The surprise solution to getting better staff performance is staggeringly simple – tell them what you want.

I know this sounds simple, yet, it’s something that the vast majority of business owners we encounter either aren’t doing – or, by their own admission, aren’t doing well. If you’ve ever said, “Why don’t they just use initiative?” or “It’s just common sense” you may be guilty too.

Consider this:You have been working in your business /profession for 10-20 years. How long has your employee?

You’ve developed a productive working routine over years of need. How long has your employee?

You have a sense of drive that has meant your business survived start up and is still here many years later. Has your employee done that?

The answers to these questions should begin to make it clear that your employees are not all like you.  Continuing to assume they are like you (and that they will do what you would do) is asking for continued headaches.

Instead, outline what you want – and do this by writing something down first.

This might be a checklist of pre-departure checks (if your team do off-site work) to prevent wasted trips back to your premises.

It might be a simple Quality Checking sheet, outlining the key areas you want them to self-verify before ‘completing’ a job.

Maybe it’s just a clear list of tasks they need to complete each day of the work week.

Whatever it is, start with accepting that maybe the first place to look is at yourself – and begin re-setting expectations.