In today’s workplace, employee performance follows the the Pareto Principle: 80 percent of employees fizzle, 20 percent sizzle.
The 80 percent who fizzle are weak and uninterested performers who do just enough not to be fired. The 20 percent who sizzle are passionate and engaged performers, committed to making a difference.
How can any organization be successful if only a small percentage of its people are actively driving service responses and results? The better question is: Why does this happen?
The 20 percenters are people who are well matched to their jobs. They are intellectually connected (they have the right talents and skills) and are emotionally connected (work activates their passions and interests).
Intellectual and emotional connection: This combination creates a high-performing employee. It empowers an employee to be confident, committed and engaged, and to think and act like an owner. Attracting, hiring and keeping great-fit employees is critical for managers in any organization — public sector or private.
Making the connection
Intellectual connection (right talents and skills) is essential. To be productive, an employee must have both the skills and the core talents and thinking required to do the job well. This encourages confidence, competence and commitment. People who work in jobs that do not match their talents and skills feel incapable, and then fizzle out.
Emotional connection (passion) is an even more important component of employee fit and performance. Research presented in the book, Human Sigma, by Dr. John Fleming and Jim Asplund, shows that a dissatisfied customer and a satisfied customer buy nearly the same volume. This seems contrary to rational thinking, but their studies prove it to be true.
However, a loyal customer buys signficantly more than a merely satisfied customer. The difference between the satisfied and loyal customers is that the loyal customer is emotionally connected to the brand, product or organization. This emotional connection makes all the difference.
The same principle follows with employees. Satisfied and unhappy employees (80 percent) perform at nearly the same level: average. Loyal employees (20 percent) perform at significantly higher levels. The reason is the emotional connection they feel with their jobs and managers. Employees who work in jobs that activate their passions, values and interests become emotionally connected to their work and to their performance.
Igniting performance
It is the job of managers to ignite employee performance. You do this by ensuring an intellectual connection and an emotional connection — that is the formula for employee loyalty.
So, let’s see it in practice. Here are several employee performance or attitude problems that you can address by reconnecting the employee intellectually and emotionally. Review your employees and determine who is an 80 percenter, then create a plan for moving that person to 20-percenter performance.
Performance problems — set 1:
• Employees constantly threaten to quit, and criticize or blame others.
• Employees can’t meet basic job requirements and continually miss deadlines.
• Employees do as little as possible and show no real effort.
• Employees need significantly more praise, affirmation and attention.
• Employees need constant instruction, guidance and hand-holding.
If you see these symptoms in your workplace, your people do not feel capable or confident in their work. Consider reconnecting them intellectually by assessing their talents and realigning them to jobs that provide a better fit.
Use a talent assessment (there are many online) to identify natural strengths and abilities. Employees whose talents are more social fit well in roles that put them in front of people. Those who are more analytical are more comfortable with details and procedures.
People who like to be in charge are more effective in leadership and solo-performance roles. Those who have strong supportive talents are more effective in management, team and collaborative roles. Knowing your people’s talents is the first step in matching the person to the job. Fit is critical in activating that intellectual connection.
Performance problems — set 2:
• Employees show little or no passion in their work, workplace or team.
• Employees are constantly unhappy, critical or negative.
• Employees show little or no enthusiasm; they are visibly bored.
• Employees seem detached and disconnected; they do only the minimum and need constant supervision.
If you see these symptoms in your workplace, your employees are not finding an emotional connection to their work. Reconnect them emotionally by customizing their jobs around their talents, values and interests, and in things that are meaningful to your organization.
For example, a customer service employee who also loves to write may feel more emotionally connected if allowed to work on a customer newsletter or write public information materials. An employee who is also great at organizing may feel more emotionally connected if able to plan an open house or technology demonstration.
A workplace of sizzlers has employees who are connected intellectually and emotionally to their work. They become maximum performers because they feel capable, confident and passionate about what they do. Focus on these two components to revive any employee to passionate-performance status. Your results depend on it.F
Jay Forte is a performance consultant, speaker and workplace coach and author of Fire Up! Your Employees and Smoke Your Competition. As president of Humanetrics LLC, he provides talent- based hiring and management training. Visit www.HumanetricsLLC.com or call 401/338-3505.
