How to Improve Your Business Performance

There’s no real secret to improving business performance. Within any business, what the individuals do — particularly the leaders — makes a significant difference. But what many people don’t realise is that how they do it matters just as much.

In this article, we’ll look at how to improve business performance by establishing your goals upfront, then creating a strategy that will help you achieve them.

Establish What You Want to Achieve & Your Business Goals

What do you want your business to achieve? In answering this question, many business owners and strategists analyse their current position and plot a reasoned path forwards. This is a logical way to look at it.

But you can also use your goals as a starting point, and work backwards from there. Start from the desired objective and work backwards to your current position. This can stimulate creativity and ambition, and reduce constraints and limitations on your thinking.

Goals should be SMART, audacious, and performance-led. Performance-led goals are important because they’re completely within the control of the performer.

For example, in sport, the overarching goal might be to win a gold medal — but this isn’t a performance goal. The performance goal might be to break your own personal best by two tenths of a second. In doing this, you increase your chances of winning a gold medal.

Setting a performance goal in business is important because:

• It gives employees a sense of purpose and focus. They can see how their tasks impact the business goals.
• It avoids shifting goalposts. If the goalposts move too far, employees can be left adrift with nothing positive to focus on. This can be psychologically deflating, and may have a negative impact on performance.
• You can set tasks based on the goal. The absence of a performance goal makes it impossible to accurately work out what needs to be done on a daily basis. It’s not possible to work out an effective training programme based solely on the desire to win a gold medal, but you can create one based on a targeted performance of running 11.65 seconds on August 19th.
• Performance reviews become easier and more effective. Employees can be held accountable for their work regardless of external factors. This also provides a platform for personal and professional development.

How to Improve Efficiency in a Business

Now you’ve set performance goals that everyone in your organisation can work towards, you need to figure out how to achieve these in the most efficient way possible.

Here are three ways to improve efficiency in your business.

1. Establish Uniform Processes

Establishing consistent, reliable processes is essential for improving business performance. They make sure all staff are on the same page when working towards a common goal.

Good processes provide a clear reference point for staff. They help people understand how to perform a task, following the necessary procedures, minimising errors, and reducing the risk of miscommunication.

For example, shaving 0.2 seconds off your PB might be easy with the help of performance-enhancing drugs. But it’s illegal in competitive running, so it won’t help you win that gold medal. That’s why processes are important.

By establishing a set of processes that all staff members are familiar with, businesses can operate more efficiently and with greater accuracy, leading to improved overall performance.

2. Get Experts on the Job

Improving business performance requires a top-notch team for each task. You’ll also need to cultivate a supportive, collaborative culture that fosters creativity and productivity to achieve the goals you set.

You must understand your employees' strengths before you can assign them to the right tasks. Bear in mind that strengths aren’t always expert knowledge of a process, or ten years’ experience in a particular role. A willingness to learn and work with others can be equally valuable.

If you need to recruit, make sure the people you hire (whether they’re new in-house team members or external consultants) align with your workplace culture, and are enthusiastic about enhancing their own professional development and performance. This should positively impact your overall business performance.

3. Create a Plan

With the right processes and teams in place, you can create a strategy for reaching your performance goals. Here’s how to do it:

1. Break down the goal into smaller, achievable tasks. Decide how you will measure progress for each task.
2. Ask your teams to define the resources they need to carry out these tasks.
3. Assign budgets for each task/team.
4. Set deadlines and milestones for each task.
5. Regularly review and adjust the plan as necessary to stay on track for meeting your objectives.

Create a Trusting Environment

Your workplace culture is essential for business performance success. You need to make sure your team is motivated to carry out the tasks that will lead to better business performance.

Whenever a person is sufficiently motivated to overcome a challenge, three things are usually present:

1. Clarity about what you want to achieve. That doesn’t mean you always know how to achieve it. But you’re clear on the objective and what achieving it will mean.
2. A goal with meaning. Staff need to care about the business goal, and feel part of something bigger. Even if others are involved, everyone is clear about what it means to them personally.
3. Belief they can achieve it. Regardless of how tough things get, you never stop believing it’s possible. You’re not merely hoping for a result; you truly believe you’re capable of pulling it off.

Leaders must put these motivational building blocks in place, then trust their staff to carry out their assigned tasks without micromanagement.

Closely Monitor Activity & Results

Track and evaluate the progress and outcomes of each task using the metrics you chose during the planning stage. Setting milestones en route to achieving your goal can make large tasks feel more manageable, and provide opportunities for motivation (and celebration) when you achieve them.

Similarly, if you’re veering off track, you’ll spot problems sooner so you can readjust your plan and get back on track for productivity.

Consider a Motivational Speaker to Improve Performance

When performance goals exist, your teams can work together to achieve them. This propels your business forward, and gives each individual ownership over specific tasks, making them feel like an essential part of your business.

Motivational speakers can be a powerful business performance tool. An effective speaker can:

• Inspire and energise employees, boosting morale and motivation
• Encouraging staff to embrace new ideas and approaches to their work
• Offer an outside perspective that challenges employees to think differently.

By investing in a motivational speaker, you can demonstrate your commitment to employee growth and development, foster a positive work culture, and ultimately achieve better results.

Find a motivational speaker to inspire your staff and improve business performance at Speakers Corner.