Every organization wants an engaged and productive workforce—and for good reason. The success of your company depends largely on the performance of your employees. But here’s the catch: you can have productive employees who aren’t engaged, and engaged employees who aren’t performing at their full potential.
So how do you bring out the best in both performance and engagement?
Many companies assume that raises, bonuses, or new benefits are the best way to motivate employees. While forms of financial compensation linked to employee performance can play a role, they’re only part of the picture. To truly improve performance, you need to understand what’s getting in the way and provide the tools, support, and environment to overcome those barriers.
Let’s look at six proven techniques for managing employee performance and sparking meaningful growth in your workforce.
Why Improving Employee Performance Matters
When performance improves, so does morale, retention, and autonomy. Strong employee performance is also a major contributor to effective succession planning and leadership development.
But before you can enhance performance, you have to understand the roadblocks. Some common issues that can impact performance include:
- Unclear role expectations
- Lack of goal-setting
- Limited communication or feedback
- Challenges with collaboration
- Stalled career growth
- Low job satisfaction
Once you’ve identified the issue, you can begin applying the right techniques to get your team back on track.
1. Create a More Productive Work Environment
If your employees seem disengaged, sluggish, or error-prone, the physical (or virtual) work environment may be part of the problem.
What you can do:
- Brighten up your office with good lighting and ergonomic furniture.
- Offer stipends or support for remote workers to set up productive home offices.
- Emphasize workplace safety with quality tools and equipment.
- Build in non-work wellness moments—like walking breaks, yoga sessions, or virtual happy hours—to boost mental health.
A healthy, energized environment improves not only performance but also employee satisfaction and retention.
2. Encourage Clearer Communication
Clear communication is at the heart of managing employee performance. If employees don’t know what’s expected—or don’t receive regular feedback—they’re less likely to perform well.
Try this:
- Provide training on communication styles and active listening.
- Hold weekly stand-up meetings to align on progress and priorities.
- Encourage open, two-way conversations between employees and managers.
Whether it’s giving feedback, setting goals, or addressing concerns, communication is key to improving both performance and morale.
3. Build Strong Work Relationships
Good relationships lead to better collaboration, less burnout, and higher levels of trust—all of which contribute to better performance.
One study of nearly 100 car dealerships showed that culture directly impacted sales and customer satisfaction. The takeaway? When employees feel connected and supported, their performance improves.
To foster strong connections:
- Encourage team-building activities and peer recognition.
- Create employee engagement activities that promote fun and camaraderie.
- Support a culture of inclusivity and transparency.
For more ideas for employee engagement, check out our blog on morale-boosting activities and team-building strategies.
4. Use Employee Performance Reviews to Encourage Growth
Consistent, thoughtful employee performance reviews play a crucial role in developing high-performing teams. But they shouldn’t only happen once a year—or only when something goes wrong.
Best practices include:
- Holding regular one-on-one meetings to check in on goals, wins, and challenges.
- Using structured formats with clear employee performance review questions, such as:
- What’s one thing you’re proud of?
- What’s one area where you’d like to grow?
- How can I better support you?
- Setting SMART goals (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, Timely) and revisiting them regularly.
This proactive approach builds trust, provides accountability, and helps managers measure employee performance consistently and fairly.
5. Provide Continual Training Opportunities
Onboarding is just the beginning. Ongoing training is essential to keep employees engaged, motivated, and up to date with evolving responsibilities.
Enhance learning with:
- Blended learning programs that combine live and self-paced formats.
- Microlearning for fast, focused upskilling in the flow of work.
- Personalized learning paths aligned to each employee’s role and growth goals.
Continual development shows employees that you’re invested in their success—and gives them the tools to deliver better results.
6. Boost Employee Performance With Online Learning
Online learning makes continuous development scalable and accessible. With a platform like BizLibrary, you can offer a mix of prescribed and on-demand content that supports every type of learner.
Use it to:
- Assign training based on performance needs.
- Offer exploratory learning to spark curiosity and professional growth.
- Track progress and measure employee performance through built-in reports and dashboards.
From technical skills to soft skills to leadership development, an online learning platform can play a central role in your employee engagement plan and performance improvement strategy.
Small Shifts, Big Results
Improving employee performance isn’t about micromanaging or relying on one-time incentives. It’s about building a strong foundation—through communication, feedback, development, and culture — so employees can succeed and grow.
When you consistently support your team through effective coaching, continual learning, and regular employee performance reviews, you create a high-performance culture that drives results and retention.
Ready to level up performance in your organization? Learn more about supporting your training, coaching, and skills development goals — so your team can keep learning, growing, and performing at their best.
