Frequent Feedback Is Your Key to Employee Motivation!
Did you know that in a three hour football game the ball is only in play about 11 minutes? That’s less than the time it takes to boil an egg. The other 174 minutes in a typical television broadcast, the fans are waiting around for the next snap of the ball! (Wall Street Journal study)
However, as fans, we stay motivated because of the abundance of informational feedback we receive between plays. Our attention is held by replays and game statistics flashed on the T.V. screen. We hear color commentary about the game, see highlights of other games going on, and learn about the personal lives of players and coaches.
When the ball is in play, we are glued to the action. We get visual feedback from yard markers that indicate our team’s forward progress. We know exactly how far it is for a first down and how many yards to the goal line. The scoreboard constantly reminds us how our team is performing compared to the rival team. We cheer and boo to make sure the players and coaches know what we are feeling about their performance.
Players and fans receive feedback non-stop throughout the game!
Feedback
Feedback Boosts Performance
Here are three simple things you can do to apply the principle of feedback to your business systems:
- Team members should always know how they are performing in relation to the goal.
- System feedback and score keeping should be simple and self-administered. Employees should not have to depend on a supervisor to tell them how well they are doing.
- To improve performance, increase the frequency of the feedback.
Good employees love to get feedback, whether it comes in the form of vital information, numbers and statistics, praise, encouragement, recognition, financial incentives, or even high-fives. Positive feedback is far more effective over time than negative. If you find yourself giving negative feedback very often, you likely need to improve the system or get the right people in the job.
Feedback motivates, and is an essential part of every high-performance business system!
Remember this Powerful Principle
Take a look at your core business systems. Do the people working in them frequently know how they are performing in relation to the goal? Do they know when they’ve had an exceptional day or an off-day? Do they continually strive to improve the system and themselves—to better their best? Do you reward employees for a job well done?
Remember this powerful principle: To improve performance, increase the frequency of feedback.
Wishing You Prosperous Times,
Ron
P.S. - Box Theory™ software contains a measurement report wizard for tracking and reporting system performance, the feedback you need to elevate your business systems. Go check it out!