Managing People Performance: 5 Ways To Make Consequences Positive For Employees

Consequences are a major key in unlocking superior employee performance. Yet managers often consider consequences as they see them. They forget that from the employee perspective, the consequences may be quite different.

1. Consequences For Whom? Like beauty, consequences are in the eye of the beholder. A project engineer sees the conclusion of a big civil project as a major achievement and the opportunity for a large cash bonus. For a tradesman it carries the prospect of unemployment. When making changes, make sure you build in consequences that your staff will see as positive in their terms.

2. Peer Pressure. As a manager you may have lots of formal power. But informal power is important too. Most employees are very conscious of how their peers think. The prospect of derision and disapproval by peers can influence their behaviour in ways quite unfamiliar to you. Encouraging staff to do work or take "opportunities" that may isolate them from their peers is a consequence you need to consider carefully.

3. Threat And Opportunity. Your new operating system reduces errors, saves time, cuts tedious clerical work and co-ordinates information from various sources. It's a wonderful improvement. The conscientious, loyal, senior clerical employee with 25 years service may see it as a threat. They may see all the skills that have made them such a valuable employee "going up in smoke". Technological improvements may offer very positive corporate consequences. The same improvements may be very threatening to employees if inadequately explained.

4. Perspective and Consequences. Managers and employees often have very different perspectives of the workplace. Anticipating positive management consequences is part of your job. But anticipating employee reactions, both positive and negative, is part of your job too. This doesn't mean you should change your perspective. It does mean you should consider employee perspectives too.

5. Unforseen Consequences. There will be unexpected and unforeseen consequences that you couldn't have reasonably anticipated. That's no reason to blunder ahead, blind to the reactions you're creating. Be prepared for the consequences your actions are likely to create. When the unforseen occurs, you'll be able to concentrate on handling it. It can be valuable to consult employees about consequences they may perceive that aren't obvious to you.

Conclusion. Your management planning should always include preparing to handle consequences positively. Always try to create benefits for employees who are involved in change and performance improvements. But remember, their perspective is different to yours.

Considering consequences carefully will make your management job a lot easier. Ignoring consequences or failing to recognize them will be a rod for your back. And it may well create unforseen long term negative consequence. These can become difficult to resolve.


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