Highly productive employees know their strengths and weaknesses. It is the employer's responsibility to effectively communicate job competencies to employees in order to praise them for strengths and help them to develop weaker areas. Managers should communicate three main competency areas; technical and functional expertise, interpersonal skills and personal effectiveness. Begin by setting up regular coaching meetings to discuss job competencies with employees.
Technical and Functional Expertise
Managers should communicate the technical and functional expertise required for an employee's position. Technical and functional expertise is based on knowledge and skills used in a position that are observable and measurable. By communicating, an employee and employer determine the technical and functional expertise required in a position. This area often presents opportunities for an employee to develop additional skills through additional education including seminars, classes and workshops. Examples of technical and functional skills identified for an administrative assistant position include using mathematics in problem solving; obtaining and maintaining equipment, facilities and materials needed to do certain work; and identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options for solutions.
Managers should emphasize the importance of interpersonal skills in job coaching sessions. Interpersonal skills include the ability to effectively communicate with other employees, customers and vendors. Examples of interpersonal skills necessary for an administrative assistant would include but are not limited to treating others with respect, communicating openly and honestly, communicating with tact and expressing verbally in a clear and organized way.
Personal effectiveness is defined by how well an employee executes her daily duties. Managers should help the employee explore her personal effectiveness in areas such as using time and resources wisely, organizing and prioritizing work and considering budget and risk when implementing decisions. Employees who are challenged in these areas benefit from coaching, particularly in terms of prioritizing work. Managers help an employee schedule work by indicating deadlines and tasks that can be accomplished during waiting periods or downtime.
Employee coaching is a critical part of managing employees. Coaching should be focused on communicating key job competencies that are integral to their positions. Don't wait until an annual performance evaluation to communicate to employees about strengths or areas that need development. Schedule coaching as a regular part of the work routine and as an informal means for communicating with employees. Employees who are not meeting expectations in terms of job competencies should be disciplined and eventually terminated if they do not improve. A study by the Harvard Business School showed that high performing employees lose motivation when low-performing coworkers are not held to company standards and expectations. Communicating job competencies on a consistent basis when paired with coaching in development areas helps low-performing employees raise their performance levels while motivating high-performing employees.
- employment image by Marin Conic from Fotolia.com