As sales managers tackle the daily tasks of overseeing the sales department, they must have a balanced approach when it comes to managing star workers along with average or poor performers. While some workers might have an outstanding job record, others might be slacking. No matter their productivity level, there is always room for improvement. In guiding employees who may be performing poorly, managers need to talk to their employees openly, which may mean delivering feedback about their less than stellar performance. However, managers often struggle with this aspect of sales performance management for fear of disappointing employees and seeing morale drop in the workplace. Despite the tough reality of telling employees that there may be gaps in their performance, it’s necessary for managers to step up to the plate and be able to give workers the feedback that could ultimately boost employees’ performance and increase sales. Here are ways to improve the effectiveness of negative feedback: Be honest with employees While workers don’t want to hear bad news, they do want their managers to be honest with them about their performance. Not hearing all of the feedback could make workers feel like their managers are hiding things from them, which could damage employees’ relationships with higher ranking members of the company. Before giving this feedback to employees, book a meeting in a private room and tell them the reason for the discussion. This way, there are no surprises and employees feel prepared to talk about their concerns about the job to managers. Begin on a positive note Although managers have to be firm about employee feedback, they should also focus on giving workers something to work with in terms of enhancing their performance. This could mean starting the session off with a compliment about their work, according to Inc. magazine, so workers feel like they are doing something right and managers can better see where employees can improve. Set goals for workers Before workers leave the meeting, managers need to lay out exactly what employees need to do to improve their performance, such as tracking their performance or having more talks with clients. Harvard Business Review suggested that managers should focus on coaching their employees and getting them to see what new approaches they can take to get the results they want. Managers could give examples of what employees have been doing wrong and then provide them with solutions to bounce back.
