Maximising People Performance: Challenges & Solutions

April 27, 2023

Company Culture

Your people are your organisation’s most valuable asset. They create, deliver, and improve products and services, interact with customers and stakeholders, and drive innovation and growth. However, maximising people’s performance is not an effortless task. It requires a strategic approach that aligns the individual’s goals, skills and motivations with the organisation’s vision, values, and objectives.

We will explore some familiar challenges organisations face to maximise people’s performance and some practical solutions that can help overcome them.

Challenge 1: Lack of clarity and direction

One primary factor influencing people’s performance is clarity and direction. Employees need to know your expectations, why their work matters, and how it contributes to the big picture. Without clear and consistent communication of the organisational vision, mission, strategy, and goals, employees may feel confused, demotivated, and disengaged.

Solution: Communicate effectively and frequently

Leaders must communicate effectively and frequently to provide clarity and direction to everyone. They must articulate the organisational vision, mission, strategy, and goals simply and link them to the individual and team objectives and tasks.

They also need to provide regular feedback and recognition to employees on their performance and progress and celebrate achievements and successes. Communication should be transparent, honest, and respectful, encouraging dialogue and employee feedback.

Challenge 2: Lack of Skills and Competencies

Another factor affecting people’s performance is skills and competencies. Employees need the right skills and competencies to perform their roles effectively and efficiently. However, the skills and competencies required to keep up with rapid technological changes, customer expectations and market conditions change. As a result, people may lack the skills and competencies to handle new challenges and opportunities.

Solution: Invest in learning and development

Organisations must invest in learning and development to ensure their people have the right skills and competencies to perform their roles. They must assess their workforce’s current and future skills and competencies gaps and design and deliver relevant learning and development programmes that address them. They also need to foster a culture of continuous learning that encourages everyone to seek new knowledge, skills, and experiences, both formally and informally. Finally, align education and development with the organisational strategy and goals, as well as the individual career aspirations of your people.

Challenge 3: Lack of motivation and engagement

A third factor that influences people’s performance is motivation and engagement. People must feel motivated and engaged with their work, colleagues, and organisation. Motivation is the intrinsic drive that makes people want to do their job well. Engagement is the emotional connection that makes them care about work outcomes. Motivated and engaged people are more productive, creative, loyal, and satisfied.

Solution: Create a positive work environment

Organisations must create a positive work environment by supporting the psychological needs of their people, which enhances motivation and engagement.

We must offer autonomy through the freedom to choose how they work; mastery through the opportunity to learn new skills and improve existing ones. In addition, we need to instil a sense of purpose and meaning; connectedness with feelings of belonging; fairness through DEI programs; and well-being by focusing on their physical and mental health.

A positive work environment promotes trust, respect, diversity, inclusion, collaboration, and innovation.

Maximising people’s performance requires a holistic and integrated approach that addresses the challenges and solutions discussed. It requires leaders to create a performance-driven culture that aligns individuals’ and teams’ goals, skills and motivations with the organisation’s vision, values, and objectives. It also requires leaders to invest in their people through communication, learning and development, and well-being initiatives.

By doing so, organisations can create a workplace where everyone feels valued, engaged, and motivated and can contribute their best to achieve success.