offers these tips on helping
employees and projects succeed. - IT
Discipline Mentoring program: Increase staff motivation and productivity
IT has been lean for years and now staff is burning out from consistently
working 12+ hour days and weekends. IT executives have taken some steps to
stem the tide such as developing best practices and buying the latest
technology, but this hasn’t had much effect. Read about an idea that may
be the best way to keep your staff working productively and happily. - These
motivation methods counter retention and morale issues
From doling out t-shirts to organizing development and career planning
programs, companies strive to keep their employees motivated. Here are
some tips for keeping your staff happy and productive—and under your
employ. - Retention
measures trigger new organizational vigor
To reduce employee turnover, one company launched
an experimental program. After careful planning and execution, it put the
power to change the culture into key employees’ hands and revolutionized
company dynamics. - Members
describe bonus plans that actually work
Although bonus plans are not as common or as
generous as they were during the boom years, consulting firms still use
them to reward and retain valuable workers. Here are a few real-life
examples of effective bonus plans. - Members
suggest alternatives to traditional raises
It’s no surprise that many companies are finding
it difficult to offer raises in this economy. Until the economic IT
meltdown is over, these suggestions from members on compensation
alternatives might just fill the company bill—and your employees’ needs.
White papers
- Giving
and Receiving Feedback Well
When the thought of having to give or receive
feedback arises, most people assume that the experience will be a negative
and uncomfortable one. This isn’t necessarily the case; in fact, it’s good
practice to highlight positive achievements or traits in any type of
feedback situation. This paper from Business, The Ultimate Resource,
explains how to deliver and receive feedback well. - Improve
Your Training: Reduce Training Time and Boost Customer Satisfaction
Read this case study sponsored by Citrix Online
to discover how KaulkinGinsberg,
a leading provider of merger and acquisition services, uses online
collaboration to: reduce training and travel costs, close the
communication gap between trainers and students, focus on the content
instead of how to use the training tool, and realize instantaneous ROI.
Read the entire Personnel Management series
- Part one: Interviewing and hiring
- Part two: Employee performance management
- Part three: Personnel issues
- Part four: Professional development
