BONUS EBOOK: Getting Started with Work Management
Asana is one of the best mission-driven project management tools. It introduces structure into the chaotic and fast-paced environment of online collaboration and teamwork. It also has another benefit when it comes to performance management.
As remote working is increasingly becoming the norm even after lockdown is easing in some countries, companies are finding new ways to keep employees happy and motivated. And one way to do that is by ensuring they have access to the software and tools they need to do their job well. There is nothing more powerful than purpose in directing workers' collaboration across multiple channels within an organisation.
Ironically, most managers still focus excessively on fostering collaboration through technology and training. Asana offers an efficient way to frame the challenges and inspire people to come together and tackle them.
How does it achieve that?
Technology is the backbone of your company, and as your business grows, your use of technology will grow.
Manual work that once took a few minutes may take a couple of hours because of increased data volume and evolved processes. But unnecessary manual labour is more than a waste of time - it can be damaging to work morale and cause your employees to feel like they're in a rut.
SMEs often benefit from automating payroll and expense management software, which can improve business efficiency. Giving your employees the added functionality they need to do their work faster will free their time to be creative, improve productivity, and increase profits.
Staying on top of your employees and checking how they perform their job duties can be the difference between projects being completed on time or falling behind. By tracking employee performance, you will be able to review the level of employee effectiveness, efficiency, and quality of work.
Why should you monitor and evaluate employee performance?
Before we look into how Asana lets you monitor and evaluate your employees' performance, let's discuss why doing this matters.
Performance evaluation is vital for several reasons. It does more than show all workers' capabilities for a given period. Some of the significant advantages of an employee performance evaluation include:
- Giving employees a clear understanding of what they need to do.
- Providing workers with feedback, so they know how to boost their performance.
- Reviewing both employees' strengths and weaknesses in the workplace.
- Giving insights for precise decisions regarding an employee's raise, promotion, compensation plan, and bonuses.
Thus, performance reviews are an indispensable part of project management. As such, they help you keep team members focused, productive, and on track. When integrated into an excellent collaborative tool like Asana, they also help you ensure that your team's workload gets divided fairly.
Organisation and productivity go hand in hand as balancing your team's workload will impact your workers' motivation and, thus, the project's success.
The correlation between happiness and productivity is pretty apparent, although it has been the topic of sufficient research over recent years. According to data from the Department of Economics at the University of Warwick - happy workers are 12% more productive than the average worker, and unhappy workers are 10% less productive.
In general, disgruntled employees cost American business over $300 billion on an annual basis. What's even more – employees who are actively engaged in their job also produce better results and are also more likely to solve complicated problems faster. In other words – happy employees are the ones who are likely to stay with you through thick and thin as your company grows and changes.
A Guide to Performance Reviews in Asana
Now that you understand the importance of performance reviews on your employees' morale and motivation, let's examine how to use Asana to carry them out.
At the root of a performance review is workload management and the process of efficiently distributing and managing work across your team.
With a task management app like Asana, you can ensure that workload management maximises employee performance and helps mitigate chaos. Keeping everyone informed of their role within the organisation and a project leaves you and your team feeling satisfied at the end of each day rather than overwhelmed. Team members will feel confident about their work volume and deliver higher quality work at a faster pace.
When you use a management tool like Asana, you gain the significant advantage of being transparent. Understanding what motivates, scares and drives employees is key to keeping your company on track during its fast-paced growth mode. In the hyper-competitive market that we're in, the only way to survive is with a company culture that engages, grows, and defends its team. Take the time to understand employee concerns and give them honest feedback.
However, make sure you follow through with every promise you make to them, as this is critical to retention. Transparency works both ways, so you'll need to be open and honest about your plans, goals and objectives from a company standpoint. For example, many SMEs carry out engagement surveys with employees and disclose the results afterwards. An excellent way to understand this is by implementing the OKR methodology. Download this FREE ebook and discover more about OKRs for your organisation.
Communication
Transparent communication goes a long way as it showing you understand the day-to-day reality of operations. It lets everyone know where your company excels and where there is room for improvement.
By keeping communication channels open, Asana also lets you promote a positive work environment which is especially critical in times of lockdown and increased remote working. You can't have a successful company without happy employees. Working relationships are the lifeline of your business, and within the office, it doesn't take much to make workers feel valued.
Group lunches, new skill-building courses and updated job titles are all ways to show employees they are part of a dynamic and positive work environment. Keep in mind that employees rarely quit solely due to money. However, it's usually too late to mend a working relationship if they've become disenchanted with how you run things. Having a positive culture and workplace environment encourages teamwork and increases engagement and opportunities for everyone involved.
As you monitor your teams' work and progress on individual projects, it will become easier to see areas where your employees are lacking and need mentorship and help. Monitoring will also help you recognise and reward those employees that deserve it.
Recognition
Your organisation sits where it is now because your employees bought into your vision and worked hard to help you accomplish growth. Now is the time to thank them most. Don't commit the cardinal sin of assuming they feel appreciated, as it will cost you dearly.
Achievement and recognition remain the highest motivators for employees. Cash bonuses are always welcome, but personalised coupons to events and restaurants, an extra day off or something else along these lines can have an even better effect of motivating them. It's the small stuff that adds up.
In this sense, Asana is an invaluable tool for carving a career pathway for your most motivated and passionate employees. With career growth comes the responsibility of building your employees up. Hold regular career planning discussions with employees and make them aware of the company's different career paths or job opportunities.
Don't rely too much on salary raises as the only form of stimulus. Focus on people who share your business's operational values from the outset, fit test early, and allow growth opportunities to express that value. There are no better signs than initiative and constructive impact.
Employee management is a daunting task. It may become the sole point of focus for most businesses, but maintaining the internal culture and keeping employees happy is vital for future success. Companies, where employees get fair evaluations are easy to recognise – their employees are happy, have high energy and morale, and speak the same organisational language.
Good performance reviews define the quality of leadership that impacts a company's culture and spirit – its soul, if you will. This type of leadership drives success beyond financial statements.
It all comes down to remaining true to your core values while embracing change and rewarding your best and brightest to make that faithful leap from business to brand.